I’ve just started reading a really cool book called ‘Presence’ by Amy Cuddy and she did some research that showed if you stand in a power pose (just like Wonder Woman) for 2 minutes in private before a job interview you will raise your testosterone (yes even us ladies!) and reduce your cortisol compared to those who didn’t do the power pose. This means that you will have increased testosterone to help you deal with a stressful situation and feel more confident and you will then feel less stressed and produce less cortisol – how cool is that! I tried it with the kids and we all laughed and had fun – and we all felt a difference! So your challenge this week is to mindfully stand as a super hero would for 2 minutes each day and notice the difference! If nothing else it will make you laugh!
Amy Cuddy emphasises that this is not someting you do with other people in your interactions as it may have an adverse effect (unless you are in a situation where you need to come across as really powerful???)! The research that shows how our body language influences other people is abundant. What her research shows is that by changing the way we stand and move our bodies – we can influence and change the way our minds think! Very cool! She has an awesome TED talk if you want more info.
Her key phrase is ‘fake it until you become it’ – this is in line with other research where they have focussed on changing your body and not your mind, for example they took kids who were being bullied and taught them to stand taller and smile….and they were no longer bullied….or by smiling at yourself in the mirror you can lift your mood or by standing taller we feel better on the inside which then influences all of our interactions. Food for thought!
So take this chance this week to bring in some imagination – choose your favourite superhero and take up their stance in private and see what happens?? And who knows – there might even be some other lessons we can learn from superheros. I reluctantly watched Green Lantern with my kids this weekend and there were some great messages in there about ‘Your will turns thought into reality, it helps you take action. It can only be defeated by fear’. ‘Your job description isn’t to be fearless it is to overcome fear with courage’. Who knew?? 🙂
Deep Heart Wisdom 
Hey! I was told to have a powerpose before I go in to audition, it really works! I thought it was just something my teacher made up, apparently not! 🙂
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HI Helen, Check out Amy Cuddy’s TED talk if you get a chance – it’s very convincing!! 🙂 I’m now doing it every day and will see if it makes a difference!! Glad it helped with your audition 🙂
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I will, it’s pretty interesting! 🙂
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