Do you remember how painful it was to be a pre-adolescent?   If you were like me, you were clumsy, chubby and unsure of yourself.   When I was ten years old my nickname was Two Ton, a name that I actually loved.

I had no idea that Two Ton was negative.  My father always insisted, “Bonnie, when you enter a room you must walk tall.  People will turn towards you because you are such a beautiful person.”  I believed him, so I began to walk tall.

By walking tall, I forgot that I was a chubby and clumsy pre-teen.  In my mind, I was attractive. 

It gives us confidence to walk tall.  It makes us feel good.  A smile comes naturally.  Walking tall inspires us to reach out, to experiment and test the unknown.  It is also a key to physical well-being.

Think about the message we transmit to our body.  When we walk tall we are telling our body that we are straight and strong and confident.   Our body in turn, repeats this message back to us, reminding us that we are attractive and confident.

Watch people.  Assess for yourself the impression people give us when they walk talk or when they are slumped over.

Experience the difference for yourself.   Feel how you are holding your body right now.  Is your back straight?  Are you sitting or standing tall?  Are you slumped over or maybe even sprawled out in a chair or standing and looking down towards your feet?  If you are standing tall, slump for a moment to feel the difference.  If you are sprawled out in a chair, sit tall.  Feel the difference as you change your posture.

When we are slumped over, our energy drains out of us towards our feet.  We are more easily pessimistic or even depressed in this position.  When we stand tall, however, we exude energy.  Our expression tends to be more optimistic or determined.   By changing our posture we also change our outlook to one of confidence.  Standing tall is an important trait of AgeEsteem. 

Participants in AgeEsteem® workshops, when asked to describe someone who they would consider old, will regularly cite a common trait as being bent or hunched over.  People who seem older often sit or stand with their shoulders and back rounded.  They seem to sink as we watch.   By beginning to walk tall today, you can avoid or correct this posture. 

Become conscious of how you carry your body.  Stretch to elongate it.  Pretend that you are hanging from a string at the top of your head like a marionette as you walk.   Think tall.  Feel tall.  Show your AgeEsteem.

 Walk tall.

Try the following to help you walk tall.

1. Feel how you are sitting or standing right this moment.  Are you straight and tall in your posture?
2. Stand or sit in front of a mirror so that your silhouette is reflected showing the profile of your body.  Look at how you normally stand or sit.
3. Exaggerate your posture.  Slump over and see what your reflection is like in the mirror.  Now stretch your back to make it as long and as straight as you can.  Pretend that you have a string coming out of the top of your head that pulls you straight.   Again look at your reflection. 
4. Think tall.  Picture yourself in your mind.  See yourself standing tall and straight.  When we feel tall, we actually give the impression that we are taller.  Try it.  The more often that you do this, the more strongly your mind will believe it.  People may even see you as being taller.
5. Walk tall in both your mind and body each time you enter a room.

You will soon find that walking tall has become a habit for you and that you feel healthier and more confident as a result.