Did you know your body can make you happy? I’m not talking about being happy with your body (although that is important). I’m talking about body language and how a simple pose can actually make you happy. Simply standing up nice and tall, keeping a smile on your face (no matter what), dancing, etc. will get your endorphins jumping up and down with excitement and fuel your happy place.
But if you are looking for more happiness and confidence…
Try standing just like Wonder Woman in the picture here, with your hands on your hips like she’s doing or with your arms outstretched as if you are about to give someone a huge hug. This is THE power pose of all power poses and it can radically change your life by doing it for a short time every day…by doing it before you enter a stressful situation…by doing it any time you feel like you need a little boost.
You’ll be amazed at how different you will feel. I know I was. If you’d like more information on this topic, I recommend checking out Amy Cuddy’s TedTalk below…well worth the few minutes to watch it.
Love Amy Cuddy….love her message.
I love that Wonder Woman pose! I often make that pose when I’m feeling lighthearted and playful. I’ll try it out when I need a power boost, too. Thanks for the idea!
Love it! Wonder Woman is the epitome of power (and happiness!) 🙂
I’ve recently taken up a tai chi practice and am really paying attention to postures and form, and how we embody our stance. I enjoyed Cuddy’s talk
I majored in theatre at college and I’ll never forget a director pointing out my “odd’ stance. She said that I hunch over. Now I’m not 6 feet. I’m actually 5 foot 2. So this was not a reaction of trying to scrunch down to a smaller size. I was gobsmacked. SO glad she pointed it out and I still – years later – catch myself doing it. I then straighten out my back, lift my head and feel so much better.
That is great that she shared that with you! Funny how much we do that we don’t even realize.
“Fake it till you become it.” It’s a little fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, except that pictures of the actual poses are shown.
But are there only benefits? I guess I notice myself a bit hesistant to try it–not because I think it wouldn’t feel good to be confident. I know it would. I guess I’m afraid that I’d become OVERconfident, like the girl in the photo who put her feet up on the interviewer’s desk during the interview. I’ve gone a bit overboard in my confidence-building to arrive not at confidence and self-assurance but at arrogance or show-offiness.
But I’m going to start enacting these power poses privately. And thanks for attaching the video. I usually won’t watch videos, especially of this length–I prefer to just read, then I can either skim or re-read in depth, but a video kind of locks you down for a set number of minutes with no way to speed through without missing something. However, I really enjoyed this one and didn’t mind the 21 minutes spent.
I’m with you, Tricia. If I include a video, it’s because I feel it’s that good. I prefer to read too!