Another Slant On The Victory Stance

What does it mean when you see someone out in the water waving at you? The poem Not Waving But Drowning (perhaps by title alone) captures the ambiguities of the situation.

I found myself musing this matter over recently for another reason. Never mind being out at sea. How do we interpret arms raised while on land?

Well, we all know why Olympians raise their arms after winning their event. Yes, arms raised often signifies dominance and victory.

Thus far, no surprises, but there is a popular TED video out there titled Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are. It's quite interesting and offers some surprising insights into the mind/body link. Specifically, the presenter recommends that we strike "victory poses" regularly, because in the very act of doing so we shape our own reality and the reality of those around us. We don't merely feel more victorious, we actually become more victorious.

With limitations, of course. We won't simply raise our arms into Olympic gold. However, if we raise our arms in the bathroom for a few minutes before an interview, we're quite literally more likely to be hired.

This is all well and good. Food for thought, especially for an inveterate sloucher such as myself. A timely reminder to keep working on my posture!

But one piece of the talk that never went down terribly well with me was that nagging concern that I not be seduced by the ways of this world and the deification of success so common in American culture.

I don't want to be a victory-pose kind of guy. Donald Trump isn't my hero.

But the other day I was feeling down, so on a lark I decided to get up while praying and even raise my hands in supplication.

And, of course, now it's clear where I'm going.

It dawned upon me that in taking the supplicant pose I was also assuming a victory pose. Every child who reaches up for their parent's embrace is assuming a victory pose.

And, as the speaker indicated during her TED talk, it's not what you bring into the pose that makes the difference. It's simply that you (to quote Madonna) strike the pose.

So that thought really made me happy. Talk about a win/win. Praying to God while taking the supplicant's pose yields a double-whammy bonus.

A quick study of this pose in the Psalms yielded a result I expected to find.

Psalm 28:2
Hear my cry for mercy
  as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
  toward your Most Holy Place.

But another verse reminded me that that this pose is used for praise too!

Psalm 134:2
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
   and praise the Lord.

So we don't have to be addicted to the American success obsession in order to play this game of poses. We can capture all the same benefits if we simply engage our bodies more during our quiet moments with God.

That's a pretty cool perk.

I have a sneaking suspicion God was waiting for us to notice it.