Can Body Language Indicate a Good Relationship?

Body language expert Blanca Cobb says if you start to pay attention to the silent clues when you are around people, you will pick up on another language in which people are communicating, expressed through body language. It’s not only what someone’s showing you but also your own body language shows others your part in the relationship or interaction. 

ER physician expert Dr. Travis Stork wants to know the signs of a good relationship when it comes to body language. Blanca says the most obvious ones are close touching, caressing and eye contact. What most people don’t realize though is that you can see signs in your fingers and feet.

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We carry a lot of tension and emotions in our hands. Are your hands stiff in a fist or are your fingers going the way of natural curvatures? Blanca says the fingers are almost like an emotional barometer. Similarly, your feet take you where you want to go, so if your feet are facing away from the person you’re with, that may be a sign you don’t want to be there.

The Doctors pull up some photos of broken up celebrity couples and examine the body language they exhibit in photos of them together, pre-breakup. Chris Pratt’s feet may be saying something because they are turned away from Anna Faris. Even though his upper body is leaning in towards her, Blanca says when there is conflicting or competing body language, we are going to believe the negative.

In a photo of exes Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston, The Doctors examine their hands. Justin’s fist may indicate some stress in the relationship. Jennifer’s hand is hidden behind her back, which may mean she’s hiding something else. Blanca says that the deal with photos and celebrities is you’re looking for patterns over time.

When Dr. Travis asks what the biggest body language mistake you can make in a relationship is, Blanca demonstrates body blocking. This is talking with a physical and psychological barrier (Blanca holds a coffee mug to demonstrate) between you and your partner. 

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The Doctors briefly discuss another important relationship, parent-child, with Blanca. She explains with children, it’s important to use body levering when you want to have a serious conversation with them. This means that the parent positions themselves a bit lower to their child, so that they are looking up at them, both literally and figuratively.