12. Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are

Amy Cuddy is a researcher. She researches how bodies' poses influence others and even our brains.

It is very important how we dispose use our bodies, what the gestures we make do. It influences how others present see us in theirs minds. It influences how we present ourselves.

It's not only about sensation, it's about how physiology works. When we feel powerful, tesoterone, which is a dominant hormone, is higher and cortisol, which is a stress hormone, is lower. And vice versa, when we feel us small  helpless/powerless, testosterone is lower and cortisol is higher.

A pose affects on our feelings. Experiments show that making an open/having a relaxed pose (showing positive body language) leads to increased testosterone and to decreased cortisol. So there is a simple way to grow up build confidence. Just put hold your arms upward as in a letter "V" for 2 minutes. It works.

She told spoke about this ideas to different people, but they didn't don't believe her/them. It's difficult to believe that our posture/poses can change our minds. But it's true.

At the end of the talk she asked us to try to do the different powerful poses in any situation we could can. One or two minutes and it changes your life. She also asked to the audience to distribute this information.

http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are