Strike A Pose - There’s Everything To It

When Madonna once famously sang the song ‘Vogue’, she penned the lyrics ‘strike a pose, there’s nothing to it’.

From our mind’s perspective, however, there is everything to it. It is a known fact that the positioning and shaping of our bodies can strongly influence our minds.

To test this premise right now simply stand up tall, put your shoulders back, arms out wide, your head up high and smile widely. How do you feel? Good, right?!

Now sit back down with hands tucked into your lap, hunch your shoulders forward, bow your head to the ground and frown. We’re guessing you’ve noticed the difference!

Strong body language creates presence and in turn presence shows off confidence, passion, enthusiasm and authenticity - attributes that we often strive for in our lives.

So, if you are to take with you just three vital learnings from this blog, then these are those:

Our bodies change our minds

Our minds change our behaviour

Our behaviour changes our outcomes

In 1971, Albert Mehrabian, a professor at the University of California, published his findings from research into face-to-face communication. He found that our communication could be broken down into three areas: our body language, our voice tone and the words that we use.

Importantly, he also found that the degree of meaning we take from each of these three elements is very different - 7% comes from the actual words we use; 38% can be found in our voice tone; and as much as 55% comes from our body language (our physiology).

What this tells us is that as much as 93% of all our communication is done unconsciously using non-verbal means.

Returning to our friend Madonna, one excellent way of putting yourself into the right mindset for any important meeting, presentation, sporting event or performance is to spend a few moments striking some power poses (examples below).

The difference this can make as to how you then feel and subsequently perform is phenomenal. 

When we strike ‘alpha’ poses it releases our testosterone hormone that allows us to feel assertive and comfortable whereas when we are hunched up and small it releases our cortisol hormone which in turn make us feel anxious and concerned.

A lot of people may think that spending a couple of minutes adopting a power pose “isn’t them” or that they “feel foolish”. This is understandable but what we are saying is do it in private, do it wherever suits you best. The impact these 2 minutes will have is potentially huge.

Amy Cuddy, a renowned social psychiatrist and professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School famously said “don’t just fake it ’til you make it, fake it ’til you become it”. Wise words indeed.

A Game Changer says…

The mind and body cannot work independently. It is impossible to change one without affecting the other. When we alter our physiology it changes how we think and feel and when we think in a different way it changes our physiology.

The implications of this are massive in all walks of life so it’s important to consider it wisely, use it to your advantage and get it right!

When a top athlete is preparing for a major sporting event, take a moment to watch how they affect their own body language several minutes prior to the action. It is very noticeable in high octane alpha sports such as boxing. Also watch the competitors prior to a men's athletics 100m final. It is fascinating.

Finally, having read this blog, we ask that you do one thing. Before your next meeting or interview, sporting event or important performance, take just 2 minutes to strike a few ‘power poses’ and as you do it, smile and allow yourself to feel good :-)

A Round In The Mind

For years Major James Nesmith had dreamt of improving his golf game - and after much searching he finally developed a unique method for success.

Major Nesmith was your average weekend golfer with a handicap of 18. Then suddenly, for seven years, he completely quit the game. Never touched a club. Never set foot on a course.

It was during this break from the game that his new technique for success was born. In fact, when he returned to the fairways after his golfing hiatus he shot an astonishing 4 over par round of golf! He had cut 14 shots off his handicap without having touched a club. Amazing.

On top of not having played for seven years, his physical condition had also deteriorated drastically during this time. What was Major Nesmith's big secret? Mental Rehearsal.

You see, James Nesmith had been captured and imprisoned during the Vietnam War for those seven years. His living quarters had been a cage that had measured 5ft wide x 6ft long.

Throughout the entire time he was captured he saw almost no one and spoke to almost no-one. He had no physical activity.

For the first few months he simply hoped and prayed for his release. He then remembered what he had been taught in the army in the event of capture - occupy the mind or risk losing your sanity and subsequently your life. This was when he became GOOD at golf!

In his mind he selected his home golf course and every day he played a full 18 holes. His imagination experienced everything to the very last detail. Before he arrived at the course he imagined himself dressed in his favourite golfing attire.

He smelled the fragrance of the trees and the freshly cut grass. Each day brought different weather conditions - wind, rain and sun. He heard the singing birds and scampering of squirrels. The layout of the course became totally real.

He felt the grip of the club in his hands. He practiced the smoothness of his downswing and the ease of his follow through on each shot. He would watch the ball arc in flight, land in the middle of the fairway and roll out to an exact spot he had selected.

All this was played out in his mind.

Every day he was in no hurry. He had nowhere to go. So in his mind he took every physical step to get to the ball, as if he was on the course itself. It took him just as long in imaginary time to play 18 holes, as it would have taken in reality. No detail was omitted. Not once did he miss a shot, never a hook or a slice, never a putt.

7 days a week. 4 hours a day. 18 holes. 7 years. 14 shots off his handicap.

A Game Changer says...

Mental rehearsal is used to strengthen or improve our behavioural performance, the way we think and our internal states.

The more multi-sensory we can make the mental rehearsal, the more effective it will be.

Mental rehearsal is a vital element to improving performance in sport. Champions have often won competitions many times in their head, long before they have competed in them. It is a key illustration of how the mind affects the body.

The way we internally represent an experience has a direct effect on our muscle response. Research has shown that when we mentally rehearse a skill, we actually fire off exactly the same neurology as if we were actually carrying out the experience.

Mental rehearsal can be used for controlling nerves, increasing energy, motivation & confidence and practising skills. It is not only a successful tool for sport but for business as well.