A local animal shelter recently hosted a fund-raiser I couldn’t resist: yoga with kittens.
About 15 participants showed up with mats to a fenced-off area of the shelter that was teeming with kittens; we were then given wand toys. The yoga instructor tried her best to help us find our center as the kittens tore through the room. I did a sun salutation holding the wand as several kitties leaped to catch it and another ascended my leg.
Some of us were laughing so hard that we gave up on posing.
The whole experience was mayhem — and pure joy, as I told Kelly McGonigal, a psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University who teaches a course called “The Science and Practice of Joy.”
Dr. McGonigal, who has talked to thousands of people in her research about joy, has an upcoming book called “Joy Is a Risk Worth Taking.”
Joy is an emotion that sustains hope, makes us feel close to others and “helps us sense the value of life itself,” Dr. McGonigal said. But it is a resource that requires “tending and cultivation,” she added. To do so, she suggested several easy “joy experiments.”
Share ‘joy memories’
Try getting in touch with people you care about and asking them to recall something that gave them joy, Dr. McGonigal said.
Research shows that sharing memories enhances relationships and improves well-being. “And it’s often a wonderful way to learn about people,” she said.
Dr. McGonigal once asked this question of her father, whom she described as “a stoic person.”
He told her that before she was born, he had visited a farm in Pennsylvania. He was so overtaken by the beauty of the countryside that he “started twirling down the hill,” Dr. McGonigal said. “He remembered feeling absolutely filled with glee and freedom.”
The story revealed a surprising side of her father that she never would have known, she said.
Another good conversation starter: What’s the most joyful sound in the world to you?
Dr. McGonigal’s question helped me remember mine: When I was a child, if I made a joke to my grandma that she thought was especially funny, she would laugh until she wheezed. I lived for that wheeze-laugh.
Look for ‘micro-uplifts’
As you go about your day, Dr. McGonigal said, make a point of noticing “micro-uplifts,” or the tiny doses of joy that you might normally miss (and which, research shows, increase your well-being).
For example, that little hit of pleasure you get when you compliment a person’s outfit, which benefits both the giver and the receiver, or grab an item off a high shelf for someone at the supermarket.
“These really small moments don’t have to fix everything to matter,” she said.
You can even go on a “search for joy,” Dr. McGonigal said, at a specific location that has potential for uplift, such as a park or a library. Then let your attention wander, she said, and seek something that gives you a burst of delight.
Greet people with enthusiasm
People often blossom when you greet them with warmth, Dr. McGonigal said. This simple practice also increases the greeter’s life satisfaction, according to a study of over 60,000 people.
So choose a short window of time, like 24 hours, she said, and simply acknowledge people with a bit more liveliness: “There he is!” or “Great to see you!”
I tried it and found it worked especially well with people who were a bit shy, I told her. “Attention is a form of care and respect,” Dr. McGonigal said.
Cheer others on
Rooting for and encouraging others allows us to practice positive empathy, which means feeling some of the same joy that is felt by the person you’re supporting.
And you don’t need to know the person or group you’re cheering on, Dr. McGonigal said. Join the sidelines of a charity run or a parade, or watch a high school marching band performance. I love quirky community events, like this parallel parking competition in Philadelphia.
My kitten yoga class was a form of “collective effervescence,” in which joie de vivre spreads through a group of people participating in the same thing, such as being at a comedy club or at an athletic event when somebody scores.
To experience the full uplift of collective joy, Dr. McGonigal said, “you must join in.”
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