The Power of Power Posing
In high school, I first learned about power posing from a TED talk by Amy Cuddy. She describes how implementing this simple, couple-minute-long exercise can transform the ways you think about yourself and how others perceive you. According to Cambridge Dictionary, power-posing is a confidence-improving way of standing, intended to make you look and feel more confident. The idea is to make your body as big as possible because your brain associates this with confidence. The best part: it only takes two minutes, and you can perform it in front of others while appearing entirely natural, composed and confident.
I ran cross country in High School. I was part of a nail-biting rivalry. Before each race, I would stand at the start line, staring down the first one hundred meters of the course with my hands on my hips and thinking confident affirmations. Power posing transformed my anxiety into the energy I utilized for the task at hand. I would enter each race with a profound sense of confidence which led me to win State Championships and compete at the national level.
The National Library of Medicine states the power of the mind-body connection has been repeatedly demonstrated. The underlying tenet states your physiology influences your psychology. This is because various brain regions are activated during particular physical activities. Your brain interprets physical expansion as confidence. The trick: your brain cannot tell the difference between the confidence you are experiencing and the confidence you are practising. Both have the same physical results. Your testosterone levels rise and your cortisone levels fall significantly simply by expanding your body. Bonus points are awarded to those who smile as well, because your brain releases additional happy hormones.
The best time to practice power-posing is before any function or task that requires your utmost confidence. I always power pose before races, exams, or other novel, rigorous events. But really, it can be used whenever you feel you need a little confidence boost. You should hold your preferred stance for about one to two minutes, and think positive, empowering thoughts while doing so, my personal favourites being “I’ve got this, this is easy” and “I can achieve anything I want.” Before you enter your next rigorous event, give power-posing a go. Enter the arena feeling ready to show them who you are.
