A simple way to feel calm, confident + in control

Why striking a pose can boost your mood, energy and even immunity

Back in 2012, social psychologist Amy Cuddy presented a TED Talk about ‘power posing’, a technique for improving your mood and confidence by putting your body in an expansive pose. For example: standing with your feet hip-width apart, chest out, and hands on your hips. Like Wonder Woman, or Matilda, depending on your preferred cultural reference.

That TED Talk is still the second most popular of all time, with over 70 million views, but it faced an immediate backlash with critics claiming the idea is pseudoscience. At the time, I worked on a women’s magazine and the whole concept was a source of much hilarity. We did a funny feature where a writer tried power posing in all kinds of awkward situations, and most of our meetings started with someone jokingly power posing in the corner.

I hadn’t thought about this in years until last week when I interviewed psychologist Dr Nicole LePera for The Times. The feature was about improving your relationships, but one of her key points was that wha…