How Smiling Supports Your Nervous System (and Why That Matters for Pelvic Floor Health)

Smiling can help relax your nervous system, pelvic floor and make you feel better

When we talk about pelvic floor health, most people think about muscles.

Strengthening. Relaxing. Activating. Stretching.

But the pelvic floor doesn’t exist in isolation. It responds to the state of your nervous system all day long , 24 hours a day, moment by moment.

And one of the most overlooked influences on that system?

Your face.

Smiling won’t fix your pelvic floor.
But it can change the conditions your pelvic floor is working under , and that alone can make a real difference.

The Nervous System’s Job: Protection First, Movement Second

Your nervous system is constantly scanning for safety or threat.

If it perceives stress be that, physical, emotional, or environmental then it prioritises protection, which means for you and your body that:

• muscles tighten

• breath becomes shallow

• awareness narrows

• release becomes harder

This is especially relevant for people experiencing:

• pelvic floor overactivity

• prolapse symptoms that worsen with stress

• difficulty relaxing during breathwork

• jaw, neck, or rib cage tension alongside pelvic symptoms

The pelvic floor often tightens not because it’s weak, but because the system doesn’t feel safe enough to let go.

The Facial Feedback Hypothesis: Why Your Smile Matters

The facial feedback hypothesis suggests that facial expressions don’t just reflect emotions, they actually help to create them.

Research shows that even a deliberate or “forced” smile can:

• activate emotional centres in the brain

• reduce perceived stress

• influence autonomic nervous system activity

Smiling has been shown to stimulate the release of:

• Endorphins (pain modulation)

• Dopamine (motivation and reward)

• Serotonin (mood regulation and calm)

From a nervous system perspective, this acts as a bottom-up regulation strategy it is the body sending safety signals to the brain.

Read more about how hormones effect the body here

Why This Is Relevant for the Pelvic Floor

The jaw, diaphragm, and pelvic floor are all part of an integrated pressure and tension system.

When stress is high, common patterns include:

• jaw clenching

• upper chest breathing

• rib cage rigidity

• pelvic floor gripping

If you try to “relax” or “strengthen” the pelvic floor without addressing the nervous system state, progress can stall.

A gentle smile can act as a low-threat cue that helps shift the system out of protection and into regulation.

This isn’t about positive thinking.
It’s about physiology.

Smiling as a Somatic Cue, Not as a Performance

This isn’t about walking around grinning or pretending everything is fine. Because that would be enforced and also things aren’t fine all of the time.

It’s about offering the nervous system a subtle message when you find the time to make space for yourself and are grounding into your own body that:
“You’re safe enough to soften.”

When paired with:

• breath-work

• stretching

• Hypopressives

• yoga or somatic movement

a gentle smile can:

• reduce unnecessary muscle tone

• improve body awareness (interoception)

• increase tolerance during challenging positions

• support pelvic floor down-regulation

Many people notice changes first in:

• the jaw

• the throat

• the ribs

• and only then the pelvis

Which makes sense as the nervous system works top-down and bottom-up.

Facial Awareness and Whole-Body Regulation

Facial exercises and awareness practices are increasingly used in:

• trauma-informed movement

• neurological rehabilitation

• somatic therapies

Simple practices like:

• soft smiling

• widening the corners of the mouth

• puffing the cheeks

• relaxing the tongue away from the roof of the mouth

can improve interoception, that is your ability to sense and respond to internal signals.

Better awareness leads to better regulation. Better regulation supports pelvic floor function.

Try This: Smile + Stretch Nervous System Reset

Use this during any stretch or breath-work practice.

1. Inhale slowly through the nose

2. On the exhale, soften your jaw and tongue

3. Let your lips curve into a gentle, relaxed smile

4. Hold for 10–15 seconds

5. Notice your breath, ribs, and pelvic floor

Optional addition:

• Gently puff your cheeks for 5 seconds

• Release

• Return to the soft smile

This isn’t about achieving a deeper stretch. It’s about changing the state of your system.

Key Takeaway for Pelvic Floor Health

Smiling won’t stretch muscles.

But it can:

• calm the nervous system

• reduce protective holding

• create conditions where release and coordination become possible

For many people with pelvic floor symptoms, this is the missing link.

Your body isn’t resisting you. It’s protecting you.

And sometimes, the safest signal you can offer… is a softer one.

REFERENCES

Facial feedback & emotion

Strack, F., Martin, L. L., & Stepper, S. (1988). Inhibiting and facilitating conditions of the human smile. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(5), 768–777.

Niedenthal, P. M. (2007). Embodying emotion. Science, 316(5827), 1002–1005.

Stress, nervous system & muscle tone

Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. Norton.

Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2000). A model of neurovisceral integration. Biological Psychology, 74(2), 95–113.

Interoception & somatic awareness

Mehling, W. E., et al. (2011). Body awareness: A phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind–body therapies. Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine, 6(1).