Happiness Break: Six Minutes to Connect with Your Body, with Dacher

The Science of Happiness

PRX and Greater Good Science Center

Social Sciences, Science

4.5 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dedicating a little time to tune into your body fortifies you to better handle the stresses of daily life.

How To Do This Practice:

Find your space: Choose a quiet place where you feel safe and comfortable. You can sit, stand, or lie down, whatever helps you relax. If sitting, rest your hands on your thighs; if standing, let them hang by your sides.
Begin with your breath: Close your eyes. Inhale slowly to a count of four, feeling your belly and chest expand. Exhale to a count of four, letting your body soften. Notice the temperature of the air as it moves in and out through your nose.
Start at your feet: Bring your attention to your feet on the ground. Notice sensations— pressure, warmth, tingling. Gently wiggle your toes. On the next breath, move your awareness to your ankles and calves, then your knees, thanking them for their steady work.
Move up the body: With each breath, shift attention upward. Thighs, hips, and lower back, then your stomach. Feel it rise and fall with your breath. Continue up through your back and shoulders, releasing any tension there.
Soften the upper body: Turn your attention to your throat, face, and head. Relax your jaw, smooth your forehead, and feel any soft tingling at the top of your head. Then bring awareness to your hands and fingers.
Close with awareness: Take a few final deep breaths. On your last exhale, open your eyes gently. Notice how your body feels and carry that awareness into the rest of 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 Mindful Breath Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/mr9d22kr

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

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

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

Breathe Away Anxiety: https://tinyurl.com/3u7vsrr5

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

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

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/4fjwac6y

Transcript

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0:00.0	How much awe and wonder do you experience in your life?
0:03.6	From the John Templeton Foundation, our sponsors at the Science of Happiness,
0:07.3	the Templeton Ideas Podcast, explores the most awe-inspiring ideas in our world
0:12.4	with the people who investigate them.
0:15.0	Host Tom Burnett sits down with inspiring thinkers like Alison Gopnik, David Brooks,
0:20.2	Tyler Cowens, and Gretchen Rubin
0:22.4	to discuss how their investigations have transformed their lives and how they may transform yours.
0:29.2	Learn more at templeton.org slash podcast. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, stop now and take a deep breath.
0:46.3	Notice the feeling of your belly expanding and chest falling as you exhale.
0:52.3	And on the next inhale, notice the temperature of the air
0:55.8	moving through your nostrils.
0:58.5	And then the temperature of the exhale.
1:03.4	Our bodies experience so many sensations,
1:06.2	whether we notice them or not.
1:07.6	When we make it a point to tune into them,
1:09.4	we can actually train our minds to focus,
1:11.6	like strengthening a muscle.
1:14.6	I'm Dacker Keltner. Welcome to Happiness Break.
1:18.6	Today I'm going to lead you through one of my favorite practices, the Body Scan Meditation.
1:24.6	The Body Scan involves paying attention to momentary physical sensations,
1:29.3	beginning with the feet and ending at the head,
1:33.3	slowly moving your awareness all throughout the body.
	...

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