As our population ages and functional MRIs begin to become common, more and more attention is paid to the brain and how it functions. Recently it seems there has been quite a bit written about mirror neurons, including this morning in Wired magazine.
Mirroring behavior, body position, tone of voice, and other characteristics has long been taught as a means of building rapport — in my mentoring program we devote an entire workshop to discussing mirroring and how to use it. Everyone mirrors the people around them, whether they are conscious of it or not. And, some mirror more strongly and more easily than others.
In Z-Health we are always reminded that we need to own the movement because our clients will mirror us. They are learning from us, and will do exactly what we do. In this case, “do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t do any good, because our bodies can’t help it.
I was recently reminded just how true this is with a relatively new client. He mirrors really strongly, and I can tell exactly how good my form is based upon how well he is doing. I’m used to clients doing what I do (and I find most of my bad habits this way), but he has brought new focus to it.
Remember mirror neurons the next time you see someone moving poorly or behaving badly. Are they mirroring you or someone else? And, do you want to start mirroring what they do?
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