Have you ever been told you need to smile more? ….
If so, has that ever infuriated you….?
But perhaps there is something to it…
Maybe on a subconscious level, that well meaning person (hopefully!) knows at a deep level, that smiling is great for your health!
Science of the Smile
When we smile, the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and endorphins are released into our body. The release of these neurotransmitters combined, makes us feel better, happier, less anxious and stressed. A smile alerts the body into thinking that something good is happening to us!
The neuroscientist Dr Andrew Newberg says that “the mere act of smiling repetitively, helps to strengthen the brain’s neural ability to maintain a positive outlook on life.”
Book: How God Changes your Brain
Dr Andrew Newberg says that smiling stimulates brain circuits that enhance social interaction, empathy and mood. He says that smiling has such a powerful effect on the brain, that even if you just see a picture of a smiling face, you will involuntarily feel happier and more secure! Isn’t that amazing…. Below is a photo of me with my delicious birthday cake. I was very happy and smiley when presented with it! I hope you feel much happier looking at this photo! Haha
How do you feel looking at the photo below, of this lovely man!… Happy? Sad? Miserable?! Or maybe perplexed?!
Dr Newberg says that looking at frowning faces, stimulates feelings of anger, disgust and dislike! *
Smiling and Buddhism
In Buddhism, smiling has been integrated into some of its spiritual practices. The Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanah understood the power of the smile and taught the smiling meditation. This is where you incorporate smiling in whatever you are doing.
Thich Nhat Hanah would say “Make smiling an exercise. Just breathe in and smile, the tension will disappear and you will feel much better.”
So next time you are walking down the aisles of the supermarkets – SMILE, when you are on the escalators in the station – SMILE and when you are taking the bins out, don’t forget to SMILE!
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
Thich Nhat Hanah
The Inner Smile Meditation in Taoism
The power of smiling and its positive effect on the body is understood in Taoism. The Inner Smile Meditation is a tool that Taoists have been using for centuries. Taoism is “an ancient tradition of philosophy and religious belief. ” It’s deeply rooted in “Chinese customs and worldview.” Taoism teaches believers how to live in harmony with nature and the universe.
The Taoist Master Mantik Chia wrote “Taoist Sages say that when you smile, your organs release a honey-like secretion which nourishes the whole body. When you are angry, fearful or under stress, your organs produce a poisonous secretion which blocks up the energy channels.”
How to do the Inner Smile Meditation
In Paul Mckenna’s Book Change your Life in 7 Days, he describes how to do the Inner Smile Meditation, so I’ve taken this and adapted it slightly.
- Sit in any position comfortable to you. You can also lie down practising this meditation. As mentioned in my OM FOR ENLIGHTENMENT blog post, from the perspective of neuroscience, lying down doesn’t negatively affect your meditation.
- Allow a smile to “dance around your eyes” . To help you achieve this, you can put a slight smile on your face by raising the corners of your mouth. As if someone has told you a fun secret or joke!
- Take that smile energy in between the space of your eyebrows, (third eye some may say), and visualise the energy getting bigger. You can even smile into your brain.
- Now take this smiling energy and smile into any part of your body. You might want to start directing the energy to areas that feel tight or uncomfortable, until you release the tension.
- Take that smile energy and imagine smiling into all your internal organs. It doesn’t really matter if you don’t know the position of all your organs, the body would re direct the energy. You can add a light image to the smile energy, as it may be easier for you to imagine that.
- Take that smile and move it all around your body, from the top of your head to your toes.
- After you do the meditation, you should feel more energised, happier and feel more wellbeing in your body.
So as with yawning, (mentioned in my last post YAWN FOR YOUR BRAIN!) , it doesn’t matter if it’s a fake smile or a fake yawn, both these natural methods are so beneficial to your health. When you smile more, for no reason at all, you will naturally tune your brain to notice lots more things to smile about.
When we smile at others, not only do we feel better but the person receiving the smile, also feels happier and is likely to respond to you with more kindness and generosity. They will very likely smile back, adding to the positive chain reaction of feelings. Becoming a smiley person, “helps to raise your overall levels of happiness.”
So try it for a day first. Become a smiley person, and notice how much better you feel and how others respond to you with so much more positivity!
Smiling more will enhance your life.
Hopefully you will decide that you want to be a smiley person too!
Footnotes *
- How God Changes Your Brain – Dr Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman
- Change Your Life in 7 Days – Paul McKenna
- I Can Make you Happy – Paul McKenna
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Enhance your life 
When I grew up it was considered a social necessity to smile. Smiling and laughing were the norm. It raised spirits, cemented relationships creating warm and feelings of acceptance.
It’s good to learn about the scientific research that lies at the basis of a natural process.
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