The Inner Smile: A Taoist Meditation for Your Organs and Every Cell

The inner smile is a gentle Taoist meditation in which you smile, not outwardly to the world, but inwardly to your own body. You begin by feeling a real smile in your eyes and face, then let that warm, loving energy flow down into each of your organs, thanking them one by one. Finally, you let the smile spread into every cell of your body, until you are glowing from the inside out. It sounds simple, and it is. Yet many people find it one of the most healing practices they have ever tried, because most of us have never once said thank you to the heart that beats for us every second.

A smile is energy. When you send it inward, you change the way you live in your own body.

Where the inner smile comes from

The inner smile comes from Taoist internal alchemy, the ancient Chinese practices for cultivating chi, life energy. Taoist sages taught that a genuine smile sends healing energy, and that the organs respond to love just as people do. The practice was brought to the West in the late twentieth century, especially by Taoist teacher Mantak Chia, and it is often taught as the first step in Taoist meditation and qigong.

The organs, emotions and virtues

In Taoist and Chinese medicine theory, each major organ is linked with an element, a color, an emotion it can hold when stressed, and a virtue it radiates when loved. The inner smile gently invites each organ to release the heavy emotion and shine its virtue.

• Heart (fire, red): may hold impatience or hastiness; shines love, joy and respect.
• Lungs (metal, white): may hold grief and sadness; shine courage and righteousness.
• Liver (wood, green): may hold anger and frustration; shines kindness and generosity.
• Spleen and stomach (earth, yellow): may hold worry and overthinking; shine openness, fairness and trust.
• Kidneys (water, blue): may hold fear; shine gentleness and calm.

These links are spiritual and traditional, not medical. They are a beautiful language for speaking kindly to yourself.

The inner smile practice

Find a quiet place. Sit with your spine tall, feet flat on the floor, hands resting in your lap. Allow 10 to 20 minutes.

Part one: the smile begins

1. Close your eyes. Breathe naturally.
2. Think of something that makes you smile for real: a child laughing, a pet, a beautiful place, someone who loves you.
3. Feel the smile in your eyes first. Let them soften and warm.
4. Let the smile spread to your cheeks, jaw and lips. Relax your tongue.

Part two: smiling to the organs

1. Heart: Let the smile flow down into your chest. Picture your heart glowing red. Silently say, "Thank you for beating for me every moment. I love you." Feel any impatience melt into joy.
2. Lungs: Smile into both lungs. See them glowing white. "Thank you for every breath." Let sadness soften into courage.
3. Liver: Smile to the right side under your ribs. See it glowing green. "Thank you for cleansing me." Let anger melt into kindness.
4. Spleen and stomach: Smile to the left side under your ribs and the belly. See soft yellow light. "Thank you for nourishing me." Let worry become trust.
5. Kidneys: Smile to your lower back on both sides. See deep blue light. "Thank you for keeping me balanced." Let fear melt into calm.

Part three: smiling into every cell

1. Return to the smile in your eyes. Let it grow brighter.
2. Now let it pour down like warm golden honey through your whole body: down the spine, through your bones, muscles, skin, blood and nerves.
3. Imagine each tiny cell receiving the smile, lighting up like a little star. Trillions of cells, each one glowing with gratitude.
4. Rest in the feeling of being completely smiled upon, inside and out.
5. To finish, gather the warm energy in your belly, just below the navel, by resting your hands there for a few breaths. Then open your eyes.

Why this matters

Many people live at war with their bodies: criticizing, pushing, ignoring. The inner smile turns that around. Over time, people who practice it describe feeling more at home in their bodies, kinder toward themselves, and more aware of where they hold tension. It also pairs beautifully with the heart torus teaching, because appreciation is the very feeling that opens the heart field.

Small ways to smile inward through the day

• Smile to your heart when you wake up
• Smile to your stomach before you eat
• Smile to your lungs when you step outside
• Smile to any part of your body that hurts, instead of frowning at it
• Smile to your whole body before sleep

To listen more deeply to what your body is saying, read The Secret Language of Your Body, and for a gentle head-to-toe practice, try Body Scan for Busy Souls.

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Companion readings chosen for this same theme.

The Heart's Torus Field: How Your Heart Energy Grows From Fear to LoveThe Secret Language of Your Body: What Tension May Be Telling YouBody Scan for Busy Souls

With love and light,
Infused Lights