Lesson 36

The mind-body connection is a two-way street. Psychology influences physiology just as much as physiology influences psychology. The mind influences the body as much as the body influences the mind. A lot of yoga is based on this. We place the body in certain positions to have a specific effect on the mind — good posture, for example. Amy Cuddy is famous for her work on power poses. How you position your body matters and directly affects your mindset.

Let’s go over a few examples of how to utilize this. As we have already discussed, a long spine will make your mind more alert. You will be more aware of your environment and more confident. If you are feeling depressed and have low energy, you can practice front body openers. In yoga, this is when you bring the upper and lower body away from each other — increasing the angle. Examples of front body openers can be found in Chapter 5 and include poses like bridge pose, standing back bend, wheel pose, and any variation of a heart opener.

If you are feeling anxious with an out of control mind, you can practice a forward fold variation. This is when you bring the upper and lower body towards each other — decreasing the angle. Examples include child’s pose, seated forward fold, happy baby pose, and squat. These are just a few options, with many more in Chapter 5.

We go over specific poses later, but the main point of this lesson is to drive home that the mind-body connection is a two-way street. How you position your body matters and greatly influences your mindset.