Live Happy Now

This week we’re celebrating Thanksgiving, and of course, that makes it a fantastic time to talk about one of our favorite subjects here at Live Happy Now: Gratitude. In this episode, Dr. Greg Hammer, a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, pediatric intensive care physician and author talks about how practicing gratitude can help improve your physical and mental well-being. Then...

The holiday season is upon us, and we want to help you have a healthier, happier season! This week, Tonya Harris — a  board-certified holistic nutritionist and author of The Slightly Greener Method — is back to talk about some of the surprising dangers and toxins that are hidden in our favorite holiday decorations and traditions. Then, she’ll tell us how to trade them in for healthier choices. In...

How well do you know yourself — and do you want to know more? In this episode, we talk with Erin Claire Jones, a leadership coach who uses the principles of human design to help people understand their individual behavior. In this episode, you’ll learn: The spiritual principles behind human design. How to discover your personal “type”. How understanding your type could change the way you make deci...

November is National Gratitude Month and of course, there’s no way we’d let it pass without a celebration! This week, Live Happy’s own Casey Johnson sits down with Paula Felps to talk about a new gratitude challenge we’re launching and to announce some exciting new things happening with Live Happy. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why it’s so important to practice gratitude How to be part of the Liv...

What if you could change your entire day—every day—with a high five? This week’s guest is going to tell you how! Mel Robbins is an international bestselling author who specializes in personal transformation. Her latest book, The High 5 Habit, introduces a fascinating, scientifically proven new way to become your own biggest cheerleader. She’s here today to tell you how a simple high five is about...

Most of us think of yoga as a physical practice, but today’s guest shows us how it can help us develop our intuition and encourage us to follow our dreams. Kori Hahn is a yogi who promotes soul growth through practices like yoga and meditation. Her new book, Rituals of the Soul: Using the 8 Ancient Principles of Yoga to Create a Modern & Meaningful Life, explores yoga through the ancient text...

We all know that love is important, but why is it sometimes so hard to love ourselves? This week, host  Paula Felps talks Dr. Shainna Ali, a mental health clinician and author who promotes a strengths-based approach to the journey of self-love. Her new children’s book, Luna Finds Love Everywhere: A Self-Love Book for Kids, is designed to help children explore the principles of self-love in their o...

This week, we’re celebrating the 8th anniversary of Live Happy, which published its first magazine issue in October 2013. For this episode, Science Editor and Live Happy Now Host Paula Felps strolls down memory lane with Live Happy Editor Chris Libby to talk about 8 important principles we’ve learned over these 8 years.

Music can help heal our emotional wounds, but it heals us physically, too. This week’s guest, recording artist Paul Cardall, was born with a congenital heart defect that doctors believed he could not survive. But he proved them wrong, and as part of his healing journey, he discovered the power of music. Today, he is a classical pianist who not only creates healing music but shares with others how...

A Grumble-Free Life with Amy Parker & Tricia Goyer As moms, Amy Parker and Tricia Goyer were no strangers to “the grumbles.” As writers, that led them to team up on the children’s book, The Grumbles: A Story About Gratitude. Find out what inspired this book, how it changed their families and how it can help your family learn to live in gratitude. In this episode, you’ll learn: How (and why) to...

Anxiety is at an all-time high these days, but this week’s guest says that might not be such a bad thing! Dr. Wendy Suzuki is a professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. Her new book, GOOD ANXIETY: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion looks at anxiety in a whole new way and explains how we can use the gift of anxiety to im...

Stanford professor and psychologist William Damon didn’t learn the truth about his missing father until he became an adult. That surprising discovery led him on a journey to make peace with his past, and he talks about that journey in his fascinating new book, A Round of Golf with My Father: The New Psychology of Exploring Your Past to Make Peace with Your Present. In this episode, you'll learn: T...

These days, most of us are taking a more hands-on approach to our health. And this week’s guest is going to explain why both physical and mental health are all in the gut. Dr. Sabine Hazan is a leading researcher and practitioner in the field of the gut microbiome. She’s here to talk about what a gut microbiome is, how it affects our overall well-being, and how to improve your own gut microbiome....

