Any Body Home?

Right now take a breath and check into your body. Stop reading! What do you feel? You just took a step to enhance your communication skills.

“Your body is your instrument.” That’s what I learned as an actor, and in the years that I’ve been coaching businesspeople to express, influence, and lead, it has become even more clear. Recently, science has proven to us how true that statement is. So, here are some tips to use your body like a fine Yamaha:

1. Remember that “there’s no place like home.” I mean your body. We’ve become very brain-centered. That can be a pretty intangible place to live. When you arrive at work, don’t check your body, like a coat, at the door. Body awareness is very tangible. You can feel it. New findings show that every cell in the body functions with the brain as a unit of perception. Simply paying attention increases intuition. Taking a deep breath connects us to the body, and through the body we feel energy and emotions. Being aware of emotions in the body keeps us healthy, and it keeps us honest. We also learn through cellular memory by doing.
2. Your body is your message. Studies of communication show that what we see is 55% of the message. Posture, body language, and facial expression define you. In a first impression or in the increments of workday interactions, what you see is usually “what it is.” People unconsciously respond to that picture. It forms their perception of us. The good news is something called “Postural Echo.” This means that if you take charge of what you’re doing with your body – stand proud, open your body language, and smile – you actually end up feeling like you look. Remember, you’re in control. What you do with your body feeds back to your mind.
3. Dance to win. Move it! Studies show that simple exercise relieves depression. Experiments in mind-body connection suggest that if you move your body rhythmically to words that reflect your desire (make them up or find ones that fit) and hold the image strongly (see it — act it out), you work smarter and achieve your goal faster. Seems like magic. Jog, run, do the Stairmaster, lift weights, do aerobics, and add your own chant and visualization. Every culture has created and refined its particular buffalo dance. What did you think you were doing out there disco dancing to “Get Lucky Tonight,” anyway?

Try these powerful pointers to feel better, be true to yourself, change how people see you, meet personal challenges, and get what you want. Your body is your buddy. Take it along.