This Exercise is from Jeremy Howick‘s book Doctor You: Revealing the science of self-healing.
Use your mind to control your body, and vice versa
This exercise is easy and fun.
To do it, you will have to read through it once and then try it.
Whether you are standing up or sitting down, hunch your shoulders forward and look down at the ground. Stay in that position and imagine a scale from one to ten. Ten means ‘never felt better’ and one means ‘never felt worse’. What number would you give yourself on that scale? Remember that number.
Now sit up tall with your shoulders back and chest sticking out. Even if you have to fake it, put a little smile on your face. Thinking of the same scale, where one means you feel terrible and ten means you never felt better–now where do you rank yourself? Remember the number.
Is it higher than the number you gave yourself when you hunched over? By far the vast majority of people find that they feel quite a bit better. Even feeling a few points higher means that simple exercise had the same effect as some drugs. So the next time you need a little boost, just stand or sit up straight, and smile (even if you have to fake it).
