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The Ultimate Body Language Book

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frowning, furrowing, or lowering the eyebrows, dilated pupils, squinting of the eyes, crotch displays<br />

such as legs open, sneering or flared nostrils.<br />

<strong>The</strong> technical term for flared nostrils as mentioned before is “nasal wing dilation” and is of particular in<br />

the fight and flight response because it tells us that someone is actively oxygenating their bodies in<br />

preparation to do something important. Our bodies consume oxygen during work, and we can get our<br />

bodies ready by loading up hemoglobin which is the carrier of the oxygen molecule, just in case it’s<br />

needed for a condense bout of work. As people get ready to fight their chests can be seen rapidly<br />

expanding and contracting as if panting. <strong>The</strong> body is essentially saying “We’ve probably got a problem<br />

on our hands, time to load up on oxygen as we might need to fight or take flight!” Sometimes though,<br />

nasal wing dilation is in response to doing anything physical at all, be it to move a heavy sofa or taking<br />

to a flight of stairs. Other times, nostrils flare when aroused by a potential mate who is seeking to take<br />

up an alluring scent laced with sexual pheromones. However, as mentioned this cue can be very<br />

important in certain context as it may provide clues to potentially aggression. School aged children<br />

should learn this nonverbal cue early on so as to diffuse aggression by bullies.

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