Hack Your Body to Lift Your Mood
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- 24 February 2023
By Lynn Roberts
Most of us are aware that our emotions affect our posture and facial expressions. When we feel down, our shoulders may droop, our heads drop or our eyebrows furrow. When we’re feeling good, we walk tall with our heads up high. But did you know that we can hack that process to change our emotions, give us a quick pick-me-up to make us feel better and more uplifted?
Just as your body reacts to your emotions, the reverse is also true, so deliberately adopting positive posture and expressions immediately brings about more positive emotions.
Raise your Eyebrows – When you lift your eyebrows, it’s difficult to think negative thoughts – try it now!
When you’re anxious, stressed, or frustrated, you may notice that your brow becomes furrowed, maybe you full-on frown. Several experiments have shown that people with furrowed brows generate more negative emotions. When it is difficult to create a furrowed brow, for example, with Botox, it’s also harder to generate negative emotions. Unfortunately, Botox may also reduce feelings of Joy, as it’s also more difficult to create the facial expressions associated with positivity.
Stand Tall – Standing tall will shift your emotions from negative to positive.
Lift your head as if you’re being pulled up by an invisible thread, and let your shoulders go slightly backwards. Hold this posture for a full minute and feel how different your emotions are. Harvard Psychologist Amy Cuddy scientifically showed that our body posture significantly determines our attitude and self-confidence
Look Up – If you’re feeling down, look up
Lift your eyes upwards, stretching the eye muscles. Looking up engages the parts of your brain that boost your mood, it also changes the way we think. By lifting your head upwards, you positively influence your feelings; it’s difficult to feel depressed while you’re looking up.
Heart breathing – Breath into a better feeling
Place a hand over your heart, breathing in smoothly for a count of 5 or 6 and then out for the same count; imagine the breath passing through your heart. This increases heart rate variability, which is the measure of stress. More variability equals less stress. Those who have practiced heart-centred breathing report feeling uplifted and alive, with deeper connections to others and a less rushed, more peaceful life.
Lynn Roberts – Regain Psychosensory (Psy-Tap) & Clinical Hypnotherapy Practice
Facebook: Regainhypnotherapy
