Welcome to the Inner Smile Meditation,
A Taoist practice that dates back to ancient China.
Rooted in Taoist philosophy,
This meditation is designed to cultivate inner peace,
Balance and harmony by directing a gentle and loving smile inwardly towards yourself.
The Inner Smile Meditation is based on the belief that our emotions and energies are closely connected to our organs and by consciously smiling to each organ we can promote overall well-being.
So I invite you to find a comfortable and quiet space,
To sit or lie down in a relaxed position.
Close your eyes,
Take a few deep breaths and let go of any tension in your body.
This meditation was taught in the West by Mantak Chia,
Who learned it from the Chinese sage One Cloud,
Who incorporated it as the first step of his Seven Step Tao Inner Alchemy formula.
The purpose of this meditation is to free up our physical and energy bodies by the power of the smile.
Smiling is known to reduce stress,
To boost the immune system,
To lower the heart rate and to promote muscle relaxation.
When we smile,
Endorphins that act as natural painkillers and mood elevators are released into the bloodstream.
Smiling also stimulates the release of dopamine,
Which is associated with pleasure and reward.
It increases the serotonin levels that are involved with regulating sleep and appetite.
Smiling activates the mirror neurons in our brain.
The effect of mirror neurons is that whatever it is that the mirror neurons are producing,
The brain believes.
And so,
If we are smiling,
The mirror neurons inform the brain that we should be happy,
Because that is when we smile.
And so,
Even if you are unhappy,
By tapping into the power of the smile through the mirror neurons,
Your brain will become more happy.
Smiling conveys to the environment and to our own self a sense of relaxation,
A connection to love,
To forgiveness,
To acceptance and to happiness.
In this meditation,
I would like to invite you to enlist this power of smile to bring health to all of your being.
Begin by bringing your awareness to your breath.
Inhale deeply,
Filling your lungs.
And then exhale slowly,
Releasing any tension that you may have accumulated in your body.
Then allow your breath to become a natural and rhythmic flow.
Now bring your attention to your forehead,
And specifically to the eyebrows.
This is an area where we frown when we are angry,
The opposite of the smile.
And so,
Consciously relax the muscles of the forehead and eyebrows.
Let go of any frowning.
If you enjoy visualization,
You may imagine that there is a smiling sun in front of you,
Shining its golden rays into your forehead,
If it is day.
And if it is night,
You may imagine that there is a smiling moon shining its silvery rays into your forehead.
Allow these rays to bring happiness into your face.
Feel the effects of this happiness,
Lightness and relaxation expanding inside of your face.
Now bring the attention to your mouth.
Slightly,
Very gently,
Almost imperceptibly,
Pull the corners of your mouth upwards into a small smile.
A delicate smile.
As if you have a secret or private joke that you want to keep secret.
Just the smallest delicate movement.
Feel the effects of this small smile on your being.
Next,
Bring the attention to the corners of your eyes.
Allow small wrinkles to form in the corners of your eyes.
These wrinkles are part of what happens to our face when we have a real smile,
And helps to activate the mirror neurons.
Sense the positive energy flowing into your eyes,
Promoting clarity and insight.
Feel both the eyes and your mouth in their small,
Almost imperceptible smile.
And feel the warmth and kindness of this smile as it spreads to your entire face.
Allow any tension in your jaw and facial muscles to dissolve,
Promoting relaxation.
Bring your awareness now to your heart center.
Envision a bright and loving smile directed towards your heart.
Feel the warmth and compassion radiating from this smile,
Nurturing your emotional well-being.
Dissolving any hatred and connecting with the energy of love,
Gratitude,
And compassion within your heart.
Going deeper,
Imagine that the heart itself smiles.
As if the tissue of the heart can make a kind of smile.
Feel your heart smiling with joy,
Spreading love and compassion throughout your being.
Next,
Bring your awareness to your lungs.
Visualize a gentle smile embracing your lungs with each breath.
Sense the fresh and revitalizing energy entering your lungs,
Promoting clarity and vitality,
Dispelling grief and depression,
And converting them to joy and courage.
Going deeper,
Imagine that your lungs themselves could smile.
Feel your lungs happy,
Spreading joy and courage throughout your entire being.
Shift your attention now to your liver.
Send a warm and healing smile to this vital organ.
Feel any accumulated tension releasing as the healing energy of your smile nurtures your liver that is located underneath the right part of your ribcage,
Transforming the anger and resentment that the liver may store to forgiveness and acceptance.
Going deeper again,
Imagine that the liver itself can smile and is smiling back to you and to the rest of the body,
Promoting its energies of forgiveness and acceptance in the rest of the body.
Bring your attention now to the stomach,
Simply at the other side of your abdomen.
Smile to your stomach,
Your spleen,
And your pancreas.
Feel the happiness of the smile,
Dissolve worry and anxiety,
And convert them into faith and fairness.
Going deeper,
Imagine that the stomach,
Spleen,
And pancreas themselves can smile,
Irradiating faith and fairness throughout your entire abdomen and body.
Next,
Continue by smiling to your kidneys that are located on both sides of the spine,
Very close to your back,
At around the level of the navel,
A bit higher up.
Feel the soothing smile enveloping these organs.
Feel the nurturing energy as it supports the health and balance of your kidneys,
Converting stress into security,
A deep calmness,
And stability.
Going deeper,
Imagine that the kidneys themselves are able to smile,
Irradiating this calmness into the rest of the body.
Bring now your attention back to your heart and your face.
Feel the smile inside of your heart.
Feel your heart smiling itself,
And feel the connection between this smile of your heart,
The smile in your lips,
The smile in your eyes,
And the smile in your forehead.
As you conclude the inner smile meditation,
Take a few moments to appreciate the positive energy you've cultivated within.
Slowly bring your awareness back to the present moment.
Gently,
Slowly open your eyes and carry this inner smile with you throughout the day,
Sharing in this joy and happiness all those you meet along the way.
