It is no secret that in modern reality the cult of a healthy body is gaining more and more popularity, and more and more attention is being paid to physical fitness. Every year new trends appear in this regard, and new phenomena acquire cult status.
A beautiful, well-developed torso is one of the most important conditions for good physical shape today. In terms of the amount of effort applied during training, it can only compete with the muscles of the legs and buttocks, which are now no less fashionable to train.
Forehead
Frown brow
The appearance of folds on the forehead in response to a certain stimulus can be considered a reliable indicator that there are some questions or problems, or that the person is feeling insecure. A furrowed brow is usually associated with doubt, tension, anxiety, and concern. Keep in mind that many people now use Botox for cosmetic purposes, and it prevents the appearance of wrinkles on the forehead and thus can mask a person's true feelings.
Pulsation of veins in the temples
In stressful situations, the superficial temporal veins (located closest to the skin on the temporal areas of the head just behind the eyes) may pulsate noticeably. This is a very accurate indicator of autonomic nervous system arousal caused by anxiety, concern, fear, anger or, in some cases, joyful excitement. This automatically switches the brain into survival mode in anticipation of intense physical activity, such as flight or fight, and causes the heart and lungs to pump faster.
Rubbing forehead
We start massaging our forehead when we have a headache, when we are processing information, or when something bothers us or raises doubts. It is a form of calming behavior that helps relieve stress and anxiety.
Brows
Eyebrow greeting
We raise our eyebrows at the sight of a familiar person if we cannot say hello to him at the moment or to show someone that we have noticed his presence. Depending on the circumstances, raised eyebrows may be combined with a smile. This is a sign of attention, and its absence is immediately noticeable, for example when we enter a store and the employee does not bother with the slightest attempt to establish eye contact. One movement of your eyebrows is enough to show a person that you appreciate his presence, even if you are busy at the moment.
Eyebrow asymmetry
This facial gesture is used when there is doubt or uncertainty. One eyebrow creeps up, while the other remains in place or falls below its normal position. Asymmetry signals a person's distrust of what he is being told. Jack Nicholson often does this in movies and in life, expressing his disagreement with his interlocutor.
Furrowed eyebrows
The part of the face between the eyes and just above the nose is called the glabella, and if it narrows or wrinkles, the most likely cause may be dissatisfaction or concern. This expression appears in a matter of seconds and is not always noticeable, but it accurately conveys emotion. It happens that, listening to something unpleasant or trying to comprehend what he heard, a person frowns so much that his eyebrows converge into one line. In written communication, this emotion is often represented by the symbol "> <".
Huang Chuncai - scary big head
The face, neck, and head of the young Chinese man were attacked by a huge tumor. The disease is called neurofibromatosis, which leads to the proliferation of nerve tissue on parts of the body. Because of the tumor, the person could not see in one eye, did not hear in one ear, and could not eat on his own. Juan constantly supported the growth with his hands; when he walked or just sat, she hung her head. Strangers often laughed at the man and called him names.
A person suffers from the disease from an early age; if neurofibromatosis is treated at an early stage, everything can be managed, but the family did not have enough funds, and local surgeons did not recommend surgery for fear of complications. This is how the Chinese lived until he finally underwent another examination. Plastic surgeons took over and performed several operations, gradually removing the tumor. Before the operation, the length of the growth was 57 cm, with a perimeter of more than a meter. It is noteworthy that the Chinese man is only 135 cm tall, the guy carried all this weight on himself. 10 surgeons took part in the operation; first they removed 15 kg, then another 4.5. Over time, Chuntsai's head acquired a normal appearance, and the tumors stopped growing. Today Juan can live normally, talk, work, eat and wash himself.
Eyes
Dilated pupils
When we feel comfortable or like the person or object in front of us, our pupils dilate. This reaction cannot be controlled. Lovers enjoying each other's company also have dilated pupils as their eyes try to absorb as much light as possible. This is why restaurants with dim lighting are a good choice for a date: low-lighting naturally softens the eyes and makes the pupils appear larger, an effect that helps us feel even more relaxed around another person.
Constricted pupils
The pupils constrict if we don’t like what we see or experience negative emotions. In light-colored eyes, constricted pupils are more visible than in dark-colored eyes. If a person's pupils suddenly shrink to the size of pinpoints, it means that some very unpleasant event has just happened. It is curious that in stressful situations the brain tries to focus vision as much as possible - after all, the smaller the aperture, the clearer the image. This is why we squint when we want to see something better.
