158 I Can Read You Like a Book E
landed him on his heels, so little changed. Faithful audiences had no
perception of the shift in his center of gravity and he still looked
masculine.
Knowing what you know now, however, go back and watch
Stagecoach and True Grit and compare Wayne’s center of gravity
in them.
Is age the only thing that changes our center of gravity?Exercises
- Walk along at your normal gait and pace.
Now remember the last deeply emotional ex-
perience you had. A good chewing from the boss? A
disappointing date? Failing a test? Pay attention to
your center of gravity. Your head likely went down
and to the right in response to emotion. When you
carry around 20 pounds of dead weight in the form of
your head and change its position relative to the body,
everything has to accommodate it. It is simple
mechanics. - Sadness and the darker emotions will drop your cen-
ter of gravity and instantly age your movement, but
lighter emotions will raise your center of gravity. Hold
back on something exciting you want to share with
someone until the last possible minute. Tune into your
own body language as you move toward that person
physically, with the intent of connecting with him emo-
tionally. If you are middle-aged or older, you will feel