Healing Tao Meditation

Inner Smile Meditation

This basic meditation is one way of transforming stressful energies in the body. The Inner smile meditation has been used for thousands of years and is great way to cultivate our own healing energies. The inner smile is also a very good way to move negative energies and get back in touch with our inner selves.

It is best to start doing twenty minutes a day. Then you can gradually shorten once you feel the effects.

A smile is very powerful thing, it activates the parasympathetic nervous system relaxation response, producing physiological change. This in turn effects our nervous system, digestive system, respiratory and circulatory system. If we feel angry we can send the smile to the liver, if we feel grief we can send it to the lungs, if we feel fear we can send to the Kidneys for example. Where ever we feel stress and tension in the body we can send a smile to that area. The inner smile helps us feel a sense of self-respect and gratitude for our bodies.

The steps are basic as follows:

1. Sit comfortably near the edge of your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Keep your back straight but relaxed. Stay relaxed and clasp your palms together left palm on top right palm on the bottom.

2. Close your eyes and become aware of the soles of your feet. Feel the connection to the ground and the energy of the earth.

3. Become aware of yourself sitting on the chair with hands together and the tongue pressed against the palate. Create a source of smiling, this can be an image of your own smiling face or someone’s you love and respect. Hold the image in your mind and send the smile where you feel you need it most.

The inner smile is an ancient Daoist meditation used to cultivate healing and self-esteem within ourselves.

Notes 1. Chia, Mantak 1993 Awaken Healing light of the Tao. Universal Tao Publications.