In today’s world we often hear about the mind-body connection. That connection is that what we think influences the body. One of my favorite little statements when leading a class or working with a client is “What we believe (think), we project. What we project, ourselves and others perceive. What is perceived becomes one’s reality.” These statements go right to the fact that what we think, influences our behavior. The mind-body connection is well proven and is used daily in many different ways by therapists, teachers, and coaches. In fact, I use it regularly when working with people as I do anchoring exercises to help them move purposely into different beneficial emotional states.
Let’s try a quick mind-body experiment. Read the rest of this paragraph and then close your eyes and do the exercise in your mind. Think of a time that you felt completely powerful. I mean a time you felt totally and completely powerful. A time when you could do anything you wanted, and you would be successful. Go ahead and go right into that moment of feeling totally and completely powerful. That’s right, go right into that moment and feel the feeling of feeling totally and completely powerful. See what you saw, hear what you heard and really feel the feeling of being totally and completely powerful. Let that feeling wash right over you, totally and completely feeling it just like when it happened.
Welcome back. I bet you are feeling more powerful, right now. In fact, I am sure of it because if you took the time to do the exercise you can’t help but bring that feeling back with you. Take a moment and think about your body. When you feel powerful your shoulders move back and the chest projects out more. You begin to breathe deeper and feel calmer and more confident. Your head comes up and the chin is more prominent. That is the mind-body connection.
Isn’t it great to know that if you want to feel powerful or confident or any other positive emotion all you need to do is go back into your mind and replay a time you were in that state and then bring it back with you? Be sure to remember this before your race or presentation at work. Use the mind-body connection to your advantage.
As we just saw the mind influences the body and we can use that to our advantage when needed. Can the opposite be true, is there a body-mind connection as well? This idea is a bit newer in Western culture, however as you look to many Eastern cultures, it has been there for a long time.
For example, to see the body-mind connection all you need to do is look to yoga. With yoga you use a combination of mindful breathing, along with different poses to create a relaxed state of mind. In fact, there was a study done by Jeremy R West, and Christian Otte on the effects of hatha yoga and African dance on perceived stress in 2004. They concluded that both African dance and Hatha yoga reduced perceived stress and its negative affect. So, if you are feeling stressed, yoga or some dance might be a way out of it.
Amy Cuddy in her famous 2012 Ted Talk (Your Body Language may Shape Who You Are) talked about using power poses. She found that adopting a power pose for two minutes altered the levels of hormones in our brains significantly, and impacted behavior as a result. One of the power poses she talks about is the Wonder Woman or Superman pose. Feet shoulder width or more apart, hands on hips with head up and looking out. In this pose we are taking up space and projecting confidence and dominance. The body-mind connection. Take a few minutes to stand up, get into your power pose and see how you feel. That is the body-mind connection.
So, which is it the mind-body connection or the body-mind connection? My answer is yes, it is. What really matters is how you take this information and use it to help yourself to be consistently in the most productive state for you on your path to reaching your goals. Know that when you find yourself in a state that is not productive you have the tools to change. It is not always easy and sometimes knowing you have tools is not enough. You need to use the tools and in fact put some Structure, Rigor, and Discipline around how you use them. But that is a topic for another time.
Be powerful and know that where your attention goes, your energy flows!
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. If you are looking for someone to help you achieve a goal that is just beyond your reach I am here to help. You can contact me by email at kirk@maxbelief.com.
