Look Up, Literally

Can I ask you something? Where do you look when you are going for a walk, hike, run? 

I noticed something about myself and wonder if you do the same thing. When I walk, run or go for a hike, I find myself looking down  A LOT. I noticed this when I was going for a walk today and I was just looking down at the ground. I was very aware of where I was looking - the dirty ground, and when I actually picked my head up, lifted it, looked up, my entire perspective changed. My view had changed, and I was feeling better. 

Yes, I was looking down because I was in my head. I was walking with my head toward the ground, shoulders shrugged forward and my eyes gazing at the ground, because I was thinking negatively, I was working through some challenges I was going through. And, usually it's fear, anxiety, stress, grief, worry. So, my physical appearance and how my body was shaped was indicative of how I was thinking. 

But, when I changed my body posture, when I picked my head and looked up, when I changed where my eyes were looking - I could see the ocean waves, the sand, look at people's faces as they walked by. It was a totally different perspective. It was lighter, brighter and I could feel my negative feelings and thoughts start to disappear. 

I was really curious about this - how posture and where we are looking, looking down vs. up, could have an impact on our minds, the way we think. While I was researching, I came across studies about this exact topic, and there is a direct correlation. 

Check out this episode to learn more about this. Making this simple shift can truly have a positive impact on your mind, how you think and how you feel. 

References: 
https://thebestbrainpossible.com/posture-mood-brain-emotions/
https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-37739-001

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risemindset.com

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Episode Transcript

Susan Fink (00:09):
Hey, everyone, and welcome to the rise with the
light podcast. My name is SusanFink and this is my weekly
podcast dedicated to supportingfamilies raising children with
special needs. I'm on a missionto provide hope and positivity
through sharing my personalinsights, stories, mindset
perspectives, and ways tonavigate through this journey.
Let's get started.

(00:47):
Hey, everyone, and thank you somuch for joining me today, I
wanted to quickly mention, as Ialways do, please make sure that
you follow this podcast so thatyou don't miss another episode.
And look, if these episodes arehelping you, please leave a star
rating and make a comment orshare this podcast to help
others and it really does helpif you do leave a star rating or
if you leave a comment, it doeshelp with this podcast, getting

(01:09):
more eyes more visibility sothat we can help more people. So
I really appreciate anyfeedback. I really appreciate
your comments, your shares, andjust following this podcast. So
thank you so so much for beinghere with me today. So let's
jump right into this episode.
And this episode is titled lookup, literally. And I'm not
talking about looking up at thesky or looking up at the gods or

(01:30):
the heavens or anything likethat I'm talking about looking
up as far as where your eyes andyour head are pointing. I just
noticed this about myself andhave noticed this before. But
more recently, as I go for awalk or if I go for a run or
something like that, I I findmyself looking down. I'm looking

(01:50):
down to the ground. And I waswalking earlier today. And I
noticed I was looking down and Iwas very aware of where I was
looking. And I just happened tolook up, just look up, tilt my
head up straight and lookforward. And my whole
perspective changed. There'ssomething going on here about

(02:12):
where we are looking, and howour physical body and how we may
be slouching or looking down ourshoulders or going forward has
an effect on our mood. Themoment that I actually looked up
and lifted my head and lookedforward, the perspective
changed, I actually had a verybeautiful view of the ocean and

(02:32):
of the sand and looking atpeople's faces rather than
looking at the dirty ground thatI was walking and running on. So
it totally lightened me, I feltdifferent. Do you find yourself
looking down? Do you look downat the ground when you're
walking or running or doinganything outside hiking? I when
I look back, I actually feellike I looked down a lot. And

(02:55):
this is actually reallyreflective of what I'm thinking
about. I have a difficult timewith negative thinking I have a
difficult time with anxiety andworrying. And so those are
really negative feelings andemotions and that I've had to
work through for many, manyyears. If you follow me anywhere
on social media, or if youfollow me here, and you're
listening to any of thesepodcast episode, you know my

(03:18):
story. And I have dealt with alot of anxiety and fear and
stress and worry as a singleparent with an autistic child
and you know, going throughdivorce and going through brain
surgery and cancer. I mean, justyou name it. I've been through
it. It's just I've had a reallyrough last two decades,
basically. But I noticed that Ilooked down so much. And when I

(03:40):
do change that perspective, I dofeel better. So do you find
yourself looking down? Are youlooking at the ground? Where is
your gaze? How is your headtilted? How are your shoulders
are they slouch forward. A lotof times this is indicative of
how we're feeling. And I knowspecial needs, parents can feel

(04:03):
overwhelmed and can havechallenges with anxiety and
worry and fear and all thesethings that I just mentioned. So
it may not be surprising thatyou may be looking down. But the
simple act of actually raisingyour head up and looking forward
can completely change the waythat you're thinking and also