Relaxed eye muscles
A calm, relaxed look indicates a state of comfort and confidence. When nothing bothers us, the muscles around the eyes, in the area of the forehead and cheeks relax, but when the slightest reason for irritation or concern appears, they immediately tense up. This metamorphosis is especially noticeable in children: the baby suddenly wrinkles his entire face and begins to cry loudly.
When interpreting body language, always compare your conclusions with the information expressed through the eyes of the person being observed. If the periorbital area looks relaxed, then most likely everything is fine. If the muscles around the eyes suddenly tense or a person squints, it means they are concentrating or experiencing stress. The eye muscles and adjacent tissues react much faster than other facial muscles to stress factors, instantly reflecting a person’s internal state.
Jeff Dabe - the biggest hands in the world
The man lives in the USA and has been involved in arm wrestling for a long time. This hobby is suitable for a person, because he has the largest hands in the world. With one large palm, the American easily picks up a basketball. In arm wrestling, Dabe has long become a true legend, repeatedly becoming the winner of competitions. Not everyone can beat such a handy guy. The volume of the human forearm is 50 centimeters. When Jeff was born, his parents immediately noticed that his upper limbs, from shoulder to toe, were larger in size than those of normal children. When conducting research, specialists did not find any abnormalities or diseases; Dabe is completely healthy.
Friends have long nicknamed the American “fist of steel” and Popeye the sailor in honor of the cartoon character with huge body parts. Dabe is a hard worker, does all the difficult work around the house, with such body parts it is easy even without tools. At one of the competitions, the man broke one hand, but after a while he returned to arm wrestling and now uses only one in fights. This does not stop Jeff from setting new records and winning. The American is always a welcome guest on television programs; many print publications have written about him.
Nose
Covering your nose with both hands
When a person suddenly covers his nose and mouth with both hands, it indicates shock, surprise, uncertainty, fear, doubt, or anticipation of something bad. This gesture can be seen among participants or witnesses of road accidents or natural disasters, as well as among those who have received terrible news. According to psychologists, this non-verbal reaction could have been formed in the process of evolution, and its original purpose was to hide the breath from predators such as lions and hyenas. It is found everywhere.
Tapping on the nose
In many cultures, overtly tapping your nose with your index finger can mean, “This thing smells bad,” “I don’t trust you,” “That’s a controversial statement,” or “I’m watching you closely.” It can also have the following meaning: “I see you”, “You are very smart”, “I am aware of your presence” (Paul Newman and Robert Redford made such signs to each other in the film “The Sting”).
Nostril flaring
We usually flare our nostrils (the sides of our nose) when preparing for any physical activity. If a person is upset about something, feels the urge to jump up and run away, or is about to commit some kind of aggressive action, he flares his nostrils to saturate the body with oxygen. For police, this is a sign of readiness to escape. In an interpersonal communication situation, such a facial gesture may indicate that the person needs to be given time to calm down and pull himself together.
Lips
Full lips
Lips change shape and size depending on your emotional state. They contract when we are tense; relax and become fuller when we are comfortable. Full, soft lips indicate relaxation and contentment. In a state of stress, blood drains from the lips and rushes to other parts of the body where it is most needed. Lip fullness can serve as a barometer of a person's emotional state.
Licking lips
Rubbing your tongue against your lips calms us just as much as biting them. Typically, this behavior is associated with anxiety, worry, or negative emotions; however, the problem may only be dry lips, so do not make hasty conclusions. In some cases, this facial gesture is a sure sign of a stressful state. As a teacher, I often see it on exams for poorly prepared students.
Pursed lips
During the day, when we are overcome by minor or major troubles, annoying thoughts and anxieties, our lips narrow and compress in unison with our inner experiences. Sometimes barely noticeable, sometimes so strong that they turn white due to blocked blood flow. Even if this movement is fleeting (takes a twentieth of a second), it still very accurately conveys a sudden negative emotion.
Top 10 People with the Largest Body Parts
- Jeff Dabe has the biggest and heaviest hands in the world.
- Annie Hawkins Turner - too heavy and large breasts.
- Miosotis Claribel is the woman with the largest bust in the world.
- Svetlana Pankratova - excessively long, large legs.
- Joe Ladnier has the biggest muscle neck.
- Liu Hua's hand is too big.
- Mohammed Kaleem is a boy with giant body parts.
- Shakiba has the largest hand size.
