Did you know that three miles an hour is the standard walking speed of an average adult. And if we are fortunate enough not to be physically immobilized in any way through out our lifetime, we will all be able to walk from the age of two and continue to do so until we part this life. Many interesting clues to a person’s character can be learned just from observing the way they walk. The way a person move when he or she is walking is associated with a number of criteria.
Levels of fitness, mood, emotion and body type plays a considerable factor contributing to the various kinds of stride, posture and speed of a person’s movement. Along with other prominent characteristics, the walking manner of a person can be inherited directly from the parents. The next time when you have the opportunity to watch people promenading in groups, similar posture and way of moving among family members usually will be quite noticeable.
Generally when happy people are walking, they have a certain lively way of springing along with a lightness in their steps. In the contrary, a dejected person will walk with a bowed postured and shuffling slowly with heavy feet. Whereas a quick pace and upright posture will suggest a confident individual who has a strong sense of direction in life.
Always remember to take background and environment into account when observing someone’s walking pace. It varies from country to country, culture to culture, and city to countryside. For instance, the speed adopted in a dense and populated city will definitely be much faster than a small town in a suburban area because of the vast difference of general lifestyles. In most cases, posture is still considered as a very reliable indicator.
1 The Folded Arms Walk
During when the weather is warm or hot, walking while the arms are folded generally suggests that the person is in a protective and defensive mode. This also explains a lot why most women will take on this posture whenever they are walking alone in a crowded street packed with strangers. There are also men, when feeling insecure at an unfamiliar place adopts the very same posture too.
It doesn’t really matter if the arms are tightly folded, clutching the body, or even loosely wrapped around the body, these arm positions are the direct evidence of the person’s uncertainty, apprehension, anxiousness, and lack of confidence. These supposedly self-hugging gestures are actually the individual’s way of giving oneself a physical reassurance.
2 The Hands In The Pockets Walk
When people put their hands in their pockets, basically it just means that they are feeling cold at that time, especially if it is on a chilly or windy day. But when this is put in the context of a person’s characteristic, it usually indicates a very private and introverted individual. This person conceals his or her own feelings and personality from the outside world and yet at the same time can be cynical and judgmental of others.
He or she will often walk with a lowered head combined with a draggy and inconsistent pace. The negative gestures performed here denotes a depression in the person. And if this depression was motivated by anger from the very beginning, the walk will include plenty of kicking at small objects on the ground. Occasionally even the imaginary ones are not exempted.
3 The Deep Thoughts Walk
People who are thinking about something deeply when they are walking will display a bowed head, and often gazing at the ground with unfocused eyes. The gesture over here may suggest that such people are having depression, but in fact they are just walking slowly to provide themselves the concentration on their thoughts.
This posture will seem withdrawn to others because the people here do not want any distractions from anywhere to avert the attentions from their deep thoughts at that moment. Walking up and down will be a very common practice of this lost in deep thought walk. And the real objective here is not to reach any particular destination, but to arrive at a final conclusion.
4 The Strutting Walk
The posture of strutting is rather stiff and inflexible, and the chin is normally raised to display a proud and superior image. People who strut usually walk with their chest pushed forward combined with an exaggeration in their arms movements.
This type of walk has a distinctive way of showing the person’s proud, arrogant, and egoistic character. The goose-step marching style demonstrated in the solemn military parades is also considered as a ritualized form of strutting, signaling pride, superiority and control.
5 The Hand On The Hip Walk
Walking with one hand resting on the hip-bone while pushing their pelvises forward is a pose often used by catwalk models at fashion shows. This seductive pose is defined as a sexual body language form used by models to enhance the garment’s allurement they are wearing.
Some women tend to adopt this pose when flirting with men as it can effectively attract attention to her erogenous zones, thus making them to appear sexier. On the other hand, if this is adopted by a man, it will appear unmanly and sissified. Homosexual men usually combine this gesture along with a feminine gait to intentionally express their inner sexuality in a very conspicuous way.
Walking Up In Life
Do you take small steps, or giant strides? What is your most comfortable pace? Do you look at the sky, at the ground, at the buildings, or at other people as you are walking along? Everyone has their very own distinctive way of moving, but the important question here is how do you, yourself usually walk.
This may come as a surprise to many, but did you know that people around you will respond in a more positive way if you walk with a confident, relaxed and upright posture. The reason is because your body will be more upstanding when you walk with an erect posture, you will also be more observant and attentive to your surroundings, thus giving you a more accurate assessment of what is happening around you.
