Ep. 69: Breathing Through Stress & Anxiety with Dr. Emma Seppӓlӓ

Emma Seppӓlӓ, Ph.D, is the Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education and the author of The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success.

She has spoken at TedX Sacramento, TEDx Hayward, and companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, Bain & Co, Ernst & Young, and a United States Congressional Hearing. Her articles have been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Washington Post, Business Insider, Psychology Today, Fast Company, Forbes, Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Greater Good Science Center, and Scientific American Mind.

A repeat guest on Good Morning America, her work and research have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, NPR, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, VOGUE, ELLE, CBSNews, Oprah Magazine, U.S. World and News Report, Cosmopolitan, ABC News, Business Insider, SELF, GLAMOUR, and the World Economic Forum. She was also featured in the documentary film The Altruism Revolution and What You Do Matters.

Her research on yoga-based breathing for military veterans returning from war in Iraq and Afghanistan was highlighted in the documentary Free the Mind.

In this episode, we discuss:

· How and why she got into the field of studying happiness and compassion.

· Why college students are at the highest risk of mental health issues.

· The results of a recent study that tested the effects of mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and SKY breath meditation on stress among college students.

· Why breathing practices are so effective in changing our emotional state.

· What happens in our brain and our bodies when we suppress our emotions.

· The benefits of SKY breath meditation and how you can learn it.

· The reason we have a stress response and what’s happening to our bodies when we are constantly in it.

· Our tendency to tie happiness to feelings of excitement instead of feelings of calm.

· The benefits of choosing calm over excitement.

You can find and follow Dr. Emma here:

EmmaSeppala.com

Instagram: @emmasepp

Facebook: @emma.seppala

Twitter: @emmaseppala

Her book – The Happiness Track: How To Apply The Science Of Happiness To Accelerate Your Success