How can we improve our mood with body posture?

Our well-being and quality of life largely depend on the way in which we relate to our own emotions. However, this is a complex task that, in addition to requiring us to adopt certain routines, cannot take place if we hold certain erroneous beliefs about our side emotional.

The first of these problematic beliefs is that we are doomed to experience the emotions that we totally spontaneously, they would appear in our consciousness in a way totally disconnected from our will and our interests; The truth is that although we cannot totally control what happens in our minds, we do have a margin of maneuver to influence how we feel about the things that happen to us.

And the second of these beliefs is that emotions always manifest from the inside out, from our subjectivity to the objective actions and movements that are reflected in our Body. Actually, in the same way that the emotional has effects on our body and our actions, the same thing also happens in reverse: we can carry out actions that help modulate our side emotional. It is precisely the latter that we will discuss in this article, focusing on

how we can influence our emotions through body postures.

• Related article: "Emotional psychology: main theories of emotion"

How does our posture influence our emotions?

The nervous system is far from being a simple "control panel" from which orders are issued and all the processes that occur in our body are controlled. In the same way that the brain sends nerve impulses through the chains of neurons to activate or deactivate muscles, glands and all kinds of organs, it is also constantly receiving a torrent of information from everything that happens within us (or what is registered by our senses).

In other words, their work is not unilateral, but participates in a feedback loop of perception-action and that it does not have a clear direction: in the same way that, for example, the decisions we make affect the way we move, our way of moving leads us to register different stimuli and these new "inputs" influence our states mental.

This occurs with both biological processes that depend on our voluntary actions and those that are involuntary. For example, our nervous system is full of networks of neurons that send a lot of information to our brain all the time, and our muscles also have certain Sensory structures that inform about the position of each of the parts: these are the muscle spindles, the Golgi tendon organs and the receptors of the joints.

But these "inputs" are not simply information as we usually understand it; it is not only a material on which to make decisions and know from an intellectual point of view what happens in our organism. It also favors the appearance of some or other emotions. Something that makes sense if we take into account that emotions are ancient adaptive mechanisms that help us react to stimuli. quickly and without much thought, which is crucial for survival (we can't always afford to spend several minutes reflecting on to do).

Thus, it is not uncommon that throughout our lineage, for hundreds of thousands of years, they have been "pre-programmed" in our nervous system. a series of predispositions to link a certain emotional state to certain body positions; it is something that helps protect us from dangers and take advantage of opportunities with maximum efficiency, without taking too long.

• You may be interested: "Afferent pathway and efferent pathway: the types of nerve fibers"

The pathways of posture influence on our emotions

The way our postures affect our emotional state can be divided into two categories.

1. internal route

The internal pathway is the one that occurs in our own body.. That is, the most influenced by the organic and by our biological predispositions.

2. psychosocial pathway

The psychosocial pathway is based on the communication we maintain with those around us who can see us. Specifically, it is based on non-verbal communication; the way in which we emit information through elements that cannot be expressed in words, combined with the way in which these facts are interpreted by others. Our postures convey a message, and we register the way in which others receive that information.

• Related article: "Tips to stop thinking about what others think of you"

How to improve mood from body posture?

Although each case is unique and it is generally advisable to go to psychotherapy to receive a personalized training in emotional management, broadly speaking these are the tips you can apply to your life.

1. Avoid crossing your arms or interlocking your hands in front if you want to relax

The fact of crossing your arms or holding your hands below the sternum is linked to the expectation that something or someone may attack us; that's why we use our arms to protect certain vulnerable parts. Doing this we may feel a little nervous at first, but we will quickly flow more with the situation when we see that there are no negative consequences for having adopted a more open position.

• You may be interested: "The 8 types of emotions (classification and description)"

2. Do not tilt your body if you want to boost your self-confidence

Similarly, if you don't want to stay tense, it's best to that you orient your whole body towards where your main interlocutor is. If you offer your diagonal, your body will interpret that there is something you should fear from that person.

3. stay straight

Without becoming obsessed with keeping your spine totally rigid (something not recommended for health), at least try not to slouch too much. This posture only serves to keep several muscle groups rigid at the same time in a totally unnecessary way, keeping that active experience that something bad can happen to you and negatively affecting your self-confidence both because of how you perceive yourself and because of how you they perceive

• Related article: "The 5 practical keys to master non-verbal language"

Are you interested in starting a psychotherapy process?

If you are considering going to psychological therapy to learn how to better manage your emotions, we invite you to contact us.

In psychotools we serve people of all ages and can help you both in the context of psychotherapy as through courses and workshops and training in topics such as Mindfulness or the management of stress. You will find our psychology center in the Vallcarca neighborhood of Barcelona, ​​or you can also opt for the online therapy modality by video call.