The Science of Happiness PRX and Greater Good Science Center

Last week on The Science of Happiness, we discussed the scientifically proven health benefits of the ancient Chinese practice of qigong with Harvard psychologist Peter Wayne. This week, we practice a standing meditation, with qigong master Sherry Zhang. Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3t5wdexeHow to Do This Practice:
Take a moment to stand upright with your feet together and take a few deep breaths.
Have your eyes looking forward.
Soften your knee.
Gently shift your weight onto your left leg and step your right foot aside.
Face your palms inward, with your fingers relaxed and pointing down. 
With your chin slightly in, relax both shoulders, and tuck in your tailbone.
Ground your feet and relax your knees, armpits, and fingers.
Take a deep breath and exhale. 
Spend a few moments focused on your natural breathing and relaxed body.
Now, bring your right foot back, so both feet are together.
Lengthen your spine. 
Take a moment to observe how your body feels, until your breathing slows. 
Next, bring your hands together and rub them together vigorously, creating heat in between your palms.
Now "wash" your face with your hands.
"Wash" the side of your ears, to the back of your ears, the back of your neck.
Now relax both hands at the front of your chest.
Repeat this practice for one to five minutes.
Today’s Happiness Break host:Sherry Zhang is the founder of Tai Chi Solutions and a Master Teacher of Qigong. She is faculty at Pacific College of Health and Sciences in New York City. 
Learn more about Sherry’s work:https://www.taichisolution.org/

Follow Sherry on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taichisolution/

Follow Sherry on Twitter: https://twitter.com/taichisolution
Follow Sherry on Linked-In: https://tinyurl.com/ywca6nd5

Follow Sherry on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherrytaichi/

Follow Tai Chi Solutions on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taichisolution/

If you enjoyed this Happiness Break, you may also like these ones:Walk Your Way to Calm (Guided Meditation), with Dacher: https://tinyurl.com/4w37zwpyA Walking Meditation With Dan Harris of 10% Happier: https://tinyurl.com/4dv4ckzcCheck out these episodes of The Science of Happiness about movement-based practices: How Qigong Can Calm Your Mind and Body: https://tinyurl.com/2ywsck4eEpisode 5: Walk Outside with Inside Out’s Pete Docter: https://tinyurl.com/2nfc94zbWe love hearing from you! Tell us what movement based practice you’ve tried!Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.Find us on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzusShare this Happiness Break!

Studies show qigong can strengthen your body and mind, and reduce cortisol levels. We explore this Chinese meditative movement practice that dates back over 4,000 years.Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2ywsck4eEpisode summary: Finding calm in your day to day life can be stressful, especially in a world that seems to be moving at such a rapid pace. Your life can change in an instant– and it can be really difficult to get yourself on your feet again. On this episode of The Science of Happiness, Ace Boral, an Oakland-based chef, joins us to try Qigong. Ace talks about his health struggles over the past four years, and how incorporating Qigong into his life over the past few weeks has helped him find mental clarity, emotional balance, and confidence in himself. Then we hear from Harvard psychologist Peter Wayne who has practiced and studied the benefits of Xigong. Today’s guests: Ace Boral is an Oakland-based chef.Peter Wayne is an Associate Professor of Medicine, and serves as the Director for the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, jointly based at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.Learn more about Peter’s work: https://tinyurl.com/342xndnaMore episodes like this one:
Moving Through Space, with Dacher Keltner: https://tinyurl.com/3u844n4d

The Science of Synchronized Movement: https://tinyurl.com/n4bcrb5j
Tell us about your experiences with Qigong. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.Help us share The Science of Happiness!Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Here's a favorite of ours: visualize your best possible self and tap into your inherent enough-ness with this guided meditation by Justin Michael Williams.Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/ytakaaepHow to Do This Practice:
Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and visualize your ideal future self, the person of your dreams you’ve always wanted to be. Try noticing as many details as you can: What color are you wearing, how do you feel, what are you doing, is anyone with you?
Answer this question in your mind with 1-3 words: As you look at this future version of you, what energy do you need to cultivate more of in your life now, today, to become closer to being that person you see in your vision? 
Breathe in deeply, and as you do imagine yourself breathing in that energy. As you exhale, imagine that energy spreading throughout your body and energy field.
Open your eyes. ​​Remember, you have what you need to become that which you want to become. We are enough to start stepping into the life of our dreams.
Today’s Happiness Break host:Justin Michael Williams works at the intersection of social justice, mindfulness, and personal growth — with a touch of music that brings it all to life.
Learn More About Justin’s work: https://www.justinmichaelwilliams.com/

Listen to Justin’s debut album: https://www.justinmichaelwilliams.com/music

Order Justin’s book, Stay Woke: A Meditation Guide For the Rest of Us:https://tinyurl.com/2p8xu6hx
Follow Justin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wejustwill

Follow Justin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wejustwill/

More episodes like this oneHow to Find Your Best Possible Selfhttps://tinyurl.com/6t3uws8dHappiness Break: Visualizing Your Best Self in Relationships,  With Dacher Keltnerhttps://tinyurl.com/5cx6cd5zHappiness Break: Visualizing Your Purpose, With Dacherhttps://tinyurl.com/39apt7tbWe love hearing from you! Tell us what brings you feelings of awe. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.Find us on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzusHelp us share Happiness Break! 