(04:24):
change your view and yourperspective. So I was really
interested in understanding moreabout this. And obviously I'm
not a doctor, I'm not you know,I don't have a background and
understanding how our posture,how our gaze where we're looking
how our shoulders are, how thisaffects our mood in our brain
and the chemistry in our body,actually, so I started

(04:45):
researching this. And there areso many articles out there about
how there is a link with ourphysical body and our posture
and our overall mood. So therewas actually a study done at
Harvard University and Amy CuddyDid a 2012 TED talk on this and
how two minutes of a power posea day can change how you feel

(05:06):
about yourself. So what happensis when you sit or stand with a
really good posture, yourshoulders are back, your head is
up, you're looking forward, youactually release testosterone in
your body. And that actuallyhelps you build self confidence.
So when you increase yourtestosterone, apparently, based
on a study in the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, they found

(05:28):
that if you have good posture,you increase your testosterone,
which actually decreases yourcortisol levels. So this is so
fascinating to me. Because whenI literally lifted up my head to
look forward, I felt a totalchange in my body, it was so
crazy, and my mood started toshift just by making that small

(05:49):
adjustment. So there were someother studies about slouching,
and how slouching can alsoaffect your mood. So there were
researchers that studied somepeople in New Zealand, and it
was published in healthpsychology. And so what they
found was that when peopleslumped, and they were in a
slumped position, they reportedfeeling fearful, hostile,

(06:11):
nervous, quiet, sleepy,sluggish, you know, you're just
slumped over. And that's kind ofhow I was feeling my shoulders
were forward, I was lookingdown, my head was pointed down.
And I was definitely in my headabout some things I was thinking
and kind of ruminating, myposture was not very good. The
moment that actually changed myposture, change my view, change

(06:33):
my perspective, physically, Ifelt better. So they associated
good posture with a higher selfesteem and low fear or less
negative emotions. And that iscrazy to me that there is a
physical aspect of our body thatcan affect the way that we
actually feel negative emotions,and it can actually reduce that.

(06:57):
And I'm telling you right now,I've said it so many times
already, I totally noticed thishuge shift. And of course, it
wasn't like this crazy, likerainbows all over the sky,
right, I could really feel achange in my mind as I changed
the way that my body posturewas. So poor posture, and the
way that your shoulders are andthe way that your neck is your

(07:20):
head, and all those things thatalso relates to other physical
pain. So sitting with a poorposture, or walking with a poor
posture can actually have anegative effect on your body
physically. So I think that'skind of a no brainer, right? It
actually negatively affects yourbodies, your muscles become
weaker, you may experience moreheadaches, because of the way
that you're holding yourshoulders and your neck. But I'm

(07:41):
not necessarily talking aboutthe physical aspect here, I'm
talking about that connectionbetween our posture and the way
that we are holding ourselves,and how that affects our mood.
And as a special needs, Mom, Ineed all the help I can get as
far as affecting my mood in apositive way. Every day is

(08:01):
different every day can be achallenge. And I have to be very
intentional and very aware ofhow I'm feeling and how I'm
coping with different emotions,and how I'm resolving anxiety,
fear, worry, how I'm resolvingthose things, and the tools that
I have in my toolbox to be ableto help me every single day. And

(08:21):
if changing my posture andchanging where I'm looking when
I'm walking or hiking or runningor whatever I'm doing, changing
my view, can actually boost mymood, and help me alleviate
negative thinking. I'm going todo it. So if you are walking
around, and you notice yourselflooking down, if you notice

(08:44):
yourself looking at the ground,I hope that this episode right
here helps you remember to makethat small shift, pick your head
up, look forward, look up, havea different perspective and have
a better posture so that you canactually have a more positive
way of thinking. So I hope thatthis episode has helped you I

(09:08):
know this was really short andvery specific. But this has been
going on for me for a reallylong time. And over time, I have
become so much more aware ofwhat's going on in my mind
what's going on with my body. Ihave become so much more
intentional with what I'm doing.
And the awareness helps mebecome intentional. And then

(09:29):
I've figured out differentsolutions that can help me and
this isn't difficult, right?
It's not difficult. Pick yourhead up, look up. Instead of
looking down at the ground. Itwill change the way that you're
thinking and it will give you adifferent perspective. So that's
it for this episode. If you canrelate to this, please follow
this podcast so that you don'tmiss another episode and if you

(09:51):
are looking down, look up. Youare not alone in this. This is a
really simple solution. To helpyou. And if you need more help,
I am a mindset and life coach.
So DM me at Susan Fink dot riseor you can check out my website,
rise mindset.com to connect evenmore. And I want you to

(10:11):
remember, like I said, You arenot alone in this journey, stay
connected, reach out. There aresolutions out there to help you
each and every day. And by doingsome of these very simple things
can actually help you and theway that you're thinking and
help you get through each day.
So my mission is to help as manypeople as I can and I cannot do

(10:32):
that without you. So thank youso much for listening. Thank you
for your support and sharingthis podcast to help others and
until next time, I appreciate Iempathize and I am here for you
and