Tara Brach - Meditation: Entering Heartspace with the "Smile-Down" (18:40 min.)

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

The practice of visualizing and feeling a smile spreading through the body helps us access the natural tenderness and openness of our being. This meditation guides us in the smile-down, and then invites a full opening and resting in openhearted presence. We close by bringing that awake heart to an area of difficulty in our life.   The post: Meditation: Entering Heartspace with the "Smile-Down" (18:40 min.) appeared first on Tara Brach.  

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. In the stillness and silence, you might envision a great open blue sky, boundless, edgeless sky. And imagine the curve of a smile spreading through that sky, luminous, receptive, benevolent. So you feel the atmosphere of that open sky filled with a smile,

letting the mind merge with that sky, open awareness, illuminated with the receptivity of a smile. Since floating in that open space, the eyes soft, letting the curve of a smile lift the outer corners, of the eyes and the sensations in the brow smoothing. The eyes are smiling in that open field of awareness. In the mouth too, the lips in a slight smile, the inside of the mouth smiling,

helping to bring a whole sense of kindness and gentleness spreading through the body. You might feel the sensations of the face the cheeks, the lips, gums and teeth, relaxed, receptive. I might imagine and sense the throat filling the neck and a curve of a smile spreading through the neck, the throat area, softening, opening. So you're both visualizing the smile and feeling it. Notice what happens to the sensations in the throat. When you really imagine and feel a smile there, the eyes are smiling, mouth, the throat,

and visualizing and feeling a smile spread through the chest, through the heart. And as you smile into the heart, what are the sensations and feelings that you feel? Can you notice how smile spread should? the heart and create space to feel fully what's there, the eyes still soft, smiling, the lips and a slight smile, the throat, visualizing and sensing that curve of a smile and the heart, a smile spreading through the whole heart region and sensing the atmosphere of a smile, that receptivity, that openness. Feeling the midsection now, letting a smile spread through the navel area, the belly. So again, visualizing and sensing the felt experience

of a smile, filling the belly. And notice what sensations and feelings arise with that. You might soften the belly so the breath can be felt deep in the torso. The eyes are smiling and the mouth, throat and the heart, smile, spread through the belly. And as you scan down and sense the pelvic region again visualizing, feeling the curve of a smile spreading through that area, receptive to the aliveness that's there. You might sense the smile as a bowl curve that you're sitting on, connecting you, contacting with the earth. So the earth energy can pour up through that bowl or that smile and the base of the spine and just spread through your body receptive to the whole wash of earth energy.

The whole body filled with the atmosphere of aliveness and the gentleness of a smile, widening the attention and including sounds and sensing how sound and sensation and feeling can all live through you, sensing the whole field of awareness filled with that smile, receptive to all life, the source of all life, receiving all life. Resting in this open heart space, filled with the light of awareness, suffused with the tenderness of a smile. I'm just noticing the moment-to-moment experience. from this empty, open-away cart space, noticing the waves that come and go of thoughts and sounds,

sensations and feelings. If you find you get distracted, you can reopen and re-relax with the imagery of a smile again. Softening the eyes, smiling into the eyes. slight smile in the mouth and a smile spreading through the heart. No matter how often the mind gets lost in thought, you can always come back home into presence. Just simply noticing, okay, thinking, thinking, sensing the ways of thought and then relaxing open into that oceaness, that spaciousness, that space.

presence that's noticing what's happening, reconnecting with the warmth of the heart, with the sense of a smile, noticing how whatever waves arise can be included in this heart space. If something's difficult, just intentionally relating to it with kindness, relating to the physical sense of pain, emotional fear, whatever arises with kindness, with the tenderness of that smile. You might even send a message, this too, or this belongs, this wave belongs in the ocean, letting be with compassion, what's here. Softening the eyes, feeling a smile spreading through the eyes,

Slight smile at the mouth, visualizing, sensing the felt experience of a smile spreading through the heart, relaxing back into that heart space that can include with kindness whatever's here. And as a way of closing, you might sense if there's any part of your life right now that feels difficult. And let it be held in this heart space. sense how your own awake heart can very gently, very tenderly bring a real quality of gentleness, comfort and ease to what's difficult. There's a message to your smaller self from this open heart space.

Just listen, sense what might want to be communicated, what message might your awake heart want to offer. to the fear or the hurt or the sorrow. Sensing how this heart space is really edgeless, boundless, includes all of us. Closing, offer whatever prayer or blessing most resonates to the world that you hold in your heart. And as you're ready, take a few full breaths and sense the possibility as you end the formal meditation, of opening your eyes and bringing this sense of heart space with you into whatever's next. Namaste and thank you.