THE SOBER WITCH BLOG

(From 7/22/2023 SWP Episode)

A simple practice for creating internal sacred space.

This practice is so simple and, yet, so effective. All we have to do is strike the superwoman/superman pose for 2 minutes. We stand with feet shoulder width apart, shoulders back, chin lifted, and hands on hips.

There’s a great Ted Talk called, “Fake It Till You Make It” by Amy Cuddy where she talks about body language and its effects on hormones, particularly cortisol (the stress hormone) and testosterone (the dominance hormone).  She was most interested in studying the body language and the hormones of powerful people vs. “powerless” people.

Powerful people were more assertive, optimistic, confident, able to think more abstractly and take more calculated, beneficial risks. Their body language was expansive, they made themselves large and took up space.

Of course, “powerless” people were just the opposite—more passive, less confident, and so on. They tried to squeeze themselves into a ball to take up as little space as possible.

She studies the hormones and sees that:

1. Powerful people=high levels of testosterone, low levels of cortisol
2. “Powerless” people=low levels of testosterone, high level of cortisol

She and her colleagues found that in just doing some kind of power pose for just 2 minutes before a high-stress event like a job interview or giving a speech, raised testosterone (our dominance hormone) and lowered cortisol (the stress hormone.)

So, the lesson: Take up as much space as you can as often as you can.

We already know we witches are powerful. Our power comes through our magic, through our power of meditation and visualization, working with the elements and nature, recognizing patterns and cycles. It is profound magic when we can utilize the power of our own bodies and body’s chemistry to affect our internal and external worlds for the better.