A compulsive new video has revealed exactly how body language reflects and influences the most important relationships in our lives.

Body language expert Chris Ulrich observed unsuspecting couples and friends interacting on a bench in a Los Angeles park, in an experiment for SoulPancake.

The subjects ranged from two women who’d been university friends for nine years to a couple who’d dated for just three months.

The people featured knew they were being filmed, but they didn’t know why. And Ulrich’s insightful reading of their body language is nothing short of fascinating.

Here are five universal poses he picked up on that mirror a particular kind of chemistry...

This is how body language reflects the dynamic of our relationships