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Experience the physical sensations of love through this guided meditation that nurtures connection, relaxation, and emotional awareness.
How To Do This Practice:
- Sit or lie down in a relaxed posture. Close your eyes or soften your gaze. Take a deep breath in, then slowly exhale. Notice the weight of your body and release any tension in your shoulders, jaw, or hands.
- Recall a time when you felt deeply loved and cared for—whether from a person, pet, or a meaningful experience.
- Instead of focusing on the memory itself, notice where love manifests in your body—warmth in your chest, a tingling in your hands, a soft smile, or gentle relaxation.
- With each inhale, visualize love spreading through your body like a warm light or soft energy, filling your heart, arms, and entire being.
- Allow yourself to fully experience this embodied sense of love, knowing it is always within you.
- When ready, bring awareness back to your surroundings, wiggle your fingers and toes, and take a final deep breath before opening your eyes. Set an intention to bring this felt sense of love into your interactions throughout the day.
This episode is part of our series The Science of Love, supported by a grant from The John Templeton Foundation on spreading love through the media.
Sign up for The Science of Happiness podcast's 7-Day Love Challenge to receive these science-backed practices delivered directly to your inbox: tinyurl.com/7daylovechallenge
Today’s Happiness Break Host:
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
Loving Kindness Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/2kr4fjz5
A Meditation for Burnout: https://tinyurl.com/485y3b4y
Related Science of Happiness episodes:
36 Questions to Spark Love and Connection: https://tinyurl.com/ktcpz78u
How 7 Days Can Transform Your Relationship: https://tinyurl.com/bdh2ezhr
How to Use Your Body to Relax Your Mind: https://tinyurl.com/yckyft6t
How To Tune Out The Noise: https://tinyurl.com/4hhekjuh
How To Breathe Away Anxiety: https://tinyurl.com/msmxtyes
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.
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Transcription:
DACHER KELTNER: This episode was supported by a grant from The John Templeton Foundation on spreading love through the media.
Hi Dacher Keltner, welcome to Happiness Break. Today, we’re continuing our series on the science of love with a guided meditation designed to help you feel and expand the experience of love in your body.
When we experience an emotion, our bodies respond with physical changes— our heart may race, we may feel warmth in our chest, our breathing quickens, maybe we get the goosebumps or tearing in the eyes.
Love, in particular, can activate oxytocin release and the parasympathetic nervous system, the "rest and digest" system that supports things like lower heart rate, relaxation, and better digestion as well as being open and connecting to others.
Paying attention to our body's signals, known as interoception, helps us manage stress, build emotional awareness and understanding, and connect more deeply with other people.
So let's begin.
Find a comfortable seat or lie down. Close your eyes if that feels good to you, or soften your gaze. Take a deep breath in, and slowly breathe out. Allow yourself to settle into this moment.
Start by bringing your attention inward into your body's sensations. Notice your breath, your heart beating, and any physical sensations, for example in your face, your chest, or arms.
Feel the weight of your body resting against the surface beneath you. Let go of any tension, softening your shoulders, your jaw, and your hands.
Take a deep breath in, and gently sigh it out. Allow yourself to arrive fully in the present.
Now, bring to mind a moment when you felt deeply loved and cared for.
This could be from a partner, a friend, a family member, a mentor, or even a pet or a place or moment in nature. Perhaps it was a warm hug, a reassuring word, or a simple act of kindness.
Instead of focusing on the story and the words, shift your awareness to the feeling of love, as if you were reliving it now.
As you hold this moment in your mind, gently scan your body.
Where do you feel warmth, openness, or lightness?
Does your chest feel expansive?
Do you notice a tingling in your hands, a warmth in your belly?
Maybe a gentle smile forming?
Even tearing in your eyes?
Wherever you feel it, simply observe.
If the sensation is subtle, that’s okay—just notice whatever arises without judgment.
If your mind wanders, gently return to the sensations in your body.
Now, imagine that each inhale expands this feeling of love, filling your heart, your arms, your fingertips, your legs, your whole being.
If it helps, you can visualize love as a soft color, a warm light, or a gentle energy moving through you.
With each breath, let this feeling of love grow stronger. For a few moments, simply rest in this embodied sense of love.
When you’re ready, slowly bring awareness back to your surroundings. Wiggle your fingers and toes, take one final deep breath, and gently open your eyes if they were closed.
Before moving on with your day, set an intention: I will carry this felt sense of love into my interactions.
Know that this feeling is always within you, ready to be accessed whenever you need it. Have a wonderful day.
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