Altering our state of mind using body language By Guest Writer Citrine Sunflower

Recipe – Life Improvement
Ingredients – A bit of acting, Cortisol and Testosterone

Testosterone and Cortisol are hormones which are released in to our body.

They determine many things which include for testosterone:

• Confidence
• Feelings of self worth
• An increase in sexual drive 
• Increase in body muscle mass
• Improved immune system 

For cortisol they include:

• Stressful feelings
• A decrease in sexual drive
• Anxiety
• Increase in fatty tissue
• Poor immune system.

Neither hormones are friends, they don’t work on a par, instead when testosterone is at work (it increases at night) Cortisol decreases and when Cortisol increases (mainly during the day) Testosterone retreats. Almost like a push and pull scenario.

Already it can be noted that an increase in Testosterone, regardless of a persons’ gender, can improve one’s physiological and psychological state. After all, exercise has been proven to improve mental health, that’s because exercise increases Testosterone and when this happens, Cortisol retreats.

Each of these hormones play a role in our everyday lives and can influence our self-confidence, self-worth and anxiety levels, all of which can determine our levels of success. For example, a person with low self-confidence, heightened anxieties and low sense of self-worth may be less successful in achieving their goals. This may relate to a job a person wants, a college course they want to complete or even a romantic relationship which they wish to pursue. This is an example of someone who would be experiencing elevated levels of Cortisol in their system.

During observations by the people watchers amongst us, the person mentioned previously would appear closed, their body language would suggest they are unconfident, they may have their arms folded, have a lack of eye contact, maybe they will look down a lot at the floor or even sit a little further away from others. They will certainly try to make themselves smaller so that they go un-noticed.

That said, how can we control this? How can we control our own body language to improve our feeling of self-worth/confidence and even decrease levels of our own damaging anxieties without saying anything?

Non-verbal communication is key although it is often forgotten about.

Take note of how you sit around your house, at work or at college. Do you sit with your shoulders closed in? Your arms folded, your ankles crossing? Do you look down a lot? Do you question your own abilities? Are your anxiety levels quite high and if not right now, do they increase when you think about completing that task which you believe you are incapable of completing successfully?

If you can resonate with this then it may be useful for you to know that you can change your own situation.

Amy Joy Casselberry Cuddy is an American Psychologist who completed research on this topic. Amy said:

‘Our bodies change our minds; our minds can change our behaviour and our behaviour can change our outcomes.’

To change your own mind, you need to do some acting! You need to start to pretend to believe in yourself and eventually you will believe in yourself. You need to believe that you can achieve your goal (the interview or the college course) and believe that you are intelligent enough to complete it, then eventually you will believe that you are worthy and you are intelligent.

‘Don’t fake it till you make it, fake it till you become it!’
Amy Joy Casselberry Cuddy

If you change your body language to compliment the above suggestions, this will support your endeavours as detailed as follows;

When a person spends 30 seconds completing stretches and adapting their body language to wider, more open positions, their Testosterone levels will increase which will also increase their levels of self-worth/belief and their levels of confidence. This person is already faking that they believe in themselves and they are already faking that they believe they are intelligent enough to complete their university dissertation, for example.

They start to become their own Oscar award winning performance, they start to become who they wanted to become and they start to achieve the things they didn’t initially believe they could achieve.

It’s amazing what a change in body language can result in!

Positive body language correlates with anxieties. Think about it, if you are feeling anxious about a job interview you so desperately want but you’re afraid and you’re worried about not making a good impression on the interviewer.

Stop.

Change your body language. Lift your chin and sit up. Open yourself up. You have no doubt, completed a lot of preparation for the interview. Now is the time to start believing in yourself. Make the impression on yourself and don’t worry about making a good impression for others. Once you have mastered the ‘art’ of at least sounding and looking confident, you will become confident. Your anxieties will lower due to the testosterone you have now increased in to your body.

If you are looking for a little ‘booster’ to compliment your ‘self-belief/confidence’ journey, you can also carry around in your pocket a little palm or thumb stone for you to discreetly hold in your pocket.

Try a Citrine stone for increased motivation, Carnelian or even a Sunstone. They are all related to your Sacral Chakra and will help to re-boost your chakra and give you the driving force you need to achieve.

In love and light – Citrine Sunflower