In addition to relief of physical symptoms, Rolfing® may help improve how you communicate with others. Studies on communication have shown that 93% of our communication is non-verbal. Take a second to visualize your ideal picture of a successful person. Chances are, they are standing upright, smiling. How you hold yourself constitutes a major element of how we communicate through body language and the way others perceive us.

Imagine how much more successful your communication will be if you can hold yourself upright effortlessly in a light, fluid, balanced body.

Let’s take a second to consider the effects of posture on how someone may perceive you:

When we slouch forward and make our bodies smaller, we take on those feelings: we feel smaller and, worse, we feel powerless.

When we stand upright, we take up space and we show our dominance: we feel powerful and confident.

Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist, gave a great TED talk on this very topic:

Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are

Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how "power posing" -- standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don't feel confident -- can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.

From the TED website:

"Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how “power posing” — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success."

If you don’t have the time to watch the full twenty minutes, here are the highlights from the talk:

+ We make sweeping judgements based on body language, influencing things from choosing who we date to who we hire (or vice versa: who chooses to date and hire us).

+ How we hold ourselves can not only influence how others see us, but can also influence how we feel about ourselves.

+ Amy did an experiment, having people stand in what she calls “power poses” or “low power poses” for two minutes and then measured two key hormones, testosterone (which makes you feel powerful) and cortisol (which makes you feel stressed). After two minutes:

-Those who stood in the power poses increased their testosterone by 20% and decreased their cortisol by 25%

-Those who stood in the low power poses decreased their testosterone by 25% and increased their cortisol by 15%

Meaning, those who stood in the “power poses” not only felt more powerful, but were able to handle stress better.

Those who stood in the “low power poses” actually felt less powerful and were more sensitive to stress.

Now, take a look at this guy, two pictures from before the ten-series and after the ten-series:

On the left: Before the Ten-Series. On the right: After the Ten-Series

Before the ten-series, he is obviously a good-looking, fit guy. But consider his posture before the ten-series: he naturally wants to slouch, and appears to be pulled down by gravity. How do you think others saw him? How do you think he feels? Then, consider his posture after the ten-series: he appears taller, and actually looks stronger and more confident.

Which would you prefer?