Pets bring us a tremendous amount of joy, but their loss creates a deep sense of grief. This week, as we honor National Dog Day on August 26 and Grief Awareness Day on August 30, we’re looking at the complicated journey of pet loss. This week’s guest, Brittany Derrenbacher, has focused her mental health studies on the complicated journey of pet loss and is here to tell us more about how to navigat...

Singer songwriter Mary Gauthier has been changing the world one song at a time for the past 20 years. This week, Mary joins host Paula Felps to talk about her new book, Saved by a Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting, which is a fascinating look at the healing power of music both for those who create it and those who listen to it. She also talks with us about her work with SongwritingWit...

The International Positive Psychology Association holds its World Congress to bring together the leading researchers and practitioners every other year. This week, host Paula Felps and Live Happy editor Chris Libby talk about some of the programs we enjoyed during this year’s virtual IPPA World Congress and discuss what research most intrigued and surprised us — and what we’re excited to learn mor...

Health and happiness go hand in hand, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start creating a healthier home. This week’s guest has been there, and she brought along a roadmap! Tonya Harris, a board-certified holistic nutritionist and author of The Slightly Greener Method, shows us how little adjustments can have a big impact on your family’s health. She shares how to create a cleaner, greener a...

Last year, poet Maggie Smith gave us the book we needed with the bestseller Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity and Change. This year, she’s back with a new book that helps us rediscover the magic of living in the moment. In this episode, Maggie talks about her new book, Goldenrod, which explores such common themes as parenthood, gratitude, solitude, love and loss. Then she explains how she has...

As the song says, ya gotta have friends. But do you know just how good they are for you? This week’s guest, Hal Urban, is a lifelong teacher and author whose positive outlook has earned him the nickname, “The Good News Guy.” With his new book, The Power of Good News: Feeding Your Mind With What’s Good for Your Heart, he looks at the importance of positivity in our lives. In this episode, he explai...

Summertime is a great time to catch up on your reading, and this week, we’re going to give you some tips on great positive psychology reads for the rest of your summer. Andrea Goeglein is an author, business consultant and co-founder of the Hey, Boss Lady! podcast. She also has advanced training in positive psychology and incorporates its elements into her work as a success coach for business lead...

Stress and anxiety are something we’re all familiar with, but this week’s guest uses the science of epigenetics to discover how stress and trauma from previous generations are affecting us today. Dr. Valerie Rein’s book, Patriarchy Stress Disorder: The invisible Inner Barrier to Women’s Happiness and Fulfillment, looks at the research behind this reality and provides tools for identifying and mana...

Our world has become increasingly divided, but this week’s guest tells us how we can begin to close that divide. Peter Montoya is a thought leader, speaker and author who promotes civility and self-leadership as tools for change. His new book, The Second Civil War: A citizen’s guide to healing our fractured nation, looks at the challenges we’re facing as a society, how technology and media consump...

Today’s technology-driven world allows us to connect with others and stay informed like never before. But it’s no secret that living in the information age is also keeping us distracted and drained. In this episode, host Paula Felps talks with Dr. Charles Chaffin, a researcher, educator and the author of Numb: How the Information Age Dulls Our Senses and How We Can Get Them Back. His research look...

For almost 20 years, Dr. Kristin Neff has been teaching us about how to improve our well-being through self-compassion. Now, she’s teaching us how to get fierce. Kristin is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion and her newest book, Fierce Self-Compassion, looks at an often-overlooked aspect of self-compassion. But fierce self-compassion is just as important to our well-being as tender self-com...

Creativity is something that often gets put on the back burner in our busy lives filled with obligations and deadlines. But Jill Allison Bryan believes that saying “yes” to your creative dreams can help make you a happier, healthier and more fulfilled human being—while making the world a better place. Jill is the founder of Creative Oasis Coaching and she has devoted her life to helping people ide...