Corporal, a term originating from the Latin word corporālis, is an adjective that qualifies that which is linked to the body, especially the human body. For example: “To avoid back pain, it is important to take care of body posture”, “That man’s body odor is very strong”, “An expert analyzed the suspect’s body language and concluded that he was lying ”.

The position of a person ‘s body is known as body posture. This is linked to the location of the trunk, limbs and joints at a given time. A bad body posture can cause various disorders; instead, good body posture minimizes stiffness and tension and promotes efficiency.

Poor body posture can cause aches and pains.

Corporal lenguage

According to abbreviationfinder.org, the idea of body language, for its part, alludes to the communicative and expressive meaning of gestures and body movements. This information is transmitted non-verbally, either consciously or unconsciously. In a similar sense, we speak of corporal expression to refer to the transmission of emotions and ideas through the body and not through the voice.

Although most people naturally learn appropriate body language to relate to their environment, others encounter certain difficulties that prevent them from developing. For them there are various tips that have been defined by specialists in order to help them function successfully in all kinds of situations. Let’s look at some below.

Tips to promote communication

* maintain eye contact with our interlocutors, especially in the first meetings. Through this action we show respect for the other and interest in their words. As with other aspects of communication, culture in this case is decisive;

* look away momentarily to allow the other person to organize their ideas and prevent them from feeling overwhelmed by our presence. Staring for too long a time is just as detrimental to communication as staring too seldom during a conversation;

* take care of body posture, adapting it to the context and the type of communication that we are maintaining. This tends to be a problem for men more than for women, since less respect for the other is demanded from them than from women. Sitting with your legs open is an attitude that many men have on a daily basis, often in inappropriate situations;

* position the head in a way that allows us to establish adequate eye contact with the other. If we are in a conversation with a teacher or with our employer, it is recommended to tilt it slightly forward, so that we implicitly show our respect with our gaze. To express empathy, on the other hand, we can rotate it a few degrees to the side;

* be aware of the position of our arms, something essential to show interest and respect in a conversation. Keeping your arms crossed can be interpreted as a rejection of the message of our interlocutor, while placing them to the sides reflects an open attitude.

The body mass index helps to know if a person’s weight is appropriate for their height.

Body fat, body mass index and a cloth

The adjective corporal is also linked to adipose tissue: body fat. This fat helps regulate body temperature and provides protection. However, excess body fat is a health problem.

Body mass index (BMI), on the other hand, is an indicator that links an individual’s mass and height to signal whether they are underweight, normal, or overweight. BMI is obtained by dividing mass by height squared.

As a noun, corporal refers to a white cloth that is placed on the altar during the Catholic mass, placing the chalice and the host on it.