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Power Stance
The famous version of this research fell over. What is left is smaller, less dramatic and still useful.
The power stance is an open, upright, expansive posture held for a short period. It appears at Level 7 of both the Overwhelmed and Flat modules. It is also the practice in this library with the most complicated evidence story, and it is worth telling you that story properly rather than repeating the version you have already heard.
What it is
You stand tall, open through the chest, feet planted, taking up space, and stay there for a minute or two while noticing what changes.
What it is doing in your nervous system
What the famous study claimed. A 2010 study by Dana Carney, Amy Cuddy and Andy Yap reported that two minutes of expansive posture raised testosterone, lowered cortisol, increased risk tolerance and increased feelings of power. It became one of the most-watched TED talks in history.
What happened next. A 2015 replication by Ranehill and colleagues, with roughly five times the sample, found no hormonal effect and no effect on risk tolerance. It did replicate the increase in self-reported feelings of power. Further replications and a re-examination of the analytic choices in the original followed, and in 2016 the study's own first author published a statement saying she no longer believed the effect was real and did not recommend the research be taught as established.
What survived. The subjective effect. Across the replication attempts, adopting an expansive posture reliably increases self-reported feelings of power and confidence. That is a real, repeatable finding — it is simply a much more modest one than "two minutes changes your hormones".
The wider posture literature. Separately, there is reasonable evidence that upright posture affects mood and stress response. Studies have found that upright sitting during a stressful task is associated with higher self-esteem, better mood and lower fear compared with slumped posture, and that posture influences the accessibility of positive versus negative memories. Effect sizes are small.
What this means practically. Posture is a fast, cheap, unmistakable proprioceptive signal, and in a shut-down state it is often the only accessible lever — a collapsed body is one of the ways flatness maintains itself, and interrupting the collapse produces an immediate change in sensation regardless of what happens to your hormones.
Soma Circuit's in-app description currently calls this an "evidence based posture to increase energy and confidence". Confidence, yes, in the self-reported sense. Anything hormonal, no. This page is written to be the accurate version.
When to use it
- Before something you are dreading — an interview, a presentation, a hard conversation
- When you notice you have folded in on yourself at your desk
- When you are flat and want the fastest possible physical interruption of collapse
- After a long stretch hunched over a phone or laptop
- In a bathroom or stairwell, ninety seconds before you walk in
- Alongside a breathing practice rather than instead of one
When it is not the right practice
Take care with back, neck or shoulder problems — open the posture within comfort, do not force it. It will not change an outcome by itself, and treating it as a performance trick sets you up for disappointment. And if what you are facing is a genuinely unsafe or unfair situation, posture is not the intervention; the situation is.
Where it sits in Soma Circuit
Level 7 of the Overwhelmed module, paired with self-havening touch, and Level 7 of Flat, alongside the butterfly hug. Streaming audio.
Frequently asked questions
Does power posing actually work?
The hormonal claims from the 2010 study did not replicate, and the original author has publicly withdrawn support for them. The increase in self-reported feelings of power does replicate. So: it changes how you feel, on reasonable evidence; it does not change your hormones.
Why is it still in the app if the research failed?
Because what failed was one specific dramatic claim, not the practice. Expansive posture reliably shifts self-reported confidence, upright posture has small but real effects on mood, and interrupting physical collapse is a fast and useful lever when you are flat.
How long should I hold it?
A minute or two is the usual guidance, and the guided version paces it. Longer does not meaningfully add anything.
References
- Ranehill, E., et al. (2015). Assessing the robustness of power posing: no effect on hormones and risk tolerance in a large sample. Psychological Science, 26(5), 653–656
- Nair, S., et al. (2015). Do slumped and upright postures affect stress responses? Health Psychology, 34(6), 632–641
Soma Circuit is an educational wellness tool. It is not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis or crisis support. If symptoms are persistent, worsening or interfering with daily life, please seek care from a qualified clinician.
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