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I've done this goofy thing for years before public speaking or any situation that tends to stress me out. Situations where I know I'm going to tense up, shrink down, make myself smaller. Before those moments, I find a private space, like a bathroom, an empty hallway, hiding behind a tree, and I stand there for two minutes with my arms spread wide and my chest open. It’s all very Titanic-esque, like that scene where Jack and Rose are on the front of the ship and she's doing the 'I'm flying' thing, except I'm alone in a bathroom and there's no romantic music, just fluorescent lighting and the faint smell of industrial soap.

If anyone walked in, they'd think I was either having some kind of moment or reenacting a very sad, solo version of a James Cameron film.

I’ve learned that it's hard to feel small and balled up when you're physically opened up. And more importantly, when you change your body, you actually change your brain.

This isn't motivational poster nonsense. This is actual science. Your posture directly affects your mood, your confidence, your stress levels, and even your hormone levels. When you stand tall with your body open, your brain reads that position and adjusts accordingly. Smart people call it embodied cognition, and it means your body isn't just along for the ride but steering.

Most of us think it works one way, where you feel confident, so you stand taller. You feel anxious, so you curl up. Your emotions create your posture. And that's true. But it also works in reverse.

Stand tall, and you feel more confident. Open your body, and you feel less anxious. Spread your arms wide like you just won something, and your brain starts believing maybe you did.

Your body and brain are in constant conversation. And most of the time, your body is talking but you're not listening. You're hunched over your desk, shoulders rolled forward, head down, wondering why you feel stressed and small. Meanwhile, your body is literally telling your brain "we're stressed and small."

But you can hijack that conversation. You can change your posture and let your body tell your brain something different.

I started doing this years ago after seeing a video and figured I had nothing to lose. The research that shows standing in expansive, open positions for just two minutes can change your hormone levels, reduce stress, and increase confidence. The research has been debated and refined over the years, but the basic premise holds up. Your posture matters. How you hold your body affects how you feel.

So before I give a presentation or pitch an idea or walk into a stressful meeting, I stand like someone who's not about to panic. Arms wide. Chest open. Head up. Like I've already won whatever I'm about to do.

I can't always control how I feel. But I can control how I stand. And it turns out, that's often enough.

So this week, we're talking about the science of embodied cognition, why your posture directly affects your stress levels and mood, how standing tall for two minutes can change your brain chemistry, and why your body might be the easiest way to hack your mental state when everything else feels overwhelming.

Let's dig into why standing like a superhero for two minutes isn't just silly posturing, but actual neuroscience that you can use when you're stressed.

Your brain reads your body's position and adjusts your mood accordingly.

This is called proprioception, which is your brain's awareness of where your body is in space. Research shows that your brain constantly monitors your posture, muscle tension, and physical position, then uses that information to determine your emotional state. When you're hunched and closed, your brain interprets that as threat or defeat. When you're open and expansive, your brain interprets that as safety or confidence. Studies in embodied cognition demonstrate that physical states directly influence emotional and cognitive states.

Power posing changes your hormone levels.

Amy Cuddy's research on power poses (standing in expansive positions for two minutes) showed that it increased testosterone (associated with confidence) and decreased cortisol (the stress hormone). While some of her original findings have been debated, subsequent research confirms that posture affects stress and confidence. A study in Health Psychology found that sitting upright versus slumped increased positive mood and reduced fatigue. Research in the European Journal of Social Psychology showed that expansive postures increased feelings of power and risk tolerance. The exact mechanisms are still being studied, but the effect is real. How you hold your body effects your brain chemistry.

Slouching increases stress and negative thinking.

Research published in Health Psychology found that slouched posture is associated with increased stress, decreased positive effect, and lower self-esteem. When participants were asked to sit in a slumped position, they reported feeling more fearful, hostile, nervous, and passive compared to those sitting upright. Another study showed that people who walked in a slouched position recalled more negative memories than those who walked upright. Your posture reinforces your mood. When you're already stressed and you hunch forward, you're telling your brain to be more stressed. It's a feedback loop that makes everything worse.

The effect is bidirectional and you can use it.

The relationship between body and mind goes both ways. Feeling confident makes you stand taller, AND standing taller makes you feel more confident. Research shows that deliberately changing your posture can interrupt negative emotional states. When you're anxious and you force yourself to open up your body, you're sending counter-signals to your brain. You're breaking the feedback loop. Studies show this works even when you don't "feel" confident. Your brain doesn't know you're faking it. It just reads the position and adjusts.

It takes about two minutes to work. Research on power posing suggests that holding an expansive posture for at least two minutes is enough to create measurable changes in how you feel and how your body responds to stress. Two minutes. That's it. You don't need to maintain perfect posture all day or become someone who stands like a superhero permanently. You just need two minutes before a stressful situation to reset your nervous system. Before a presentation, before a difficult conversation, before anything that makes you want to curl into a ball, stand tall and open for two minutes. Let your body tell your brain a different story.

This week, instead of trying to think your way out of stress or anxiety, try using your body to change your mental state.

Try the two-minute power pose before something stressful.

Find a private space. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms stretched wide (or hands on hips like Wonder Woman if wide arms feel too weird), chest open, head up. Hold it for two full minutes.

Yes, you'll feel silly. Do it anyway.

Notice how you feel before and after. You're not trying to convince yourself you're confident. You're just giving your brain different information through your body and letting it adjust.

Permission slip for the week: You don't have to feel confident or calm to stand like you are. Your body doesn't care if you're faking it. It just sends the signals, and your brain adjusts. Use that.

Reflection questions:

Have you tried this? What situations make you want to curl up small, and what happens when you force yourself to open up instead?

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If this made you realize your body has been telling your brain you're stressed and you want to try telling it something different, share this with someone who could use two minutes of standing like a superhero.

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That's Volume 050.

Here's to standing tall when you feel small, letting your body hack your brain when your thoughts won't cooperate, and remembering that sometimes the fastest way to feel better is to just physically take up more space.

Until next time: breathe deep, stand tall, and chill the duck out.

Jason

Research on proprioception shows the brain constantly monitors body position to determine emotional state. Amy Cuddy's power pose research demonstrated posture affects hormone levels, with subsequent studies confirming postural effects on stress and confidence. Studies in Health Psychology found upright posture increases positive mood and reduces fatigue compared to slouching. Research in the European Journal of Social Psychology showed expansive postures increase feelings of power. Studies show slouched posture is associated with increased stress, decreased positive affect, and lower self-esteem. Research demonstrates the body-mind relationship is bidirectional, where posture affects emotion and emotion affects posture. Studies suggest holding expansive postures for two minutes creates measurable changes in stress response and confidence.