Hello wise friend,
I love the idea that smiling is used as a healing and meditation practice by many ancient cultures. Taoists believe that holding a smile on your face and directing it inwards towards your organs and inner body, is the key to good health and longevity.
Traditional Balinese healers know that a smile washes away bad energy and recommend smiling meditation as a simple way to calm the mind and bring health to the soul. The inspirational Thich Nhat Hanh has always encouraged us to smile as part of our daily practice for a more peaceful world, and as an essential ingredient in any walking meditation.
Send Your Smile Inwards:
I was first introduced to the Taoist exercise called the “inner smile” about 15 years ago. I was studying with an awesome qi gong and Taoist instructor who had spent many years living in China.
Each week we were guided to smile on our face, really feel the smiling energy and then imagine ( in our minds eye ) sending the smiling energy into each of our organs. Slowly and deliberately breathing the smiling energy fully into each organ. We spent at least 5 minutes allowing each organ to receive the smiling energy before moving onto the next. It was calming and an easy way to feel relaxed on the inside. You’d be surprised how tense and tight organs can get.
Now, this might sound super easy, however some weeks – to my surprise – some organs simply refused to receive a smiling breath. The stubborn organ ( with attitude ) generally was tight, hard and tense. It obviously needed relaxing along with a little bit of attention and love. To achieve success, I would place my hands on the organ (for a stronger connection) continue to breathe and smile into the stubborn body part; until it finally softened and received the well-being benefits of the smiling energy.
I must say this simple little exercise taught me alot about my organs as I became more and more intimate with them as each week passed. If the organ being stubborn was the kidney then I made sure I drank more water and used the smiling energy to dissolve any trapped fear in my kidneys. If the organ being stubborn was the liver I ate clean simple food – giving the liver a rest and focused on using the smiling energy to dissolve any trapped anger in my liver.
A few extra yoga twists were also useful in giving the organs a gentle detox and bringing fresh blood flow.
Smile into your organs and dissolve negative emotions:
In case you don’t know Chinese medicine believes there is a connection between your organs and emotions. By simply giving your organs mindful attention and filling them with more healthy energy such as smiling and breathing (more oxygen and blood flow), you are in effect shifting emotional garbage trapped in your organs. I can honestly say it does work.
Following is a simple explanation as to the emotions linked to your main organs.
1: Smile into your liver and dissolve anger:
Smiling into your liver can not only help dissolve anger and resentment but greatly assist with the decision making process. Allow yourself to forgive, accept and feel kindness.
2: Smile into your kidneys and dissolve fear:
Feel safe, secure and protected in life again. Breathe a smile into your kidneys, feel them soften on the inhalation and release fear and stress on the exhalation.
3: Smile into your lungs and dissolve sadness or depression:
Fill your lungs on the inhale and totally empty them on the exhale. Allow fresh new air to fill your lungs as you inhale the smiling energy. Feel them relax and release any feelings of sadness and depression.
4: Smile into your stomach and dissolve anxiety:
The stomach can often be a place where we hold lots of worry. Smiling into your stomach can greatly help bring you into the present moment releasing worry and anxiety about the past and future. Continue breathing the smiling energy into your stomach until it feels totally relaxed. A relaxed stomach means improved digestion and a calmer you.
5: Smile into your heart and dissolve hate and impatience:
Smiling into your heart can help shift cruelty, hurt, hate and impatience. Feel your heart fill with joy, kindness and compassion with each breath cycle.
6: Smile into any body part:
Of course you can enjoy a quick 5 minute smiling break by breathing into any part of your body that is overworked, fatigued or stressed. Smile into your eyes if they are tired. Smile into your jaw if you are clenching your teeth. Smile into your shoulders if they are hunched and tight. Smile into your feet if they are tired. A smile encourages you to soften, release and improve energy flow.
Book recommendation for the Inner Smile Technique:
If you really want to improve the health of your organs you can add colour and sound to deepen the practice.
