Using your Body to Change your Mind

This isn't a ballet video, per se, but it is interesting to consider in the context of how we use our bodies in ballet.  In this video, social psychologist Amy Cuddy talks about how the way we hold our bodies can affect how we feel.  She presents research about the classic example of standing in a posture of confidence (even when we don't feel confident) to boost feelings of confidence, and to impact our chances for success.

This concept really ties into the discipline of ballet, where posture is paramount, and where we expand and extend our bodies in space, to create beautiful shapes and movements.  Whether you're conscious of it or not, the very acts of assuming a lifted ballet posture, and of moving your limbs expansively outward in space, may be working to boost your feelings of confidence and self-appreciation.

So the next time you walk into ballet class, especially if it's been a tough day and you're feeling beaten down by the Universe, take few moments to close your eyes, elongate your spine, lift your chin, broaden your shoulders, and feel yourself expanding into space.  There!  Doesn't that feel good?