Moreover, the smile is contagious: even if we woke up on the wrong side of the bed, all it takes is a stranger smiling at us in the street, and suddenly the urge to be happy comes back roaring. The genuine smile possesses fabulous powers: spread it around freely… without forgetting yourself in the process.
The Heart’s Smile: The Taoist Masters’ Method
In ancient times, Taoist masters taught that the inner smile—the smile toward oneself—brings inner harmony… that it is a source of both health and happiness.
You doubt it? Try it! Here is this ancient and beautiful practice as Mantak Chia has transmitted it to us(1). Born in 1944 in Thailand, to Chinese parents, he is one of those who are passionate about transmitting the treasures of Taoist wisdom, a tradition that goes back several millennia.
How to Bring a Smile into Your Life?
Settle in comfortably, seated, with your eyes closed, and relax. Feel your eyes emit a radiant, bright smile. With this simple relaxation, you can already calm your entire nervous system.
Invite this smile inward, let it come and radiate. When you sense that it is there, imagine that it pours down in a shower from your eyes, and guide it down into your vital organs.
Spread this smile across your face, and let it enter your jaws. Many tensions accumulate in the jaw area, and once the smile has spread there, you will feel those tensions release. Pour it into the palate, all inside the mouth, not forgetting the tongue, then onto the neck and into the throat.
The neck, crisscrossed with numerous nerves and vital blood vessels, links the brain and the body. It is also a major reservoir of tensions. So relax its muscles and let the smile circulate.
Then direct your smile toward the heart. Feel its energy pouring into your entire circulatory system. By spreading this smile in your heart, and filling it with love, you promote a healthy blood circulation.
From the heart, now let this smile reach your lungs: feel them relax and breathe with the greatest ease.
Then direct it toward the abdomen, first on the right side of the body, then toward the kidneys, on both sides of the spine. Let it spread through the entire abdomen, passing by the spleen and pancreas, and finally bring it to the navel. Appreciate the sense of calm in the meantime!
Return to your eyes and, as at the beginning, feel them radiate a superb smile.
Broadcast the Smile Throughout the Body
You are now going to “send” this smile to the core of the body. How? It’s simple: accumulate saliva in your mouth, and swallow it, feeling your smile accompany it: esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum. With a bit of practice, you’ll notice your digestion becomes easier.
Return once again to your eyes, feel your inner smile.
Guide it this time to the back of the body: the spine, each vertebra, the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions, then the sacrum and coccyx. You may very well feel warmth and a sense of well-being. Finally, bring the smile back to the navel, to the center of the body.
The Taoist Smile Practice: A Few Minutes a Day
This powerful practice takes only a few minutes and its benefits are immense. It is said to improve blood circulation, it also affects digestive functions, helps with tensions, nervousness, fears, and anxiety.
If you want to maintain and strengthen your health, develop your ability to stay calm and joyful—and even your radiance—you know what you have left to do!
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Article updated October 2026
- “Vital Energy and Self-Healing,” by Mantak Chia, Dangles editions.
