What Happens In Your Brain When You Smile From the Heart?

In honor of Thanksgiving, let's learn a little bit about the neurochemistry of smiling from the heart.

Eastern thought and Western science aren’t really as far apart as we think. In fact, there’s a certain beauty with the exacting nature of Western medicine and science in that it confirms what we’ve known in Qigong theory and Chinese medicine all along. Take smiling from the heart for example. In any course with me or every other Shaolin Wahnam instructor, you’ll hear the instruction to do just this as you enter into a Qigong state. Doubtless you’ve noticed that smiling from the heart helps you better relax, let go of your thoughts, and plug into the connection to the Cosmos that makes Qigong so effective. But what’s happening inside of your brain as you follow this simple instruction? In honor of the season of gratitude and joy, let’s cross the street to the intersection of energetics and neuroscience to find out.

A smile is such a wonderful thing. More than just being associated with all things feel-good, some amazing stuff happens in our brains when the corners of our mouth turn up. A smile releases neuropeptides that helps the brain fight off stress. Neuropeptides are chemicals that allow neurons to communicate with each other. They tell the body when we’re happy, sad, angry, excited, or calm and neutral. Unlike their fast-acting siblings the neurotransmitter, neuropeptides have a slower and more prolonged action on the body, which also means a smile can alter your mood for the better, and all the positive effects that come with that, long after your cheeks get sore.

Of course, smiling has a significant impact on neurotransmitters as well. Turning your frown upside down releases dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, all of our favorite feel-good chemicals. This means cortisol and adrenaline decrease throughout the body, which also means by extension our blood pressure and heart rate go down. Couple this with the DNA-changing abilities of Qigong and you have a powerful recipe for health, vitality, AND a bitchin’ holiday turkey.

Beyond just making us feel happy, Dopamine in particular is associated with learning and decision-making. Thus, it’s no surprise that those who pursue the Shaolin arts tend to be scholars in their own right. When we discuss how our practice gives us mental clarity, this is one of its facets: making better decisions that enhance our lives as well as better intellectual performance in general.

In addition to benefitting us, when we smile, we can benefit everybody around us. Remember those mirror neurons I talked about when I talked about how group practice is so good for us? Those same neurons can spark a smile in your neighbor, giving them access to all the same good stuff we get when we smile. Rinse and repeat down the chain of neighbors and soon you get a room full of people who are all on their way to better physical and emotional health, all thanks to smiling from the heart.

But let’s say you find the whole smiling from the heart thing ridiculous and smacking of new age huckster-ism. Fine. Even faking a smile gives you some of the benefits I’ve mentioned above. Granted in this case the effect is less, but if you’re still showing up to your practice every day and doing it anyway, it IS helping you, whether you like doing it or not, so keep it up.

In a day in age where there are enough legitimate reasons to pull your hair out with frustration, smiling from the heart remains the age-old arrow in our quiver to protect our joy and happiness. So go ahead. Smile from the heart. Don’t ask how. Just do it.