16. The Science of Smiling with Dr. Marie Cross

On this episode, I interview Dr. Marie Cross, a professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State University, who studies the connection between positivity and health outcomes. Specifically, she studies the effects of fake versus real smiles (called "Duchenne" or "non-Duchenne" smiles) on physical health outcomes.

Marie describes how she started practicing yoga at the recommendation of her doctor to help prevent potential pain from her scoliosis, and fell in love with the practice (like many of us) because she found the balance between physical and mental health to be unparalleled. This translated for her into a career in  health psychology, studying the link between body and mind, specifically studying the impacts of positive emotions on health outcomes.

In this episode, she teaches me so much! Listen to learn more about psychology concepts such as state and trait positive affect, how psychology research actually works, all the wonderful health outcomes from positivity, and tips on how to cultivate these things--including some yoga and meditation practices! 

If you'd like to see more of Dr. Cross's work, or contact her: https://hhd.psu.edu/contact/marie-cross

To find Rose: https://www.yogsicopes.com

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https://www.facebook.com/yogiscopes

(you can also find both groups I mentioned--Yoga memes and Yoga + Astrology--by going to my facebook page and clicking "groups")

https://www.yogiscopes.com/linkinbio

To book a reading: https://www.yogiscopes.com/store