Cosmic Inner Smile – Smiling Heals the Body by Mantak Chia
Taoist Ways to Transform Stress into Vitality: The Inner Smile * Six Healing Sounds by Mantak Chia
The Inner Smile: Increasing Chi through the Cultivation of Joy by Mantak Chia
I have a few of Mantak Chia’s books and I can personally recommend them.
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~ Carole Bourne ~
Writer. Ritual Keeper. Slow Rest Alchemist.
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Smiling goes a long way with how you can improve your mood and how others perceive and react to you.
Couldn’t agree more. Thanks for visiting and hope to see you again soon.
Blessings
Carole
Hello and thank you. I have many health issues and people ask me how I am always so happy. I believe that I feel better when I am happy and smiling and that feeling bad and angry makes me feel worse.
Good post.
Did you know that when one person smile it gives work out for most of the muscles of the face, while one frown only few muscles get worked on.Thus smile for your facial work out.
[…] Smile into your organs: […]
one should never attempt an unfelt smile…no smile is better than a broken one
That’s why the whole purpose of this exercise is to produce a genuine smile…
[…] Smile into your organs: […]
[…] * You might like to read Smile into your organs […]
And there is nothing bad about smiling. Everyone needs to smile to take off all the problems that they carry.
I always enjoy learning techniques and meditations like these. I’m excited to try smiling into my organs more intently over the coming weeks, in addition to my current tai chi / qigong / mindful breathing practices. Many thanks!
Thanks Dave, let me know how you go. Peace, love and chocolate, Carole
This is an interesting concept, Gotta try it. Thanks for the post
You give me a new concept of smile 🙂
There is a lot to be said for Taoist philosophy and meditations. Hundreds of years of wisdom.
just keep onnnnn smiling 🙂 great article
Mediation on a smile. What an excellent idea! Easy path to clear the mind from being distracted by random words. Just keep thinking … smile. 🙂
I just wanted to say that I have been a lot happier since I started Yoga. I also feel a lot better. Yoga to me is a form of mediation.
I can also recommend ShapeShifter Yoga
read about it at http://finest-review.com/shapeshifter-yoga-review/
I give it a 9/10 really
Smiling is a great yoga also. I like the concept of smiling from the inside
They say that beauty comes at no cost and a smile is the best thing to wear when feeling down or sad. I had read somewhere that when you smile with your heart, your eyes get crow’s feet. Also that people who are aged and have a lot of wrinkles around the jaw; they have been smiling a lot throughout their lives. So smile a lot and next time someone points out at your wrinkles and crow’s feet, just look them in the eye and pass on a BIG SMILE 🙂
Absolutely! Smiling raises our energy frequency! We can actually raise the frequency of any part of our body, mind or any part of our life by sending it loving smiling energy. Once the new frequency takes hold, the reality changes, problems simply don’t exist in the higher vibrations.:)
Would LOVE to join your Global Circle…please sign me up?
Thanks, and…
Abundant Blessings!
Donna
wonderful idea!! just tried smiling meditation and will try it to include as often as possible. the simplest techniques are the best and mostly underestimated unfortunatelly.
thank you for sharing
I once red a study about laughter therapy og laughter groups. It seems that the body does not know how to differ between a fake and a real laughter – it will still produce endorphins. I wonder if it’s not the same with smiles.. 🙂
Catrine, I absolutely believe that. xox
Never heard of this before but seems to be an amazing and unique concept, will definitely give it a try. I hope it works great as a day to day stress buster too.
I learned the Cosmic Inner Smile as a meditation practice from my Tai Chi teacher and it is really wonderful. Using the colors associated with each organ and breathing in the clear and beautiful color and breathing out the cloudy and bad color while enjoying the process is wonderful. I learned to sit in a chair with good posture (not rigid but straight) was the position that I learned. Thanks for your enlightened sharing and I’m about to start this up again.
Smile always help. Great