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.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

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.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

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.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

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

Through breath, compassion, and kind words to yourself, this guided meditation helps you forgive yourself, let go, and move forward with love.

How To Do This Practice:

1. Get Comfortable: Sit upright but relaxed. Close your eyes or soften your gaze, and take a few slow, deep breaths. Inhale gently through your nose and slowly, twice as long, through your mouth.
2. Bring Something to Mind: Think of a mistake, harsh word, or regret you’re holding against yourself. Notice how it feels in your body, without judging it.
3. Acknowledge What Happened: Silently say to yourself: “I acknowledge that I made this mistake.” Take a breath.
4. Remember Your Humanity: Remind yourself: “I am human. Being human means I will sometimes fall short.”
5. Offer Forgiveness: Place a hand over your heart (or somewhere comforting) and repeat: “I forgive myself for this. May I learn from it and move forward.”
6. Close with Kindness: Breathe deeply. Once more, say: “I forgive myself. May I treat myself with kindness.”
7. Check In with Your Body Again: Notice if anything feels lighter or softer—maybe your breath, your shoulders, or your chest. Allow yourself to rest in that shift, however small.
8. Take one final deep breath: When you feel ready, gently open your eyes and return to your day.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Today’s Happiness Break Guide:

DACHER KELTNER is the host of The Science of Happiness podcast and is a co-instructor of the Greater Good Science Center’s popular online course of the same name. He’s also a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Related Happiness Break episodes:

A Meditation on Original Love: https://tinyurl.com/5u298cv4

Who Takes Care of You: https://tinyurl.com/5xmfkf73

A Note to Self on Forgiveness: https://tinyurl.com/y53tkn87

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

Nine Steps to Forgiveness: https://tinyurl.com/vb7kk5ky

How to Show Up For Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/56ktb9xc

This episode is part of "Putting the Science of Forgiveness into Practice," a multiyear project run by the Greater Good Science Center and supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF). Learn more about forgiveness on TWCF's Discover Forgiveness website.

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/yh2a5urt

Research shows that simple practices such as self-hugs, soothing touch, and hand-to-heart can calm the nervous system, supporting caregivers and the children in their care.

Summary: From parents to teachers, caregiving can be overwhelming and exhausting. This episode of The Science of Happiness dives into simple touch-based strategies that promote calm, reduce stress, and foster stronger connections. Researchers share how even brief moments of self-soothing or supportive touch can improve mental and physical health for caregivers and children.

How To Do This Practice:

1. Sit or stand comfortably and take a moment to notice your body. Soften your jaw and shoulders. If it feels safe, close your eyes or lower your gaze.
2. Place one hand on your belly, both hands over your heart, or give yourself a self-hug— whatever feels most comfortable and natural. Let the weight of your hands feel steady and supportive.
3. Take a slow inhale through your nose and a longer exhale through your mouth.
4. Silently repeat a kind phrase to yourself, like “How can I be a friend to myself today?” and “It’s okay to make mistakes.”
5. Feel the warmth and weight of your hands. On each exhale, invite a little ease into your face, shoulders, belly, and back. Notice any tiny shift toward calm.
6. Wrap your arms around your torso and apply comfortable pressure, finishing with a gentle self-hug before returning to your day.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Today’s Guests:

THERESA ALEXANDER is a pre-K teacher based in Arlington, Virginia, with nearly 20 years of teaching experience. She’s also a new mother.

MICHAEL BANISSY is a psychology professor at University of Bristol and the author of “Touch Matters: Handshakes, Hugs, and the New Science on How Touch Can Enhance Your Well-Being.”

Learn more about Michael here: https://www.banissy.com/

Related The Science of Happiness episodes:

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

Related Happiness Breaks:

The Healing Power of Your Own Touch: https://tinyurl.com/y4ze59h8

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/4ppzs8kw

In this guided meditation with poet and teacher Henry Shukman, learn how allowing discomfort, rather than resisting it, can open the door to greater calm and self-compassion.

How To Do This Practice:

1. Find a Comfortable Position: Sit comfortably, either upright with your head balanced or reclining, and relax your jaw, shoulders, and hands.
2. Invite Warmth and Softness into the Body: Gently bring awareness to different parts of your body—chest, belly, seat, legs, and feet. Imagine a gentle sweep of rest and quiet spreading through you, like a soft, warm wave.
3. Notice Any Unease Without Trying to Change It: See if you can detect any subtle unease or restlessness. Instead of pushing it away, simply acknowledge it.
4. Soften and Warm the Whole Torso: Move your awareness to the shoulders, sides, back, chest, and belly. Imagine each area softening like warm wax. Let this warmth frame your torso, surrounding even areas of tension or discomfort.
5. Hold What You Find in Loving Awareness: Rather than trying to “fix” or remove unease, allow it to be held by your warmth and softness.
6. Return Gently: When you feel ready, slowly bring small movements back into your body. Open your eyes and notice your surroundings, carrying a sense of warmth and acceptance with you.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Today’s Happiness Break Guide:

Henry Shukman, is a poet, mindfulness teacher, and author of Original Love: The Four Inns on the Path of Awakening.

