The Science of Happiness

Happiness Break: A Mindful Breath Meditation, with Dacher Keltner


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Mindful breathing exercises are a simple, effective, and fast way to shift our mindset and improve physical and mental well-being when practiced regularly.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/mpt4rr5x

How to Do This Practice:

  1. Find a comfortable position to start the practice, maintain a good posture and close your eyes. 

  2. Take a deep breath in for a count of four. Hold that breath, feeling it in your lungs and body for another count of four. Push the air outwards, exhaling for a count of six.

  3. Repeat this exercise as many times as you would like.

  4. Today’s Happiness Break host:

    Dacher Keltner is the host of the award-winning podcast, The Science of Happiness and is a co-instructor of the GGSC’s popular online course of the same name. He’s also the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and a professor of psychology at the UC, Berkeley.

    Check out Dacher’s most recent book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life: https://tinyurl.com/4j4hcvyt

    More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

    What Focusing on the Breath Does to Your Brain: https://tinyurl.com/3u8h53pw

    Is the Way You Breathe Making You Anxious?: https://tinyurl.com/mryr2jup

    A Five-Minute Breathing Exercise for Anxiety and Mood: https://tinyurl.com/3ve66u2k

    How Four Deep Breaths Can Help Kids Calm Down: https://tinyurl.com/5xr2sb99

    What does mindful breathing do for you? Email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

    Find us on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/taub93tp

    Help us share Happiness Break! Rate us on Spotify and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/taub93tp

    We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day. 

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