Inner Smile Meditation

Our Inner Smile Meditation comes from the Taoist Qi Gong tradition. It is based on the concept that smiling affects the organs and the health of the entire body. When we smile, we engage muscles in the face that are linked to various nerves including the autonomic nervous system which helps us to relax and have a feeling of wellbeing.

Numerous studies show that smiling helps to elevate our mood, helps the body release cortisol and endorphins which lowers blood pressure, increases endurance, reduces pain and stress and strengthens the immune system.

The Taoists believe that by smiling into the brain, organs and body parts, that they experience that good energy and therefore can be at their best. Think of how much we take the functioning of our bodies for granted and never thank them for the hard work they do? The Taoist way is to treat them well by sending them smiles, loving kindness, appreciation and gratitude.

Some time ago I ran across an article in the Washington Post about how even smiling behind our masks is important. It not only affects our emotions but affects the emotions of others also. It seems counter intuitive to smile when you don’t feel like it, but research shows that social contact improves physical and mental health, increases immunity and reduces stress.

When you are smiling you are more approachable to others and your social interactions tend to increase. A 2017 emotion study found that introverted people tend to experience better moods when they act like extroverts. It turns out that humans are really good at reading eyes which are “the windows to the soul”. Eye contact makes us feel safe and less disconnected.

Our eyes evolved over time to facilitate non-verbal communication and we can smile with our eyes, giving rise to a new term: “smizing” where the eyes crinkle at the corners, this can be seen even if you were wearing a mask over your nose and mouth.

This guided healing meditation will have some moments of silence during which we contemplate the images that I lead you through. You can increase the energy of what we are doing by putting your hands on the various parts of the body that we are focusing on while visualizing and using intention to direct the warm healing energy from your hands to reach a particular area.

According to Taoism, each organ has an associated color and both positive and negative emotions are stored in them. Again, color is very important to the health of the body, which is why it is said that eating a colorful diet is important and beneficial. Even having color around us and wearing colorful clothing can be helpful.

The Taoists also believe that the organs store accumulated energy, and this can cause imbalances. Being able to release the excess and negative energies of the emotions is important. Each organ has an associated animal for protection, and we will use those protective animal images in the meditation. So, this Inner Smile meditation is a meditation for healing the body / mind and transforms the emotions at the same time. You can even do this meditation while sitting or lying down, with your eyes closed or open, and your video on or off.

Length: 33 Minutes
Facilitator: Laurie Ferreri
Categories: Happiness & Joy, Healing, Self Care

Like this meditation? Attend a live meditation class or listen to another guided meditation by Laurie Ferreri.