Linda Schroeder
Master-E, Certified Network Spinal Practitioner, Chiropractor
Today I would love to talk about the impact that posture has on your emotions.
Your posture can influence your emotional and energy states. Let’s try a little exercise. Imagine someone who is so happy their happiness is overflowing and infectious. They have tons of energy. They are in such a good mood that even if someone knocked their ice cream cone out of their hand, they would shrug it off and continue their amazing day. What does this person look like? How does their posture look? They have their head up, their shoulders back, they are standing straight, they are simultaneously grounded and flexible. Put yourself into this postural position and take a slow deep breath in through the nose and out the mouth. How does it make you feel? Do you notice anything?
Now let’s try it again with someone who is in a really bad mood. So again, imagine someone who is in such a bad mood they suck all of the air and life out of the room. They are grumbling, grumpy, agitated and angry. They have no energy for anything constructive. They are in such a bad mood they would steal the ice cream cone out the hand of that happy person who was handing it to an excited little girl petting a cute fluffy puppy as a butterfly lands on its nose. What does this person look like? How does their posture look? Their head is down, their shoulders are rolled forwards and they are slouched or hunched over. Put yourself into this postural position and take a slow deep breath in through the nose and out the mouth. How does it make you feel? Do you notice anything? Did you even maybe breathe differently?
These are of course generalizations, but it is interesting to notice how our posture can influence our mood and vice versa. The next time you find yourself in a “less resourceful” (energy poor) state, try to take a step back from yourself and see what your posture looks like. If you are ready and willing to change your posture, just test it out. Shake it out and make a little noise while doing it. See what you notice. Just remember, be careful…you might just start to smile 😉
Joy-fully Yours,