Learn more about Shukman’s work: https://henryshukman.com/about

Order his book, Original Love: The Four Inns on the Path of Awakening: https://tinyurl.com/mwv5cuxr

Related Happiness Break episodes:

Loving Kindness Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/2kr4fjz5

Embodying Resilience: https://tinyurl.com/46383mhx

A Meditation on Original Love: https://tinyurl.com/5u298cv4

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

Make Uncertainty Part of the Process: https://tinyurl.com/234u5ds7

How To Show Up For Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/56ktb9xc

How Holding Yourself Can Reduce Stress: https://tinyurl.com/2hvhkwe6

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/4x27ut3p

There’s a tapping practice shown to ease stress, balance emotions, and support healing. We explore the science behind Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT.

Summary: Emerging research shows that a body-tapping technique called Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT, can help calm the nervous system, improve emotional awareness, and support healing from trauma. In this episode of The Science of Happiness, we follow illustrator Minnie Phan's journey of using this evidence-based practice to connect with herself, care for her mental health, and create from a place of resilience.

How To Do This Practice:

1. Identify the issue: Choose one specific feeling, thought, or physical sensation that’s bothering you, such as stress, sadness, or tension in your body.
2. Rate the intensity: On a scale of 0 to 10 (with 10 being the most intense), rate how strongly you feel it right now. This will help you notice changes as you tap.
3. Create your setup statement: Say a phrase that names your feeling and affirms self-acceptance, such as: "Even though I feel anxious, I fully and completely accept myself."
4. Gently tap 5–7 times on each point: Side of hand, inner eyebrow above your nose, side of eye, under eye, under nose, chin, collarbone, under arm, and top of head.
5. Repeat while tapping: As you tap each point, repeat a shortened reminder phrase (e.g., “I feel anxious” or “I accept myself”) while taking slow, steady breaths.
6. Reassess and repeat if needed: Pause, take a breath, and rate your intensity again. Continue another round or two until you notice a shift toward more calm or ease.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Today’s Guests:

MINNIE PHAN is an illustrator and publisher of the picture book, The Yellow Áo Dài. Phan has also collaborated with Pulitzer Prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen on the book, Simone.

Learn more about Minnie Phan here: https://www.minniephan.com/

Follow Minnie Phan on Instagram: @minnie_phan

DR. PETA STAPLETON is a world-leading researcher in the Emotional Freedom Technique.

Learn more about Dr. Peta Stapleton here: https://www.petastapleton.com/

Follow Dr. Peta Stapleton on LinkedIn: @petastapleton

Related The Science of Happiness episodes:

How Holding Yourself Can Reduce Stress: https://tinyurl.com/2hvhkwe6

The Science of Humming: https://tinyurl.com/4esyy6nd

Related Happiness Breaks:

Tap into the Joy That Surrounds You: https://tinyurl.com/2pb8ye9x

The Healing Power of Your Own Touch: https://tinyurl.com/y4ze59h8

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/psmskjyp

Witnessing the suffering of others can be deeply painful. In this guided meditation, Anushka Fernandopulle helps you cultivate both compassion and the ability to soothe yourself in the face of that pain.

How to Do This Practice:

1. Find somewhere peaceful, sit down and get comfortable. Once you’re ready, gently close or soften your eyes.
2. Start taking deep breaths and relax your body. Part by part, release tension in different areas of your body.
3. Think of someone or a group of people you know or have heard of who may be having a hard time. Bring to mind an image of them.
4. Connect with whatever it is they are struggling with. Mentally, make some wishes of compassion for them. For example, “May you be free from pain.” Or, “I am here with you.”
5. You can also use this practice to focus on your own pain. To do this, call to mind your struggles and give yourself the same compassion you gave others.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Today’s Happiness Break guide:

ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE is a meditation teacher who trained in Buddhist meditation for over 30 years. After studying Buddhism at Harvard, she spent four years in full-time meditation training in the U.S., India, and Sri Lanka.

Check out Anushka’s upcoming meditation retreats: https://www.anushkaf.org

Follow Anushka on Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/ytn3vvhz

Check out Anushka’s Dharma Talks: https://tinyurl.com/ydacvamn

Related Happiness Break episodes:

Fierce Self-Compassion Break: https://tinyurl.com/yk9yzh9u

Who Takes Care of You: https://tinyurl.com/5xmfkf73

A Self-Compassion Meditation For Burnout: https://tinyurl.com/485y3b4y

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

How Holding Yourself Can Reduce Stress: https://tinyurl.com/2hvhkwe6

How To Show Up For Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/56ktb9xc

Are You Remembering the Good Times: https://tinyurl.com/483bkk2h

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/2tcp2an9