R in the PERFECT Qigong system stands for Really Smiling from the Heart. It is the answer to the question left open in the previous step: how do you relax spiritually? Smiling from the Heart is how.
What Smiling from the Heart Means
In qigong, the Heart — known as the Emperor — is the supreme controller of the body’s functions. Smiling from the Heart is not a surface expression. It is a genuine inner warmth, generated from the heart outward, that permeates the whole body and deepens the Qigong State of Mind established in the previous step.
When practiced well, it produces a distinct physical sensation — a feeling of expanding warmth that seems to extend beyond the boundaries of the body. It is the best method available for achieving spiritual relaxation, and it takes the QSoM to a deeper dimension.
How to Approach It
Smiling from the Heart is deceptively simple — which is precisely why many practitioners find it difficult at first. Some useful entry points:
- Think of someone you love and let that feeling arise naturally
- Imagine a beautiful flower blooming within you
- Put a genuine smile on your face and let it soften inward
These are starting points, not the destination. The real skill develops through practice — and it is a skill that can and should be used outside of formal qigong sessions. The more consistently it is practiced throughout the day, the more naturally and powerfully it arrives during practice.
For a deeper look at the science behind why smiling affects wellbeing — and what that means for this practice — see Smiling from the Heart: A Qigong Practice with Surprising Scientific Support.
Continue to the Next Step
Next: F — Form
Previous: E — Enter a QSoM
Back to: The PERFECT Qigong System