- Huang Chuncai is the heaviest head in the world.
- Mandy Sellars is too heavy a body part.
Chin
Chin high
A raised and forward chin is a sign of confidence. In some European countries (particularly Germany, France, Russia and Italy), raising the chin higher than usual expresses pride, and in some cases, arrogance.
Recessed chin
If a person suddenly lowers their chin in response to a question, they likely lack self-confidence or feel threatened. Such a facial gesture can be very expressive and unambiguous: some people’s chin literally falls down when they hear bad news or think about something painful or bad.
Hidden chin
Typically, children use this nonverbal signal to hide embarrassment or demonstrate dissatisfaction or disappointment. They press their chin to their neck and refuse to raise their head, sometimes even crossing their arms over their chest. Adult men do this too when they stand angry face to face with an opponent, and sometimes they also shout at each other. In this case, the chin is intended to protect the neck in the event of physical confrontation.
How to determine
As it became known, in real life, each person includes a combination of 3 types of body structure, but in certain proportions. Some people have one type of upper body and another type of lower body. For this reason, it is quite difficult to classify each person as a specific type.
General tips for identifying
You can correlate and determine a person’s body type based on the characteristic features of each of them:
- Endomorph: round head, massive belly, underdeveloped muscles of the legs and arms, excess weight distributed throughout the body.
- Mesomorph: wide chest, muscular legs and arms, broad shoulders, subcutaneous fat in small quantities.
- Ectomorph: thin build, elongated face shape, narrow shoulders, long limbs, lack of fat deposits, underdeveloped muscles.
By the wrist
By the thickness of the hand you can also find out which somatotype a particular person belongs to. Ectomorphs tend to have thin bones, while endomorphs tend to have wide bones. Wrist circumference remains unchanged and does not depend on the amount of fat or muscle mass.
Wrist circumference for different body types:
- Ectomorphs (asthenic) - less than 17 centimeters;
- mesomorphs (normosthenic physique in men) - can vary from 17 to 20 centimeters;
- Endomorphs (hypersthenic) - more than 20 centimeters.
Neck
Covering the jugular fossa
Touching the jugular fossa (the depression at the point where the collarbones meet, under the Adam's apple, just above the sternum) or the desire to cover it with your hand indicates anxiety, dissatisfaction, anxiety, uncertainty or fear. Men tend to grab their throat or cover their jugular cavity with their entire palm while adjusting the knot of their tie or shirt collar. Women perform this movement more often, but more gracefully than men - only with their fingertips.
The need to cover the most vulnerable place on the body is a sign that something is wrong. Most likely, this element of nonverbal behavior was formed in the process of evolution as a result of numerous clashes of our ancestors with predators that aimed specifically at the neck. This is discussed in more detail in my book I See What You're Thinking.
Fiddling with shirt collar
A person adjusts or fiddles with his shirt collar in the throat area to calm down or relieve stress. The calming effect is created by a combination of three factors: the vulnerable spot is protected, the tactile stimulus is repeated, and the skin under the shirt is “ventilated.”
Vagus nerve massage
The vagus nerve connects the brain with the most important internal organs, including the heart. When under stress, people massage the side of their neck, near where we usually check our pulse. There is a reason for this: stimulating the vagus nerve leads to the release of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that sends a signal to the heart, in particular the atrioventricular node, thereby reducing the heart rate.
Shakiba is a huge body part
The boy from Bangladesh is very different from others. The baby was born with a lump under the skin in the area of his right arm. Gradually, the lump began to grow, the right arm became heavy, and a lump began to grow in the chest area. The tumor is heavy, significantly outweighs the baby, it is difficult for him to run, play, even walk, Shakiba constantly falls under the weight of the growth. The parents live poorly, in a small village, there is no way to treat the baby, the family tried to get advice by selling everything they had at home, but local specialists were unable to make a diagnosis.
Doctors assumed that it was oncology, hemangioma. The relatives are very worried and hope that they will be able to cure their child. It’s a shame that the locals avoid the boy, consider him contagious, and do not allow their children to play with Shakiba. After the photos published by the activist, media around the world learned about the baby, and the family received hope for treatment.
Shoulders
One shoulder shrug
If a person raises one shoulder to his ear when answering a question, most likely he is in doubt or feels in danger. In combination with other nonverbal signals (hesitating to answer, pressing his hands closer to his body), this is a sign of insufficient confidence in his words. When a question like “What price are you willing to offer?” is asked in negotiations? and the representative of the responding party shrugs one shoulder, which means you can bargain. A raised shoulder when answering implies some doubt in your own words.
