Learn why uncertainty fuels anxiety and how noticing our body’s stress signals can help us find calm.

Summary: One in five adults in the U.S. report living with anxiety, and many of us struggle to control or avoid the feelings that come with it. Science shows that tuning into the body, rather than resisting discomfort, can actually reduce anxiety and strengthen resilience. Join us on The Science of Happiness as we explore what anxiety teaches us about control, uncertainty, and how to care for ourselves with more compassion.

How To Do This Practice:

1. Create a quiet moment for yourself: Find a space where you won’t be interrupted—even just for 30 seconds. Close the door, silence your phone, and step away from distractions.
2. Take a deep breath in: Begin with one slow, steady inhale. On the exhale, let your body soften. Keep your breathing gentle, not forced.
3. Do a quick scan: Where are you holding stress? Maybe in your chest, shoulders, or jaw. Simply notice the tightness or pressure without trying to change it.
4. Breathe into those sensations: With each inhale, imagine sending your breath to the place where stress lives in your body. With each exhale, release a little of that tension—like letting it flow out.
5. Name what’s on your mind: Ask yourself: What am I feeling? Am I anxious about the past, worried about the future, or caught up in uncertainty? You don’t need to solve or fix anything—just acknowledge it.
6. Let it go, even briefly: Tell yourself, I don’t have to fix this right now. Allow the stress to soften as you exhale. Even 20–30 seconds can bring a sense of calm and clarity.

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Today’s Guests:

JENNY LITTLE is a Health and Fitness Director at the East Bay YMCA.
Add Jenny Little on LinkedIn here: https://tinyurl.com/56vkmhrx

DR. ELISSA EPEL is a psychologist and professor at UCSF. Her research shows how chronic stress and anxiety affect our bodies at the cellular level.
Learn more about Dr. Elissa Epel here: https://www.elissaepel.com/

Related The Science of Happiness episodes:

How Holding Yourself Can Reduce Stress: https://tinyurl.com/2hvhkwe6
Hot to Tap Your Way to Calm and Clarity: https://tinyurl.com/psmskjyp
How To Tune Out The Noise: https://tinyurl.com/4hhekjuh

Related Happiness Breaks:

Make Uncertainty Part of the Process: https://tinyurl.com/234u5ds7
A Meditation for When You Feel Uneasy: https://tinyurl.com/4x27ut3p
A Meditation For When You Have Too Much To Do: https://tinyurl.com/5dvk3d7m

Tell us about your experience with this practice. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or follow on Instagram @HappinessPod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/mskvfmv4

When was the last time you thought about your ancestors? This guided meditation by Indigenous scholar Yuria Celidwen will help you connect to your heritage and reap the potent benefits of remembering your roots.

How To Do This Practice:

1. Arrive and Center: Find a comfortable position. Close your eyes if you’d like. Place your attention at the center of your chest. Notice how your chest expands as you inhale, pauses, and gently releases as you exhale. Rest in that pause between breaths.
2. Open the Heart Space: Imagine your chest softening and opening. With each breath, sense a feeling of spaciousness there. Let this space become an anchor to return to.
3. Invite Your Lineage: In that pause of breath, bring awareness to your ancestors. Elders of the past, present, and those yet to come. Acknowledge the richness and complexity of your lineage.
4. Remember Origin Stories: Call to mind the stories of your elders and their elders before them. Picture their journeys, the lands they once touched, and the lives they carried forward. Imagine their footsteps across the earth, leading to where you stand today.
5. Connect Land and Heart: Visualize the lands your ancestors belonged to. The soils, waters, and skies that sustained them. Bring those lands into the center of your chest, merging them with your breath, your heart, and your pause. Feel the connection ripple from them to you, and from you back to them.
6. Rest in Home and Belonging: Let the word home echo silently in your heart. With each breath, feel this home expand outward—into belonging, togetherness, and care for all living beings and for the Earth itself. Rest in that pulse of vastness and possibility.

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Today’s Happiness Break Guide:

DR. YURIA CELIDWEN is an indigenous scholar of contemplative studies, and author of the book, Flourishing Kin: Indigenous Foundations For Collective Well-Being.

Learn more about Dr. Celidwen: https://www.yuriacelidwen.com/

Related Happiness Break episodes:

Where Did You Come From: https://tinyurl.com/2y9uyjj6

How To Tune Into Water’s Restorative Power: https://tinyurl.com/2k6ybzrs

How To Ground Yourself in Nature: https://tinyurl.com/25ftdxpm

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

Are You Following Your Inner Compass: https://tinyurl.com/y2bh8vvj

How Water Heals: https://tinyurl.com/utuhrnh3

Follow us on Instagram: @ScienceOfHappinessPod

We’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/ycy9xazc

Even just a few minutes of dancing can shift energy, release emotions, and remind us to care for ourselves while we care for others.

Summary: Dance isn’t just fun—it’s scientifically shown to make us happier, ease stress, and strengthen social bonds. From swaying in the kitchen to joining a community class, movement helps us regulate our nervous systems and reconnect with joy. In this episode of The Science of Happiness, we explore what the science says about how dancing supports well-being for parents, caregivers, and families.

How To Do This Practice:

1. Pick a Song You Love: Choose music that makes you want to move. Even if it’s just a little sway. It could be something upbeat or a song from your childhood that feels comforting.
2. Start Small: Give yourself permission to move for just five minutes. No pressure to “work out”—the goal is to shift your energy and lift your mood.
3. Follow Your Body: Sway, step, shake, or spin. There’s no right or wrong way. Let your body lead instead of worrying about looking a certain way.
4. Play with Pausing: Try stopping mid-song for a “freeze” moment, then move again. Pausing helps build awareness, self-control, and a sense of play.
5. Invite Connection: If you have kids, family, or friends around, pull them into the movement. Science shows that dancing together strengthens bonds and amplifies joy.
6. Release and Reset: Notice how you feel after moving— lighter, calmer, maybe more grounded. Let dance be a way to release tension and return to your day with more energy.

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Today’s Guests:

MAGDALENE MARTINEZ is a licensed clinical social worker who works with children, teens and adults.

Learn more about Magdalene here: https://www.oceandustwellness.com/

DR. ÖZGE UGURLU is a behavioral scientist in the social interaction lab at UC Berkeley. Her research centers on emotions, self-control, and child development.

Add Dr. Ugurlu on Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ozge-ugurlu

Related The Science of Happiness episodes:

Caring for Caregivers Series: https://tinyurl.com/4k2hv47j

Our Caring for Caregivers series is supported by the Van Leer Foundation, an independent Dutch organization working globally to foster inclusive societies where all children and communities can flourish.

To discover more insights from Van Leer Foundation and others on this topic, visit Early Childhood Matters, the leading platform for advancing topics on early childhood development and connecting diverse voices and ideas across disciplines that support the wellbeing of babies, toddlers and caregivers around the globe.

Tell us about your experience with this practice. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or follow on Instagram @HappinessPod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/2ma3f4k7