As an avid fan of TED talks, I have listened to some pretty thought-provoking and intriguing insights from experts while cruising around. One of my favorite pastimes while traveling is listening to TED talks and then dissecting them with my friends and family. Recently I was lucky enough to listen to one talk in particular that is making a significant impact on my life.

"Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are," by Amy Cuddy was arguably some of the most useful and applicable information that I have learned in a short 21 minutes and two seconds. The social psychologist explained her research on how the body effects the brain in terms of level of confidence.

Cuddy describes how body positions or "power positions" change the chemicals testosterone and cortisol in our brain. Testosterone is the hormone associated with dominance and leadership, whereas cortisol is the hormone associated with stress. She explains how the two interacting together within the body determines our psychological level of confidence.

She explains the connection between high levels of testosterone and low levels of cortisone as high confidence and the opposite as low confidence. She demonstrated this with her double blind experiment.

In her study she measured levels of the two hormones in the subjects based on their saliva contents. She took an initial measurement from each of the subjects and then separated the group into two rooms and told them that they were going to be given a five-minute interview.

One of the groups was told two minutes before their stressful interview to assume a position with arms on their hips, or outstretched in the sky with their hands open. These positions are deemed "high-power positions."

The other group was told two minutes before the same interview to sit or stand hunched with arms and legs crossed and closed off. These positions are called "low-power positions."

During the interview, the interviewers were instructed to give no nonverbal cues as to how well or poorly the subjects were answering the questions. The complete lack of nonverbal cues wreaks havoc on the individual and creates extreme stress. By having the interviewers keep a straight face throughout the interview would ensure that the hormone levels of the subjects, specifically the stress hormone cortisol, would increase.

Once the interview was complete Cuddy took another saliva sample to compare how the levels of the hormones had changed before and after the interview in each of the subjects. She wanted to determine if there was a relationship between the pose that subjects took before the interview and confidence as determined by hormone levels after.

She determined that there was a statistically significant relationship between the "power pose" held prior to the interview and their level of confidence afterwards.

The subjects that were in high-power positions for two minutes before the interview had higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisone than the subjects that were in low-power poses. She concluded that because higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisol reflect confidence, the positioning of your body can directly affect your mind.

I then reflected on my own body positioning and was shocked to quickly identify that I was often posing in low power without even realizing it. I was setting myself back just because of how I was positioning my body. I have since been attempting to asses my body positioning to assume poses of higher power to have more confidence in my life experiences.

I also realized that one reason why I probably feel so confident after practicing yoga is because the ancient form of stretching and exercising emphasizes high power poses. Throughout the hour most people are in a yoga class the instructor will often talk about opening up from the heart center and stretching out. These positions are undoubtably of high power and create more confidence.

I highly recommend taking 21:02 minutes the next time you are folding laundry or driving in your car to listen to this Ted Talk. The knowledge is invaluable and can lead to simple adjustments that have the potential to create a huge impact in the way you live your life.