Ladies - when you drive your car, are your knees touching or do you drive proud with your legs spread apart (like a man)? A few months ago, I started planting my feet hip-width apart when I drive but holding my knees open (in line with the feet) is the tricky part - our society trains us to close up and be ladylike but here's what I say....
Your body language is astronomically powerful. Just ask Amy Cuddy. When your knees are dropped together, you are collapsing in on yourself (literally). In an attempt to be ladylike, you've actually moved your body into a physical position that is weak and unhealthy. You're not ready to hold your ground, balance heavy loads or sprint off quickly. Look at athletes right before they perform - they put their bodies into "ready set go" positions. When was the last time you watched the Olympics and saw a sprinter standing all prim & proper at the starting line? No sir, they stand like Amazonian warrior women, hands on hips, feet shaking out by their sides, spreading their chests wide to fill with fresh air. They're about to go after their dreams so they're taking up space with their physical body so their mindset can follow. Cultivating an Olympic metal-winning mindset (or in my case, a Grammy winning mindset) is a matter of changing daily habits so my lifestyle is a self-propelling circuit of empowering energy. If I habitually act ladylike everyday and then suddenly demand Amazonia warrior women behavior once a year, it's going to be tricky to pull off. Much more effective to make Amazonia lifestyle my norm so when the starting gun goes off or the curtain raises, my behavior is reflexive! No thoughts, just flow in the zone.
So when I drive my car, I plant my feet wide apart, and push against the mental resistant band that tells me to snap my knees together. And you know the crazy part? The results are instant. I catch myself with my knees together - I feel normal. I pull my knees apart - BOOM I feel like Wonder Woman. It's that simple. Control your body and you control your mind.
BUT I'M WEARING A SKIRT?!
Yah, me too. We can sit powerfully without flashing our hoo-haas at the world. First of all, when visible in public (like a coffee shop), I usually still cross my legs (it's just too far out of my comfort zone right now to flash the world) BUT I do try to open my legs sometimes and I'll cover my lap with a sweater or purse (just to be slightly less "vulgar" in everyone else's eyes). If my completely legs are concealed beneath a table (at a restaurant, desk or conference table) nobody can see anyway so I take my knees apart. At first it's feel so uncomfortable to 'have my legs open' in public but once I persist through the social discomfort, I feel more powerful during my meetings and dinner dates. Finally, when you're at home or driving your car there is ZERO reason (apart from habit) to have your knees together.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE: Don't sit like a guy with your legs flopping out like wings. That's casual and confident but it's not powerful. Power comes from alignment because alignment gives you stability and fast response times. At your core, you're a skeleton and your bones are healthiest when they are stacked. It's better for your joints (i.e. your hips & knees) to be lined up rather than dropping in. Having your knees together or so far apart may place unnecessary ware & tear on your hip joints. Line it up, keep it natural for some self-love.
How are you going to run full speed after your dreams if you're carefully holding your knees together? Open your stride ladies! // Cha