In another article from “The Psychotherapy Networker”, therapist Babette Rothschild wrote about the impact of different body states on emotions and states of mind.  In her article, Babette talked about how, while in college, a friend taught her how to mimic the body postures and walking styles of the people around her as a way to discover the other person’s state of mind – how they lived in their bodies.  Babette practiced this for years, and it was a factor in her becoming a body-based psychotherapist with a great deal of understanding of how we hold states of mind and emotion in our bodies.

Babette’s article reminded me of how powerful it is to shift posture as a way to shift how we’re feeling internally.  Early in my work with people using the metaphor of the future self as a way to access internal potential, clients and workshop participants constantly reported – and still do – sometimes profound body shifts as they “became” their future self.  These shifts in body state inevitably bring with them a shift in state of mind and emotion.  Often, people report “feeling taller”, a body shift that tends to bring with it an increased sense of self-confidence, personal power, or a noticeable shift of some kind in the arena of self-image and well-being. 

One of the most powerful phases of my personal journey began when I had my first experience of a future self.  I imagined that I could become the image in front of me, in a very real sense “entering” her body.  As I did, I noticed that the core of her, all the way down inside her stomach and belly, was solid and comfortable – quite different from my much more agitated internal experience at that time.  I didn’t quite understand all of what was happening, but the change in body state was profound and had my undivided attention.  I gave myself time to really absorb the sensations of being my future self by touching into the experience once a day and, from that time on – which was 23 years ago now – I have consistently reached out to the next future self to allow my body a chance to discover, experience, and incorporate new states of being.

Also, in the work I now do with people using Somatic Experiencing, recognizing and emphasizing shifts in the body are important parts of healing from trauma and distress.  Often, as clients move through postures and body states that have been present for a long time, they find themselves also feeling taller, or more spacious, or in other ways shifting into body states that can deeply affect their sense of themselves and their world.

And so, for this week’s experiment, I invite you to explore body postures, and to discover which postures support feeling good about yourself and your world, and which demotivate or disempower you, or lead to distressing or depressing emotions.  The shifts in body posture don’t need to be dramatic.   Allow yourself to check out what happens when you deliberately change your posture from one that has you in an emotional state that doesn’t feel good into one that elicits a more positive state of mind and being.  One to try is to notice whether you’re sitting up straight or slumping.  Notice what happens if you straighten your spine, lift your head, bring your shoulders back and ”find your seat”.  Another might be one I’ve mentioned many times:  if you find that you’re frowning and your brow is drawn and tight, notice what happens if you relax your jaw – maybe even allow yourself a small smile – and relax your forehead.

As with all the experiments, there are no right answers here.  Instead, there are some useful, small shifts possible that can have a noticeable effect on how we feel.  Once again, awareness becomes a valuable companion, allowing us a moment of choice once we become aware that we are in a body posture that generates or emphasizes feelings and states of mind that may bring discomfort or distress.