Power Poses

Like most people I am interested in body language.  Like most people I noticed awkward social interactions in day to day life.  Until recently I considered that body language is about

  • what you are communicating others
  • what they are communicating to you

I always viewed body language as a tool people use to help them understand how other people think & feel.  What I never considered is the impact my body language had on me.  The influence my body language hand on my thoughts, feelings and physiology.

We all have situations in our life when we would like to feel more optimistic and confident basically more powerful.  Social science has show that powerful leaders have low levels of cortisol (i.e. low levels of the stress hormone) and high levels of testosterone (i.e. high levels of the dominance hormone).  So what if we could use our body language to make ourselves feel more powerful in challenging situations, it turns out we can by adopting the wonder woman pose.

wonderwomanBy adopting the Wonder Woman pose for 2 minutes, social scientists have proven that it will increase your confidence, assertiveness and help you feel more comfortable in a situation.  This is due to the impact holding this “high power” pose for two minutes has on your body, its reduces your cortisol levels and increases your testosterone levels.  Meaning you are less reactive to stressful situations.

So can you apply this in real life.  Last weekend I was on my sports massage course and each weekend we have a written test we need to pass.  For some reason I had misunderstood what the test was on and forgot to review the whole subject.  I discovered this about 30 minutes before the test.  So I was in a highly stressful situation.  So I decided to give this power pose a try and did it during the next 30 minutes while revising.  The science says 2 minutes but I felt I needed all the help I could get.  It turns out that I passed.  While this isn’t irrevocable proof, I would recommend people try it.

As Amy Cuddy says “our body’s change our minds, our minds change our behavior and our behavior changes our outcomes.”  For a more detailed understanding of power poses, the science behind them, watch Amy Cuddy’s Your body language shapes who you are.

 

Related Posts

  • How to stay healthy at your desk

    This week the daily mail reported that three in four office workers blame desk for sickness: badly set up desks and chairs cost companies 7bn each year. Rather than sitting in silence or popping pain killers to ease headaches or back pain,  here are my top 7 tips for staying healthy while working at your desk.

    1. Sit up straight.  As you read this post, if you’re not running to an appointment or standing, how are you sitting? Really take notice of how you are sitting and poised. Are you legs crossed? Is your back hunched over as you read this? Or are you sitting up straight?  If you are sitting ensure that you are sitting up straight, not slouched, with your head directly over your torso and your feet on the ground, using a foot rest if necessary.
    2. User a wrist support.  Repeatedly bending your wrists up and down (extension and flexion) compresses structures inside the carpal tunnel in the wrist. This can cause pain and lead to injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome.  Place the heel of your palm on a wrists pad to minimise wrist pain.
    3. Use a headset.  If you spend a lot of time on the phone user a head set rather to avoid holding the phone to your ear by raising your shoulder which may cause neck & shoulder pain.
    4. Don't bang the keyboard instead use a light touch.  Try to use the minimum amount of force necessary to depress the keys. The tendons from your fingers connect near your elbow, so striking the keys too hard can lead to problems you might not associate with your keyboard-for example, pain and inflammation in your elbows (Epicondylitis).
    5. Look straight ahead.  Maintaining proper eye level with your computer monitor is essential. This helps you avoid straining your back, neck, shoulders, and arms. In addition, proper eye level reduces unnecessary eye strain. To accomplish this sit in your office chair and stare straight ahead. You should be looking directly at the center of your monitor. If you are not looking at the center of the screen adjust the monitor until you have the correct measurement and use a monitor riser where necessary.
    6. Save your work, save your shoulders.  Working as a massage therapist who specialise in Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage withing an office environment, I know muscular tension in shoulders causing neck and shoulder pain is a common problem.  To minimise the build up of muscular tension in your shoulders, every time your save your work or send an email simply circle your shoulder three times clockwise and then three times anti-clockwise.
    7. Book a massage.  If you are feeling the stain and pain for working long hours at your desk then book a massage which are highly effective at relieving neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain and tension headaches.
    Joanne Mullins of Vitality Therapy offers Vitality Breaks - Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage within a corporate environment allowing individuals to get well and stay well.

  • Using Positive Psychology to boost Resilience – Part 1

    Sometimes in life we can get trapped, focusing on what we don't have rather that what we do have, which can lead to a state of anxiety and stress.  I know in the past, I have been guilty of believe my happiness will increase when I earn more, find my ideal man, get promoted at work (- obviously I am talking about before I was self-employed), have a bigger house.  The danger is when we get the promotion, pay rise, bigger house etc we immediately focus on the next goal and an increase in our happiness  is now dependent on our next goal. Growing up with mother who suffered from frequent bouts of depression which made her focus on the negativity, I have learned the importance of focusing on the positive.  Now their may be some people reading this, saying that is all well and good for you, but isn't that burying your head in the sand when your have problems.  The short answer to this is no.  It is important to acknowledge your problems & difficulties but rather than focus on life’s BS and pain, focus on what is going right.  At the same time remember that what ever isn't working in your life right now, will pass!  

  • How to boost your Vitamin D levels?

    Vitamin D is a steroid hormone as the body can manufacture it (via exposure to UVB radiation from sunlight) as well as absorb it from food. So in the dark winter months when safe sun exposure is impossible without going on holiday, your can become depleted in Vitamin D.  (see signs).  So I want to explain how can you boost your vitamin D levels? Probably the simplest way it to take a vitamin D supplement, I would recommend D3 as this is the most natural form of vitamin D.  In addition vitamin D is found in the following foods.

    • Sardines
    • Wild caught Alaskan salmon
    • Egg yolks
    • Cheese
    • Beef livers
    • Butter
    • Breakfast cereals fortified with vitamin D
    • Yoghurt fortified with vitamin D
    However it should be noted that it can be difficult to optimise your vitamin D level just from food sources. Vitamin D is well known to prevent osteoporosis and promote strong bones and teeth but its role in disease prevention is probably less well known.  So in the next few blog posts I want to look at its role in disease prevention starting with the immune system.