Happiness Break: A Mindful Breath Meditation, with Dacher Keltner

Published: July 27, 2023, 2:23 p.m.

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

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

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How to Do This Practice:

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  1. Find a comfortable position to start the practice, maintain a good posture and close your eyes.\xa0

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  3. 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.

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

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Today\u2019s Happiness Break host:

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Dacher Keltner is the host of the award-winning podcast, The Science of Happiness and is a co-instructor of the GGSC\u2019s popular online course of the same name. He\u2019s also the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and a professor of psychology at the UC, Berkeley.

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Check out Dacher\u2019s most recent book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life: https://tinyurl.com/4j4hcvyt

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More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

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

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

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

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

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What does mindful breathing do for you? Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

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

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

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We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout \u2014 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 \u2014 what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.\xa0

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