Sculpting project 12: Posture Matters: Week 1

Q: How can you change your hormonal balances from stress hormones to confident hormones in 2 minutes?
A: Change your posture.

Several years ago as I was out on a walk I realized that there were a few things that I kept hearing over and over from God. One of them surprised me; stand up and sit up straight. Because I have a small back injury I figured this admonition related to helping me feel and function better. This is true, but I have discovered that posture plays a much bigger role in my life than I had ever imagined.

God put us in a body. The postures we put our bodies in matter.

The familiar term ‘body language’ reminds us that our posture and gestures affect the people around us. In social settings we are constantly communicating with our body, and constantly reading the body language of others. Some of this communication is conscious and some is not.

A new discovery for me is the way my posture communicates to me. My posture can create a mood. Consider this study by Amy Cuddy and associates. Volunteers come into the research lab. Saliva samples are taken to determine hormone levels. Volunteers are asked to hold a specific pose for two minutes. Group 1 takes various poses of power/dominance. Here they stand or sit in expansive ways, making themselves big, occupying space. Shoulders back, arms open, legs apart. Remember the Wonder Woman pose? Group 2 takes powerless poses. Here they stand or sit taking the least amount of space, making themselves small, invisible. Shoulders hunched, arms hugging themselves or hand protecting the neck, legs twisted together. After two minutes hormone levels are measured again. The results: hormone levels of two key hormones, testosterone and cortisol have changed.

In group 1, the power posers have higher testosterone and lower cortisol levels. In group 2, the powerless posers have lower testosterone and higher cortisol levels. Testosterone is associated with feelings of power, fearlessness, and resilience. Cortisol is associated with feelings of stress. This means that with just two minutes of putting our body in a pose we send a message to our body as to how we should feel. Stand like Wonder Woman and your body will quickly send hormones to help you feel like Wonder Woman.

My posture is continually sending messages to my mind and my mood and everyone around me. So attention to my posture makes good sense.

Glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:20b