Have an important presentation or interview coming up and need to psych yourself up for it? Use your body to manipulate your brain. Don’t feel silly trying one of these postures, which include strutting and a superhero pose: It might keep the stress down while helping you “unleash your inner alpha dog”.
Dana Carney, an assistant professor at University of California’s Haas School of Business, explains that:
When people feel powerful, their limbs are more open and their body language is more expansive. They literally take up more space. Postures aren’t just an expression of how we feel. They can also inform the brain by changing our physiology. If you hold an open and expansive pose for a few minutes before an important situation, it can increase the dominance hormone testosterone and decrease the stress hormone cortisol.
Studies have backed up this relationship between postures and stress and feeling powerful before, so go ahead and strike a pose (in private may be best). Here are some instructions:
How to Unleash Your Body’s Inner Alpha Dog: Dana Carney [Businessweek]
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