Inner Matrix Systems Answers, Can Your Body Posture and Facial Expression Change How You Feel?
Anyone who has ever been interviewed, spoken in front of a group, or held a place of influence knows that our emotions are reflected in our facial expressions and body posture. People who are confident sit up straight and have open shoulders. People who are angry or sad might hunch over and frown. Research now shows that body posture works the other way around too. Joey Klein, CEO at Inner Matrix Systems (IMS), explains that we can influence how we feel by using our face and body.
If you want to feel happy — smile. If you want to feel confident and in control — pull your shoulders back, stand up straight, and walk more expansively. Anyone can try this to realize that it works, but the science behind it shows that there are chemical connections between your mind and body that influence the emotions you feel.
The cells of your body are continually listening to your thoughts. If, for example, you feel sad and lonely, you will react to those thoughts by recognizably sad facial expressions and body language. Furthermore, as a reaction to this unfortunate posture, neuropeptides flow into your bloodstream, further intensifying your feelings of sadness. Research indicates that body posture not only reflects emotions but also contributes to them.
The good news is that studies show you can influence what messages are sent to your brain by changing the expression on your face or your body language. When you act like you are happy, you will feel an increased sense of happiness. The very act of smiling will make you want to smile. Even if you fake it, smiling raises your mood. It stimulates the amygdala — the emotional brain center, resulting in a release of neurotransmitters that encourage happiness.
The IMS personal mastery training system for high achievers combines the art of mindfulness and the science of neurobiology, which takes into account the influence our bodies have over our emotions. One part of our training system is using inner training techniques to become aware of our emotions and shift them to align with the outcomes we want to create. When practicing these inner training techniques, it’s important to sit with your feet shoulder-width apart, back straight and relaxed, with a gentle smile on your face. This body positioning ensures that we are communicating to our body the emotions we want to feel and not accidentally sending mixed signals to our body.
Being aware of body posture and facial expression can support feelings of confidence and joy. Combining that with thoughtful inner training can help to shift negative emotions. Neuroplasticity — your brain’s ability to change through growth and reorganization — explains how this happens. Armed with this knowledge, you can change your brain chemistry and how you feel based on your actions and how you hold your body.
About Inner Matrix Systems
Inner Matrix Systems, based in Denver, is a personal mastery training system for high achievers. For more than twenty years, IMS has delivered a proprietary methodology that rewires, trains, and aligns the nervous system, emotions, and thought strategies to create real-life results. CEO, Joey Klein, and IMS have worked with more than 80,000 individuals from around the world through both live and online training programs, as well as one-on-one coaching. Clients have included: Boeing, IBM, Dell, Google, Panda Express, Coca Cola and The World Health Organization. Joey is the author of The Inner Matrix: Leveraging the Art & Science of Personal Mastery to Create Real Life Results (June 2021).
