Passionate Self Care VIII – Position Your Body to Serve You
Did you know that your brain does not know the difference between pretend and reality? When, for example, you adopt a posture of self-confidence, your brain responds by sending these lovely chemicals that actually make you feel self-confident! By the same token, when your body is slumped in a look of defeat, your brain responds with some decidedly unlovely chemicals that reinforce your feelings.
If you were crazy enough to allow it, I could teach you how to put yourself into a state of depression.
All you would need to do is slump your shoulders, collapse your core so it’s mushy, cast your eyes down, frown and breathe very shallow. Within minutes, I guarantee you would feel down. If you do it for a long enough period of time, you will be depressed.
On the flip side, if you are already feeling down, you can quickly pull out of it by doing the opposite: sit or stand up straight, pull your stomach muscles tight, look out at the world, smile broadly and breathe deeply. Within minutes your mood will lift. Imagine how great you’d feel if you did that for a long period of time.
Here are some other physical “tricks” that will quickly elevate your mood:
Sing. When you sing, your brain gets the message you are in a good mood.- Laugh. This is a quick way to go from feeling stressed to feeling blessed.
- Extend the hand of friendship. Doing for others is guaranteed to elevate your mood.
- Dance. You can’t dance without music and when your brain hears music with a dance beat, it makes you—well, want to dance!
- Hang out with happy children. Kids have their priorities straight—it’s all about what makes them happy.
The Law of Attraction says that you get more of what you focus on. When you position your body to “act as if” you immediately shift your brain’s focus. Ask yourself how you want to feel, adjust your body accordingly and watch how quickly you feel the way you want.
