Submitted By Mindful Ease Chiropractic
Think about how you feel when you’re depressed. When you’re down. Defeated. As you think about those emotions, check in to see how your body is responding to those thoughts. What does your posture look like?
Probably smaller. You probably have rounded shoulders and a slump to your back. Chin down, head forward of your shoulders and spine.
How about when you’re joyful? Confident and happy… sense those emotions for a moment and check in with how your body is responding—how are you holding yourself? Upright and open. Shoulder blades down and back, chin up, head held high, and smiling!
Our body responds to our inner environment (our thoughts and emotions) and adopts posture and facial expressions to match and to communicate that inner state of being to the outside world. As the social beings we are, this non-verbal communication with others is really important.
Any posture and facial expression not only communicates our mood and mental state to those around us, we also communicate back to ourselves. If you adopt a slumped, depressed posture, your hormones and neurotransmitters, (and therefore your emotional state) will respond to match your posture. Just as putting a smile on our face is known to make us happier, adopting an up and open posture is a message that you are happy and confident—and a happy, confident emotional state will result from hormones and neurotransmitters matching your happy, confident posture.
Our hormones and neurotransmitters have a direct effect on emotion but they are also all multitaskers within our bodies. For example, serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and a decrease in serotonin is often blamed in cases of depression. Interestingly, serotonin is also responsible for the smooth muscle operating in our digestive systems. The hormones and neurotransmitters effecting our mood have many jobs to perform throughout our body, effecting overall health.
Chiropractic directly influences posture. In fact, at Mindful Ease Chiropractic, posture is assessed at every visit to determine how your body is misaligned in order to work towards an up and open posture. It’s extremely rewarding to help people achieve improved posture and a better ability to be up and open. They leave our office expressing a new posture, an improved emotional state, and a new, more joyful and confident body language to both the outside world as well as back to themselves
So watch your posture! Be aware of what your body language is communicating to yourself and those around you. If you’re feeling a little stuck and would like some help getting up and open, give your chiropractor a call!
Dr. Freda Tyson is the owner of Mindful Ease Chiropractic in Davenport. She specializes in gentle and effective chiropractic care with no popping or cracking of the neck or spine. For more information or to schedule a free consultation, call 563-349-4652, email drfreda@mindfuleasechiro.com, or visit www.mindfuleasechiro.com.
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