I'm always looking for simple life-improvement techniques that can be done anywhere at anytime, and this has got to be my favorite: Smiling.

It takes little effort (requires fewer muscles than frowning), has wonderful health benefits, keeps things interesting, and entertains your friends. That would be my definition of a panacea!

Much research has been done on smiling, and it has been found that this simple act raises the endorphin level in the body by 27%, calms the parasympathetic system (involuntary muscles), stimulates the immune system, and lowers blood pressure. Add laughing to that, and, well, it's off the charts for health benefits.

Smiling is also contagious--you smile and others tend to smile, giving them health benefits, too!

Smiling can even affect the way one person is recieved by another over the phone. A study, conducted by Amy Drahota, examined how smiling affects how people speak and are heard. From her research, she ascertained that "When we listen to people speaking, we may be picking up on all sorts of cues, even unconsciously, which help us to interpret the speaker." A person who is smiling while they talk can be sensed by the listener, even though they are hidden from view. And, the smiling imcreases the endorphin levels in the listener!

In Taoist meditation practices developed over thousands of years, one primary technique is the "Inner Smile." Life force, chi, or prana, is considered to flow better when the body is smiling. In fact, one practice is to smile at your organs--smile at the thymus gland and have it smile back, smile at the heart, smile at the lungs, the stomach, the intestines. By doing this, you are opening the channels of chi to that organ or organs. In Taoist meditation, the Inner Smile is the first act before doing other chi-moving exercises. Any part of the body in discomfort can be benefitted by this practice. So as the old adage says, "Smile and the world smiles with you!"

Vibrant Living Tip: Use Beryl Gem Elixir to aid in forgiveness and clarity.

For me there is no more enjoyable fruit than the apple. And I think the apple is actually underrated for its transformative potential, despite it being hailed as one of Nature's greatest foods.

We are all familiar with most of the stats of the apple--rich in antioxidants, with loads of phytonutrients, rich in Vitamin A, C, and a great source of fiber.

Yeah, that's all great, but something President Bill Clinton talks about is eating the whole apple. He says doing this is the reason he hasn't gotten cancer, and with a belief like that, I'm inclined to believe him. Most people just leave the core, mostly because it is a bit tougher than the rest of the apple, and there is some misinformation out there about apple seeds being toxic. It is true that apple seeds contain very small amounts of cyanide. The body easily disposes of small amounts of cyanide, and it would take eating the seeds of hundreds of apples all at once to actually poison the body, so this bit of information has been blown out of proportion.

I, too, eat the entire apple, but it is for deeper reasons. First, the apple is a dental workout. Biting into a fresh, crunchy apple requires some actual biting effort, but the sweet reward after this small effort seems to spur one on to the next bite. It's a metaphor for effort and reward in life.

Chewing the apple has so many satisfying textures and levels to it. There's the skin that keeps the broken chunks of the apple intact while you chew, the juice is light and refreshing, and the pithy core and seed chamber massages the gums and makes you feel like you're eating something kind of wild, but really good for you.

It's the satisfaction of all these factors that appeals (pardon the pun) to me so much about the apple. I think the combination of textures, juice, and mastication force is why once you're done with the apple, it feels like you've eaten much more than you have. Hence, the apple teaches us that life is more than having--it is the enjoyment and the experience of it that matters most.

Of all the foods along the way, give me an apple any day...

I always think of John Lennon's famous song, "Love is All You Need," when I engage in this practice. It's a deep statement, despite being trivialized as a pop song.

I believe that love fulfills all needs one way or another. Love finds the starving child and feeds her. Love finds the depression of the financially distraut and gives them hope. Love finds the broken-hearted and reveals the love of self. There is truly nothing love cannot change or heal.

The thing about us humans is that we have that choice thing. We can choose to be loving and happy, or choose to be hateful and sad, about any circumstance. Sure, some circumstances are more or less life-threatening than others, yet we still can choose to love even in the worst of circumstances, and in doing so, turn those circumstances around. Can we expect to do that by NOT being loving?

The truth is, the universe loves love. Love amplifies itself--the more you feel it, the more there is. Hence, my little practice I call "Feeling the Love." Here's what I do:

• After my yoga asanas I chant to myself, "I love you" a few times.
• While I'm walking I look up at the wispy clouds, feel the breeze and the sun on my face, and give thanks in love for the moment.
• Something unexpected or negative happens, and I love that I was there to experience and learn from it.
• I think of all my friends and family and how much I love them.
• I just sit in silence and feel love for being alive and being who I am.
• I catch myself being critical of myself or another, and love that I have a choice to be otherwise.