15: The Healing Benefits of Kindness

Discover how simple acts of kindness can improve your health, uplift the soul, and create ripple effects of healing—whether you give, receive, or witness them. 

Transcript

You didn't come here to simply survive. You came here to thrive. To reconnect and to remember who you truly are.

Welcome to the Return to Her podcast, where we uncover the knowledge that empowers us and discover the wisdom that's always been inside!

Here, we blend spiritual insights, modern psychology, and embodied wellness practices to help us realign all aspects of our being—body, mind, and soul.

This is where science meets spirituality, and true wellness becomes our way of life.

I'm Cassie Dalton, yoga teacher, energy worker, holistic coach, and intuitive guide. While I'm still walking my own wellness and spiritual path, my mission now is to walk beside you as you return home to your most authentic and empowered self.

Now is the time to return to her.

The content shared in this podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult a qualified professional for any personal health or wellness concerns.

Now, let's dive in to today's episode.

Hello there, beautiful souls—welcome back in. So today we are diving into something that is, to me anyway, scientifically fascinating and spiritually profound: kindness.

Now, I know you've heard it before—kindness is great for the world—but did you know it's actually a type of medicine in its own right? Not just metaphorically, but literally.

Kindness can boost your serotonin. It can strengthen your immune system and even increase your lifespan—both your quality of life and quantity.

And here's the part that I really love: it doesn't just benefit the person receiving the act of kindness. It also transforms the giver and anyone who witnesses it. It is like a ripple effect of goodness.

And today we're gonna break it all down and find some ways to make it a little bit more actionable in your own life.

So grab your cup of coffee if you're a coffee drinker, maybe a cup of tea, a journal if you wanted to reflect after the episode. Let's take a couple of deep breaths and start to talk about why kindness is one of the most powerful tools for healing—not just for others, but for ourselves as well.

So let's start with the science of receiving an act of kindness. Because kindness is a gift. And like any gift, we need to understand and be willing to accept it when it is presented to us.

When someone does something kind for us, our brain actually releases the hormone serotonin—that feel-good neurotransmitter that stabilizes the mood. And it also boosts the hormone oxytocin, which deepens the social bonds—that sense of connection—and lowers cortisol, the stress hormone.

Even on a physical, physiological level, acts of kindness can strengthen your immune system. They can reduce your blood pressure, improve heart health, and boost your overall resilience—both to diseases and stress.

When someone offers to help carry groceries, for example, or gives you an unexpected compliment, or offers to pay for your cup of coffee—receiving that kindness, it's not just about being polite. It's actually medicine.

And here's the kicker: when you accept kindness, you actually give the giver a biological boost as well.

So let's flip the script for a moment. What happens when you are the one that's giving kindness?

It turns out that your brain experiences the same serotonin and oxytocin boost that the receiver—the recipient—of the kindness gets.

And here's where, to me, it gets even more interesting. These acts of kindness—not only do they increase your serotonin and oxytocin—but they increase your dopamine, activating your brain's reward system.

It's why doing something kind for someone else can actually make you feel happier than if someone did something kind for you.

So giving kindness has also been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. It, like I said before, can increase your lifespan—literally helping you live longer—and create a greater sense of purpose and connection with the world.

One of my teachers often said that the opposite of depression, it isn't happiness—it's purpose. And it's connection.

So when you consciously do an act of kindness for someone else, you are benefiting them, helping them by giving them a boost of serotonin and oxytocin. But you are also benefiting yourself—giving yourself that same boost with that added kick of dopamine.

It is really a beautiful feedback loop.

And here's where the spiritual piece of it comes in. When we give from a place of genuine love, we are actually opening ourselves to receiving even more.

The more you give, the more the universe reflects that back to you. It's a cycle of abundance because everything we do in the world—nature reflects that back to us.

And this is the part that, for me, is probably even more mind-blowing than the other two pieces of this equation.

There is a third component—when you don't even have to do anything to receive those benefits of an act of kindness.

You don't have to be the recipient. You don't have to be the giver.

Simply witnessing an act of kindness also releases oxytocin and increases serotonin levels.

It's called the moral elevation effect, and it inspires people that are observing these acts of kindness to do better, to be better, to be more compassionate human beings—while giving them a little uptick in those feel-good hormones.

So think about it: when you see someone hold the door open or pay for a stranger's coffee, stand up for someone who is being mistreated—don't you feel something shift inside you?

That's your brain and your heart responding to that act of kindness at a cellular level.

Maybe even you, when you're scrolling through social media, you see a short little video where someone is doing something kind for an animal or for another person—and that physically, for you, changes your own brain chemistry.

And this is where, at least in my opinion, a sense of responsibility comes in. Because we are always witnessing each other's actions.

And if we want to be impactful, if we want to uplift and inspire others, we can do it really easily—by either being the giver of an act of kindness, by accepting an act of kindness when someone offers to do something for you or pays you a compliment, or by telling stories or amplifying, sharing acts of kindness that you have witnessed in order to make it more of the norm and inspire other people to do the same.

So let's make this a little bit more practical now.

Kindness—it doesn't have to be some big grand gesture. Actually, I think it's even more impactful in those small, everyday moments that build up throughout your day, throughout your week, throughout your life.

So let's talk about ways, first, to give more kindness in the world.

