The mind-body association is so powerful that our faces convey our thoughts, even after we try to mask them. Knowing that, researchers have trained doctors, spies and CEOs to scan “micro expressions,” the spontaneous emotions we tend to broadcast.

Can we influence well-being by pondering the mind-body connection in the opposite way?

Research has repeatedly shown that body movements and facial expressions will change how we interpret the world around us. In one study, scientists at Ohio State University and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid told participants they were about to test headphones so as to trick them into nodding or shaking their heads while they listened to an article.

Participants who were asked to shake their heads in disapproval were less convinced by poor arguments, whereas the participants who were asked to nod to signal approval were a lot of convinced by the sturdy ones.

Richard Petty, an author of that study, advises folks to nod as they practice positivity and shake their heads if negativity creeps in. “Some individuals think positive thoughts, however they don’t have confidence in them,” he says. “Sit up straight, nod your head and you'll be able to almost feel it. It’s like, ‘This is right.’”

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Recently, scientists have begun to observe how whole-body movements can remodel mood. In a 2010 study led by researchers at Columbia and Harvard universities, 42 participants were asked to carry either expansive poses related to power or constricted poses associated with powerlessness.(One power pose concerned standing and leaning forward against a table with hands shoulder-width apart and palms down; one ineffective pose involved standing with feet crossed and arms during a self-hug.)

After simply 2 minutes in those stances, there have been psychological changes: the facility posers felt a lot of powerful and took a lot of risks during a gambling game. However, there have been additionally physical changes: the subjects who adopted ineffective or powerless poses had higher levels of the stress hormone ‘Cortisol’ and lower levels of testosterone.

If standing tall and smiling huge alter confidence and happiness, then why not use them to spice up your confidence?

Harvard graduate school research worker Amy Galley, an author of the 2010 study, points out that power poses get results all over the animal kingdom. For humans, she recommends standing straight with feet apart and your hands on your hips, Wonder Woman–style, or leaning back during a chair with legs straight and your arms behind your head. Regardless of the pose, take up some space and convey a sense of well-being.