Many people understand that they can change their lives using the power of positive thinking. More often than not however, a very powerful component to rewiring the brain is overlooked...the body.
Did you know that the fastest way to change how you feel mentally, emotionally and physically is by striking a pose? That’s right… a pose.
Simply changing your body positioning into a pose that represents a chosen state of mind can indeed change your state of mind!
Scientific study has proven that if you can produce a genuine smile, even when you’re sad, it signals your brain to release seratonin, dopamine, and other neurotransmitters and in no time, you feel happy. Similarly, if you spend a little time grimacing and slumping your shoulders the chemicals released will produce less optimistic feelings.
Imagine then, what might happen if you posed your body into positions that represent how you want to feel more often ie; Confident, Peaceful, Youthful?
If you need help figuring out what pose would deliver the desired effect, bring to mind a person that possesses the qualities you want to embody and copy them. Picture how they move and behave. What kinds of things would they say and do? How might Wonderwoman, the Buddah or the little kid nextdoor move if they took over your body right now?
"Power posing" was first suggested in a 2010 paper by Dana R. Carney, Amy Cuddy, and Andy Yap in the journal of Psychological Science and gained attention through a popular TED talk by Cuddy in 2012.
Since then a multitude of experiments have proven that brain chemistry, emotion, muscles, and the autonomic nervous system all work in conjunction to create our reality. Those 4 components are mulit-directional, meaning any one of the components informs the other.
Since your mind can’t tell the difference between imagination and reality, start acting AS IF you feel the way you want to feel and see what happens!
What’s stuck in the body is stuck in the mind and vice versa. That is why it can sometimes be hard to break bad habits using only the mind or only the body. Why not make it easier on yourself and use both?
There are lots of great books on the subject for all you fact finders. Here's a quick little list from Amazon that you can check out to see if anything sounds interesting. In the meantime, why not try striking a power pose as often as you can remember. It could make all the difference in the world.
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