Flirty shoulder
If a person slowly raises one shoulder, tilts his head towards it and looks directly into the eyes of the interlocutor, then he is demonstrating personal interest. Most often, this gesture can be observed on dates, and it is usually characteristic of women.
Short shrug
When a person hears a question and does not know the answer, he raises both shoulders up with a quick and expressive movement. A short upward movement is one of the forms of behavior that contradicts the law of universal gravitation, and they are usually associated with positive emotions: in this case, the person does not hide his ignorance and is not at all embarrassed by it. This gesture is more sincere than a slow shrug (combined with an “I don’t know”) or a hesitant shrug of just one shoulder.
Miosotis Claribel - heavy large breasts
The girl with African-Spanish roots also boasts a rather large bust, although it is almost half that of the previous record holder, weighing 24 kg. At the same time, the girl’s waist is only 74 cm.
Miosotis was born in the Dominican Republic. Claribel early began to have complexes about her appearance, but gradually stopped paying attention to attacks from the outside, the views of strangers. Today she is famous for a feature that she is proud of.
Hands
Vigorous gestures
It reflects our emotions and attracts attention to us. Broad gestures enhance the impact of our words and make communication more dynamic. Many cultures use exaggerated gestures to make accents. To an outside observer, a person waving his arms vigorously may seem like he is about to jump into a fight, when in fact he is only trying to communicate more expressively.
Hands behind your back
Royal pose - hands behind your back. Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and other members of the British royal family stand and walk this way when they want to maintain distance between themselves and other people. Everyone else - mere mortals - in the same way subconsciously makes it clear that they need more personal space. This is not the best way to get closer to a person, since this gesture is usually associated with detachment. Interestingly, young children do not like it when their parents hide their hands behind their backs.
Freezing hands
A sudden freezing of the hands may be a reaction to fear or a strong impression of what happened. They hang motionless along the body, making the person look like a robot. Frozen hands are a clear sign that a person has just experienced a negative event.
Torso and belly
Rubbing the collarbone
In a state of stress, a person begins to rub the collarbone with the opposite hand (for example, placing the right hand on the left collarbone). A hand crossing the chest diagonally gives a feeling of security, and repeated touches to the collarbone have a calming effect. This area of the body is very sensitive to touch, which is one of the reasons why it is considered an erogenous zone.
Lightning manipulation
If a person plays with the zipper on his sweater or jacket, he may be tense and trying to calm himself down. Students do this before an exam if it makes them anxious, and poker players use this movement when they are worried about money slipping through their fingers. Please note that this behavior can be both calming and a way to cope with boredom.
Hull deflection
By leaning away from the interlocutor, a person symbolically and physically distances himself. We deviate if we do not agree with what has been said. This behavior is often seen on talk shows. We ourselves do not always notice to what extent we distance ourselves from people who are unpleasant to us.
Legs
Territorial invasion
During a heated argument, a person may unintentionally invade your personal space, stopping just ten centimeters from your face, sticking out his chest and glaring his eyes angrily. Violating someone else's territorial boundaries serves as a method of intimidation and can be a precursor to physical attack.
Angle offset
Most people prefer to talk to the other person while moving slightly to the side, rather than directly face to face. Children, getting to know each other, usually approach from the side, and for good reason: they are better accepted this way. I have noticed that when businessmen stand face to face and with a slight offset, their communication lasts longer. Please note that if there are signs of irritation, it is better to stand in front of the interlocutor at an angle: this will help reduce the intensity of passions.
Rhythmmaker
The one who sets the pace of movement in a group of several people is usually the one among them who is in charge. We speed up or slow down the pace to match the oldest member of the group or its leader. Even teenagers do this: they adapt to the walking pace of the most socially active member of the group. He can go first or last; in the second case, the whole group, obeying him, tries to slow down. When analyzing the behavior of a group, remember that the main one is not the one in front, but rather the one who sets the pace.
The Body Language Dictionary is the first guide of its kind on nonverbal communication. Its author, Joe Navarro, worked as an FBI special agent for 25 years and conducted many interrogations.
In his new book, he described more than 400 elements of nonverbal communication. From it you will learn how to recognize a person's feelings by subtle changes in the pupils, how to interpret gestures, as well as many other interesting facts about deciphering signals from the human body.
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