Sufficiently intrigued by our post title? Amy Cuddy did a pretty well-known TED talk on the significant effect of body language on our lives: not only does our body language influence what others think about us, but our body language can influence how we feel about ourselves. And not only how we feel about ourselves, but our own body language can in fact effect physiological changes, such as increasing or decreasing hormone levels (like the stress hormone cortisol and the “dominance” hormone testosterone) in our blood. Check out the talk here: Amy Cuddy.
One of the main postures Amy Cuddy talks about is the “Victory” pose. You know the one. When you stand, bring your arms above your head in a “V”. Your chest lifts a little, your chin lifts. Researchers found that this posture decreases the stress hormone cortisol and increases the “dominance” hormone testosterone in our blood. In as little as two minutes of holding this pose. This leads to greater confidence, less stress and even better abstract thinking!
Sound like the opposite of what we do at work, hunched over our computers? Yep. Good news though: sure sounds like how we start our classes! It’s an energetic pose, it takes up a lot of space, and yes, increases confidence and reduces stress! We’ll see you at the barre for your next confidence boost! See how the big and small moves we do in class create big changes in your life!