Use the smile/power stance daily to boost your mood!
Your body and mind are inseparable, so it stands to reason that your happiness influences your posture, and your posture influences your happiness. When you’re sad or afraid, your posture is closed, to protect you. When you’re happy, your posture is open and friendly.
But did you know that you can use your posture to FOOL your brain into thinking you’re happy, even if you aren’t? Yes, you can! And it works, within minutes. Here’s how you can influence your happiness in a few easy steps. Ideally, do this in front of a mirror although you can do this anywhere, anytime for a quick mood and self-esteem boost:
- Stand tall. Standing tall conveys confidence, authority, strength and happiness. Take a deep breath, and on the exhale, bring your chest forward and your shoulders back.
- Spread your legs slightly wider than shoulder width. This gives you a firm foundation of strength and confidence.
- Bring your hands out to the side, and raise them so they’re at a 45% angle up and out to the sides. Basically you’re making a “Y” shape. This is a gesture of openness, receptivity and joy.
- Lift your chin so that you are looking slightly up, and ahead of you and not at the ground. This symbolizes looking forward optimistically, rather than the furtive downcast glances that speak of being stuck in the past, fear and lack of confidence.
- Put a big SMILE on your face. This is the most essential part of the exercise. This power pose helps you feel positive and confident, but to feel truly happy, you must signal that to your brain with a smile. It doesn’t matter if you feel like smiling or not. Just do it. Now hold the smile, and the power pose, for a few minutes.
Within a few minutes, your mood will lift! Do this exercise anytime you feel blue!
Now – let’s expand this into how your posture will influence your happiness throughout the day:
Make eye contact and have a friendly smile when you speak to someone.
Stand tall and sit tall.
Open your solar plexus (the area just below the ribcage) – this is your “solar plexus chakra” and the seat of your self-esteem. By standing tall and elongating this area, you feel more open to the joys of life!
FEEL with your heart. Whenever you’re speaking with someone, mentally send them positive vibes from the heart. If you doubt that this works, try it. You’ll feel an expansiveness, a lightness and a joy emanating from you (= instant happiness!) and this will influence your speech and behaviors. By contrast, when you’re mentally sending someone anger or hurt (as during an argument) your heart feels physically constricted and heavy. It’s no coincidence. Which one will make you feel happier? You got it 
A friendly smile and open posture are very attractive!
Avoid crossing your arms (a signal of vulnerability and fear). Instead, learn to speak either with your hands at your sides, or if you’re uncomfortable with that, perhaps holding an object like a pen. Just avoid this protective gesture that signals fear rather than happiness. Make yourself hold it, and you’ll feel more comfortable with practice.
Speak happy words with a smile on your face. Stop complaining, bitching, blaming, criticizing, negating, worrying, judging or condemning. It will take a lot of awareness and conscious effort, but by speaking positively, you’ll train yourself to think positively. Encourage, praise, understand, applaud, inspire… always with a smile and an open posture.
Walk briskly with a spring in your step, swinging your arms in big arcs. Sure, throw a dance step or a skip in there too whenever you feel like it!
Several times a day, stand up and stretch – arms straight up, reaching reaching reaching for the sky and then give a big, full exhale.
Don’t forget to use your power pose/smile anytime you’re feeling less than happy! The more you signal happiness to the brain, the more it will come to see this as a normal state of being. Teach your brain to prefer happy thoughts!
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