Self-Coaching Tip: Change Your Environment

When I was little, my mother used to tell me, “don’t slouch.” I can still hear her voice in my head. Little did I know, that admonition would serve me well when I began learning how to coach myself.

Think about it. Every moment of every day, your body is interacting with environmental forces, such as lighting, seating and gravity. If the environment is in harmony with your body’s needs, you maintain good posture. On the other hand, poor lighting or sitting at a desk that is too big or too small, causes you to adapt your posture to the poor environment.

Change in posture is the body’s way of communicating that there is a change in your energy. The longer you maintain incorrect posture, the more constricted your body becomes. As the tension grows, your breathing is restricted, reducing the amount of oxygen getting into your system. You become more myopic—seeing less, hearing less, understanding less, and fearing more.

That’s right. Your posture actually affects your emotional state. Think about it. Fear constricts your breathing, making it shallower and faster. Fear constricts your body, tenses your muscles, making it more difficult to move. And, once fear sets in, your brain seems to shut down, reducing the number of choices available to you.

Your posture reflects how your environment is affecting your body. When you change your posture to adapt to a poor environment – walk more slowly, slump in your chair, lay your head on your arm, sit closer to your work, tilt your head – it’s your body’s way of telling you that your energy is decreasing. Your body is trying to coach you.

This week, spend some time playing with your environment and notice it’s impact on your body. Here are some suggestions to help you get started:

Change the lighting. If the room is very brightly lit, turn off some of the lights and see if your body relaxes a bit. If the room is dark, turn on some more lights.

Change the height of your chair when working at your desk. To get the correct height, place your elbow on your desk and put your hand on your face. Your fingertips should just reach your eyes.

Change the placement of your computer screen. The top of the screen should be even with your eyes so you are looking down at a 20 degree angle. This allows you to read your screen at the optimal position for your neck and back.

Change the sounds in your room. If there are a lot of sounds, reduce some of them. If it’s quiet, try adding some sound. Notice what kinds of sounds relax you and what sounds tense your body.

Move your whole body. Every hour, take a 1-2 minute movement break. This allows your body to take in more oxygen and realign your body for greater energetic efficiency.

To learn more about how your body impacts your self-coaching abilities, try our 4-month Spiritual Cross-Training program, risk-free for 30 days.