How do you stand?

When you look at the postures of the two men above what kind of perceptions do you intuit about the character's underlying personality? If we change our attitudes will how we stand also change? And what of the converse if we change how we stand will we change our attitudes?

Currently I am studying tango and spending a lot of time focusing on how my feet contact the floor, how my hips relate to my feet, how my chest relates to my abdomen, and how my head balance on top of the pile. "Feel your axis," "translate the spiral from your feet to your chest," and "open your feet" my teacher instructs over and over the past several months. One day we focus on how my feet turn, the next how I keep on loosinng the horizontality of my pelvis* (see diagram below), the next my head, and then back again to my feet.




* By engaging abdominal muscles / transverus abdominus, stretching your quads you can move from a (anterior pelvic tilt) to b (neutral).





As I am dancing I notice at times I feel more confident, and at times I feel more nervous. These underlying felt states, correspond to a change in posture. As I become nervous my back rounds a bit, my head droops forward, I loose the horizontality in my pelvis, and I move toward the goofy image displayed in the header.

Contrastingly, When I am feeling the music, feeling the enjoyment of my partner, and feeling confident, I feel a strength in my back, a firmness in my legs, and can actually feel my posture changing, getting closer to "right", getting closer to superman.

Whats more interesting, is that when I am walking down the street this awareness stays with me, I am paying attention to how my feet hit the floor, I am feeling more into my alignment. Sometimes I find myself getting nervous, and droopy, and often I challenge this state, with awareness and attention. My posture has become a biofeedback mechanism of my emotional state.

There was a study that came out somewhat recenly on how smiling effects seratonin. When people change the musculature in their face, the body releases seratonin? What happens when you change your pelvis, your feet, and your entire structure to engage each step with more grace, centeredness and strength? I dont know what neurotransmitters are changing, but I am enjoying the results.