BLUSH Winter 2019

BLUSH | HEALTH & FITNESS
If you want to change your mood
and feel more powerful and
confident, forget the stuff out
there that says, “think your way
to being happy”, because this
alone is not going to cut it! You
need to get up, move your body
– basically change your physiology and that
will change the biochemistry that makes up
dominance and stress.
As Tony Robbins says: “Physiology
creates psychology.” And “Motion creates
emotion!”
You see, our posture does more than
change our emotional state; it has a huge
effect on those around us too! Becoming
consciously aware of your pose gives you the
ability to build rapport with everyone you
meet – it’s your superhero power!
even the types of hand gestures they use
when it’s your turn to speak can level out the
power. You will quickly see that you regain a
balanced level of rapport – and you are both
likely to relax too!
If you are not in a great mood, or
you aren’t feeling particularly motivated
then take note of the way your body is
positioned... You’ll probably notice that
your body is a bit more slumped over, and if
you’re tired, maybe the way you are talking
and moving is a bit slower too. Generally,
your body posture will be closed-in and
smaller than your natural frame.
Now picture a dominant person or a highpowered
leader, how do you imagine their
body is positioned? Their posture would
likely be big, open – taking up space: This
is called the ‘power pose’. The power pose
is incredible, because it not only makes you
feel empowered; it also enables you to be
less reactive to stress.
like it. (The power of a smile is incredible.)
Hold the smile for two minutes with one of
the following:
1
Power
Pose –
Hands on
Hips
2
Power Pose
– Hands
behind Head
with Leg
over Knee
3
Power Pose
– Hands in
the Air
it not only makes
you feel empowered;
it also enables you
to be less reactive to
stress.
Think of a time when you were speaking to
someone who stood in a dominant pose,
you may have closed your body off, which
in turn made you feel disempowered. We
can only feel dominated when we allow
ourselves to be dominated! To counteract
this, simply mirror the other person’s body
language. Little things like matching their
facial expressions or the tempo of their voice,
Here’s how to effectively
use power poses:
During everyday interactions, you may want
power poses to be a little subtler – we could
run around with our arms in the air like an
athlete who’s just won a gold medal, but
in some settings, this option may not be a
suitable reaction.
Small adjustments are sufficient in social
situations. For example, you could uncross
your arms, pop your hands gently on your
hips, keep your shoulders back. When you
are seated, being mindful that your back
is straight and strong and your shoulders
are back, creates positivity and a feeling of
empowerment.
If you want to change your emotional
state quickly, or you know you are about to
do something that requires confidence, find
a bathroom or a private place and use one
of the following power poses:
Start by smiling, even if you don’t feel
How would it feel to feel confident
in everything that you do?
Amy Cuddy did some research into the power
pose and found that in the high-power
pose there was a twenty percent increase in
testosterone (dominance) and a twenty-five
percent decrease in cortisol (stress).
As you can imagine, this is not just about
changing how we feel in the moment.
Once you understand how powerful this
technique is, you’ll experience how quickly
it affects your entire life!
How would it feel to just know that
you are totally capable and can assert
yourself in situations that you would have
previously felt small in?
From now on, if you hear the phrase
‘no-one can make you feel anything’
you’ll know it’s completely true, because
at any given moment you can whip up
your superpower, change rapport, react
confidently and totally transform the way
that you feel. Enjoy the results!
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BLUSH | WINTER 2019 91