You might think of a person that you haven't spoken to in a while, and even if you don't have a chance to have a full-fledged conversation with them, you might leave them a voice memo just to let them know that you're thinking about them, that you appreciate something. You can be general, but specific, I think, is even more impactful.

You might pay for a meal or a cup of coffee for the person behind you in line. You might write a thank-you note to someone who made an impact on you.

You can hold space for someone who needs to vent—just let them talk it out without stepping in to offer advice or solutions.

You could even compliment a stranger—sincerely and specifically.

Now on the other side of that, remember that not only being the giver helps you and the other person and anyone witnessing it, but we also need to learn how to receive kindness so that it can help the person who is trying to give it.

Sometimes we downplay a compliment that someone pays us or we refuse to let them help us by saying, "No, I can hold the door myself," "Let me get that myself."

And when you do that, you're robbing yourself of the opportunity to receive all of those great benefits—but you're also robbing the giver of that chance to receive those same benefits.

So let's soften just a little bit—those of us that are fiercely independent. When someone offers to hold the door for you, just allow that and say thank you. Because that's helping them, you, and anyone watching.

Say yes when someone offers help with something that you might not even need help with—but it gives them an opportunity to feel a little bit better for contributing.

Let someone do something nice for you without trying to reciprocate it immediately. And acknowledge the love, the compassion, the companionship behind an act of kindness, instead of just brushing it off.

Notice how acts of kindness make you feel when they happen, and allow yourself to fully receive that rather than rushing on through the next thing that you have planned.

And like I said before when I was talking about ways that you can give kindness—complimenting a stranger sincerely and specifically—think now: if someone compliments you, the kindest thing that you can do for yourself and for them is to accept that compliment without negating it. Without downplaying it.

And then for the witnessing—some ways that you can both witness and amplify kindness that you have witnessed—is to share on social media when you see those reels, those stories. Or even if you had an example of something that you saw in your daily life, share that on social media so that your friends can also benefit from that example of kindness.

You can express gratitude when you see someone being kind. Encourage others to notice those acts of kindness if you see something happening. And reflect at the end of the day—what acts of kindness did you witness? Relive that for a moment, and it might inspire you in the next day.

So here's a little challenge if you want a challenge. Grab your journal if you've got one nearby—or you can just take a moment and reflect.

But I want you to think of a couple of different examples of acts of kindness that you might be able to give this week.

And I already said examples—maybe thinking of someone that you haven't spoken to in a while and either sending them a text just letting them know you're thinking about them and you appreciate them in your life, or sending a voice memo. That's even more powerful.

Hearing someone's voice is a type of energy transmission, so that can be even greater for them.

Maybe thinking about holding the door for someone or, again, just giving a small compliment to someone that you might see often or you've never seen before.

Making eye contact and smiling at someone is also an act of kindness. And there's so many ways you can incorporate these things throughout the day.

So just take a moment and come up with a few more ideas, if something is coming up to your mind that maybe you're being inspired to do.

And then start thinking also, not just as the giver—because that's really, really powerful—but the practice of receiving.

How can you soften a little bit and allow yourself to receive?

What tends to happen for you when someone does pay you a compliment, for example? Do you immediately negate it?

What happens when someone does try to open the door for you or do another act of kindness? Do you say, "Oh no, thank you," if they try to pay for your coffee or your meal?

So again, just going through your own day. Thinking about where kindness might be offered that you don't allow yourself to receive.

And then another thing that you can journal—three or four ways that you can amplify or witness kindness.

Like I said, sometimes when I get on social media—and I don't get on social media very often—but I look for those examples, those videos, those feel-good stories where I'm seeing someone who is being intentionally kind to someone else.

And on the other side of that, if I start to see an example where someone is being mean or belittling or mocking or laughing at someone who's getting hurt—I just immediately tune out of that one. I scroll as fast as I can away from that.

Because it works both ways. The more that we see, the more that we tend to imitate and emulate.

So finding ways that you can witness kindness or be a part of that—rather than the opposite.

And let's take it even a step further.

So last week we were talking about how important it is to wake up on purpose, as I called it. And you had an opportunity to create—I called it a personal mission statement—just an affirmation really, of how you want to show up in the world, how you want to start the day.

And you can add kindness into your personal mission statement.

Something like, “I'm going to look for ways to be kind today.”

Or you might even have something as you're getting up in the morning and getting ready for your day—you might say something very specific like, “I'm going to text a friend who I haven't spoken to,” “I'm going to call or send a voice message to someone that I haven't talked to in a while.”

You can start your day with that intention, and then it will guide your actions throughout the rest of the day.

You might find more and more acts of kindness as you go through the day, just because you started with the intention of being kind.

So some final thoughts here as we wrap up this short but sweet episode...

Just remember that kindness really is one of the most powerful forces we have—scientifically, spiritually, energetically.

And we all benefit from acts of kindness—whether we are the doer, the receiver, or simply being in the environment where kindness is happening.

It's free, it's abundant, and it is medicine that we all need.

So let's make it a priority to bring more into our lives, into the spaces around us, and to the lives of others.

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And the world needs these reminders, these messages, these actionable steps.

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Until next time, dear Divine Souls, just remember:

You are already whole.
 And your kindness is already changing the world.

Let's just bring a little bit more intentionality into it.

I can't wait to see you all next week when we Return to Her.

Namaste.

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Thanks again for listening. And I’ll see you all next week when we Return to Her.