She's the world's leading animal behaviorist and an autism advocacy leader. Guest Temple Grandin shares what kind of support systems led her to success, and we hear about how community, and lack thereof, affects our health and ability to succeed.
Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/y82vw4dv
Episode summary:Having strong relationships is vital to our well-being. We tend to be happier and healthier when we’re involved with community. Today’s guest is the world-famous scientist Temple Grandin. She was born with autism, which led her to be socially isolated from her peers. Join us on this episode of The Science of Happiness to hear about how Grandin credits her support networks for her success and making her into the person she is today. We’ll also look at the science behind the health repercussions of not having strong social networks. Feeling socially disconnected can lead to a higher risk of dementia, cardiovascular disease, cancer and more.
Today’s guests:Temple Grandin is a leading scientist, prominent author and speaker on autism and animal behaviors. Today, she teaches courses at Colorado State University. Her latest book is Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions.Temple’s Website: https://www.templegrandin.comFollow Temple on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drtemplegrandin?lang=enCheck out Temple’s Latest Book: https://tinyurl.com/3tftxpckTegan Cruwyis is a clinical psychologist at The National Australian University who studies social connection and how loneliness and chronic isolation are literally toxic.Learn more about Cruwyis and her work: https://tinyurl.com/3etuvketFollow Cruwyis on Google Scholar: https://tinyurl.com/yc5ujhajResources from The Greater Good Science Center:
Four Ways Social Support Makes You More Resilient https://tinyurl.com/34ntce8uWhat is Social Connection? https://tinyurl.com/nk8crbbzIs Social Connection the Best Path to Happiness? https://tinyurl.com/4wxc66tnWhy are We so Wired to Connect? https://tinyurl.com/uttppd3pTell us about your experiences with building social connections. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.Help us share The Science of Happiness!Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapTranscript to come.

Experiencing awe can help us slow down and connect to the world around us. So how can we harness the power of this feeling? Host Dacher Keltner leads us in a colorful meditation to bring about awe. Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3e9cyky5Practice:
Please find a space, either inside or outside, where you can take a moment and pause and look slowly at a scene in front of you. 
Settle into a pattern of deep breathing and ease. Really focusing on how that pattern of inhalation and exhalation relaxes your body and slows your heart rate down.
Now cast your gaze over the space around you. Take in what you see in the scene in front of you.
You may shift your attention to colors present in the things around you or step back and get a sense of the scene in a more holistic way.
Notice the variations and differences in the various colors in your visual field. 
What feelings do the colors evoke in you? 
Now, gently close and then open your eyes and notice how you feel. 
Today’s guests:Dacher Keltner is the host of the Greater Good Science Center’s 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 University of California, Berkeley.More episodes like this one:How Awe Brings Us Togetherhttps://tinyurl.com/bdhy4sj5How Music Evokes Awehttps://tinyurl.com/mpkww4j9Happiness Break: Awe for Others, With Dacherhttps://tinyurl.com/3ptwh66jFeeling the Awe of Nature from Anywhere, with Dacher Keltnerhttps://tinyurl.com/4r7rjaxfWe love hearing from you! Tell us what brings you feelings of awe. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.Find us on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzusHelp us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapRate us on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

Hearing birdsong can help us feel less anxious, recover from stress faster, and even reduce muscle tension ... but can it help us fall asleep? Drew Ackerman of Sleep With Me podcast listens to recordings of birdsongs to see if it'll help with insomnia.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/5n7sxjtb



Episode summary:

Drew Ackerman, aka Scooter of Sleep With Me Podcast, has always struggled to get to sleep. Even as an anxious kid, worries would keep his mind churning as the night wore on. For our show, he tried a science-backed practice for easing stress: listening to the twitter of birds. He discovered the recordings reminded him of easeful summer afternoons, transporting him to another time and place. The research bears this out: different sounds affect us in different ways. For many, birdsong lowers our body’s stress responses. And for Drew, that helped him get a little sleepier.

Practice:


Listen to a recording of birdsong that appeals to you.


Today’s guests:

Drew Ackerman You might know Drew as his alias, “Dearest Scooter,” the host of Sleep with Me podcast. Drew struggles with bedtime worries and has a history of insomnia himself, but he’s great at helping others sleep. Sleep with Me is one of the most listened-to sleep podcasts. On each episode, “Scooter” lulls listeners off to dreamland with meandering bedtime stories intended to lose your interest.

Listen to Sleep With Me Podcast: https://pod.link/sleep-with-me


Follow Drew on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/2p8nrhnp
Follow Drew on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearestscooter/
Follow Drew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sleepwithmepodcast/


Emil Stobbe is a post-doctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany.

Jesper Alvarsson is a professor of Psychology at Södertörn University in Sweden.

Eleanor Ratcliffe is a professor of Environmental Psychology at the University of Surrey in the UK.

More episodes like this one:

The Science of a Good Night's Sleep (Sleep Tips, With Drew Ackerman) - https://tinyurl.com/3wrwzrxy

Why You Should Snap Pictures of Nature (Appreciating The Outdoors, With Tejal Rao) - https://tinyurl.com/erwdvwrw

Related Happiness Breaks (a short, guided practice by The Science of Happiness)

Restore Through Silence, With Tricia Hersey - https://tinyurl.com/4h8ww8ub

Feeling the Awe of Nature from Anywhere, With Dacher Keltner - https://tinyurl.com/43v74ryn

Tell us what sounds relax you! You can even send us a recording, we’d love to hear it. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #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