Confidence Isn’t Just in Your Head – It Lives in Your Body
Let’s be honest: confidence is complicated. From the outside, people often (not always, of course) tell me I look self-assured. But inside? There’s still a voice that second-guesses, questions, hesitates. It’s one of the reasons I wrote the Confidence Manual (which can be emailed to you) – to unpack how layered and personal this thing really is.
We assume others are confident because of how they speak, move, or dress. But what we’re often seeing is performance, not presence. True confidence doesn’t always look loud. It can be quiet, calm, and centred. And often, the most confident people aren’t the ones talking the most – they’re the ones breathing through the hard moments.
Confidence matters. It helps us advocate for ourselves, nail job interviews, ask for help, set boundaries, connect more authentically in relationships, and make better decisions. But we don’t think our way into it. We move our way into it.
That’s the foundation of everything we do at On Point Mind and Movement. Movement, breath, and awareness build the foundation that confidence can stand on. This blog is about how that works – and how you can start practising it in your own life.
Confidence in Motion: What It Actually Means
Confidence isn’t just about positive thinking. It’s about presence. And presence is something you can train – through body awareness, repetition, breath, and grounded movement.
Confidence through movement works because the body is not just a passenger to the mind; it feeds the mind. When you stand differently, breathe differently, move with more intention – your brain rewires how it sees you.
In neuroscience, this is known as bottom-up processing, where the body sends signals to the brain that impact emotional state and self-perception (Price & Hooven, 2018; Porges, 2011).
Posture, Breath & the Power of Presence
One of the simplest yet most powerful confidence techniques I use in sessions – whether in-person or through telehealth psychology – is breath-led posture correction. When you lift your sternum slightly, ground your feet, and deepen your breath, your nervous system starts to shift out of defence mode. Over time, this becomes your new baseline.
According to studies on embodied cognition, upright postures improve self-assessed confidence and reduce rumination, especially in those prone to anxiety or low self-esteem (Peper & Lin, 2012; Nair et al., 2015).
These techniques form part of our movement therapy framework and are easy to teach via online therapy Australia.
How Boxing & Strength Work Boost Confidence
In a world obsessed with outcomes, training for confidence is about learning to trust yourself in motion. At On Point Mind and Movement, we use martial arts drills, pad work, and strength circuits not to get shredded – but to practice presence, assertiveness, and follow-through. And yes, this absolutely boosts confidence.
Research shows that movement-based therapies increase perceived competence, self-regulation, and social resilience in both clinical and healthy populations (Karkou & Meekums, 2017; McMahon et al., 2017).
Clients at our Brisbane counselling centre often say the most empowering part isn’t the technique itself – it’s that they feel more capable after doing it. That somatic imprint matters.
Movement as a Confidence Mirror
One client (mid-30s, recovering from workplace bullying) had insight but couldn’t access confidence in real life. We started with weekly mindset coaching, layering in strength training and assertive body language drills. She described feeling “fake” and like an “imposter” at first – but after six weeks, reported less fear speaking up at work and a stronger physical presence in meetings.
In some ways, it seems like magic, but it wasn’t. This was neuroplasticity paired with movement and supported reflection – evidence-backed components of sustainable mind-body self-esteem (Creswell et al., 2007).
Mindset Coaching That Moves With You
At On Point Mind and Movement, mindset coaching isn’t motivational hogas bogas. It’s embodied (literally). We ask: what does that belief look like when you walk, breathe, strike, or lift? How does it shift when you plant your feet?
The fusion of coaching with somatic tools helps change belief systems not just cognitively, but behaviourally. As we saw in the Confidence Manual, small cues (like gesture, rhythm, and stance) reinforce psychological states over time (Carney et al., 2010). The combination of talk, movement, nervous system tools is what builds lasting self-trust.
Online Therapy That Still Gets You Moving
Yes! You can train confidence through movement even if we’re working online. Whether you’re based in Brisbane or beyond, our online therapy Australia model includes guided somatic prompts, video-based coaching, and accountability practices. Through telehealth psychology, people across the country can be reached. Even breathwork and small posture resets – done over Zoom – can shift emotional tone and increase self-assurance.
Movement Builds Self-Efficacy, Not Just Strength
When you do something repeatedly, you build self-trust. Therefore, confidence is about efficacy rather than ego. That’s the logic of movement-based therapy. And it’s what makes it ideal for those who’ve tried talk therapy but need something more. Embodied self-efficacy – the belief that you can act, adapt, and follow through – is one of the strongest predictors of lasting confidence (Bandura, 1997). Confidence is about congruence – your thoughts, body, breath, and actions all speaking the same language.
At On Point Mind and Movement, we offer confidence through movement experiences that are trauma-informed, body-aware, and actually fun. Whether you need telehealth counselling, online therapy in Australia, or something local at our Brisbane counselling centre, this is about more than feeling good – it’s about becoming someone you trust.
It’s not about pretending to be confident. It’s about becoming confident – through every step, strike, and breath. You don’t think your way into it. You practise it. You feel it. Then it becomes yours.
If this resonates and you’d like to explore how movement-based therapy could support you, I offer a free 15-minute consultation. You can reach me at gday@onpointmindandmovement.com or call/text 0466 160 115. I’m always happy to chat and help guide your next step (whether it’s together or not!).
References (APA 7)
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W.H. Freeman and Company.
Carney, D. R., Cuddy, A. J. C., & Yap, A. J. (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21(10), 1363–1368. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610383437
Creswell, J. D., Way, B. M., Eisenberger, N. I., & Lieberman, M. D. (2007). Neural correlates of dispositional mindfulness during affect labeling. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69(6), 560–565. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e3180f6171f
Karkou, V., & Meekums, B. (2017). Dance movement therapy for depression. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2017(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD009895.pub2
McMahon, K., Narang, P., & Sharma, A. (2017). Effects of movement-based interventions on self-efficacy and resilience: A review. Journal of Holistic Psychology, 8(3), 45–59.
Nair, S., Sagar, M., Sollers, J., Consedine, N., & Broadbent, E. (2015). Do slumped and upright postures affect stress responses? A randomized trial. Health Psychology, 34(6), 632–641. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000146
Peper, E., & Lin, I. M. (2012). Increase strength and awareness by changing posture. Biofeedback, 40(3), 126–130. https://doi.org/10.5298/1081-5937-40.3.01
Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.
