Shadowing Practice: how to reset your nervous system for $0 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Did you know that your nervous system sets the entire tone for the day?
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Did you know that your nervous system sets the entire tone for the day?
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And if you're anything like me,
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high function, type A, a little anxious,
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and maybe your body's a little addicted to cortisol,
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then mornings can literally make or break your entire system.
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I used to think that I'd have to spend so much money on supplements,
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on a new routine, on tools and gadgets in order to get my nervous system back to a regular baseline.
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And that's not true.
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There's actually many things that are free,
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easy, and actually enjoyable to do that can also reset your nervous system for basically a very low cost or free.
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It's not about adding more to your hectic life.
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It's just about making little micro adjustments to your existing routine and to your lifestyle that can help you feel grounded,
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calm, and clear.
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So today I'm going to share with you the eight things
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that I do before 8am to reset and regulate my nervous system.
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No supplements, no gadgets, just practices,
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simple things that actually work.
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First one is tea instead of coffee.
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I used to literally have a caffeine addiction.
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I would wake up in the morning and the first thing that I want to do is make coffee.
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And oftentimes I would drink it on an empty stomach,
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which is really, really bad for your gut lining and just for your entire nervous system.
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Especially if you're someone that already has high cortisol,
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you're already more type A to begin with.
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Adding caffeine on top of that just makes you more amped,
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but not in a way where it's going to be actually beneficial for you
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because you don't actually give your body a chance to naturally wake up
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and naturally use its energy from the rest that you got.
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Having caffeine on an empty stomach and even just first thing in the morning definitely can spike your cortisol,
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definitely wrecks your digestion.
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Nowadays, I start with ginger and fennel tea.
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This has really helped me regulate my digestion,
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my bowel movements in the morning.
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And I was that girl that used to literally rely on coffee for poop.
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If I didn't have my morning coffee,
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I would not be able to poop.
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Once you kind of build a new habit of finding something else that can replace the routine of making your morning coffee,
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It's quite easy and you don't really think about it again.
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Number two is not skipping breakfast What they say about breakfast
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being the most important meal of the day is actually true
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And took me a long time to actually believe this There
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was a period of time where a lot of health
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and fitness influencers
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and scientists were talking about How fasting can be really beneficial
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for weight loss A lot of research has come out now where skipping breakfast
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or fasting too long might actually not be super beneficial for
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some women Especially depending on the phase of their cycle
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that you're in For many years i would skip breakfast i would fast
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and then i would do a fasted workout thinking
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that it was the best way to get the body
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that i wanted to get
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but in reality it was just spiking my cortisol making me hold on to extra fat
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because my body was in survival mode these days i eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up now
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and it's been the most nourishing and grounding thing that i could have done for my nervous system.
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I don't get hangry during the mid-morning anymore.
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I feel more regulated.
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I feel like there's a schedule that my body can look forward to.
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I find myself not as tired now in the gym and even just throughout the workday,
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I feel way more energized.
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I don't have that nasty 3 p.m crash anymore.
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Just eating a warm protein-rich breakfast has really helped stabilize my blood sugar and also just keeps my nervous system calm,
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regulated, just in that safe zone.
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The third thing is walking,
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getting sunlight into your eyes,
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but most importantly, not listening to a podcast or music or anything.
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So I used to walk a lot and I would use this as a chance to multitask and to be efficient.
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So I would plug in a podcast and walk
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and I'm not even really walking because my brain is just thinking about what I'm hearing about the podcast.
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And oftentimes it was self-help podcasts.
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So that gets my brain even turning even more.
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Nowadays, when I do my walks,
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I don't listen to anything.
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And I just kind of use my senses to observe the nature,
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the sound of the cars,
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the sound of the birds,
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just really kind of using this as a sensory walk rather than it being like,
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I just need to get this done and check it off the list.
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It's just about having a really nice grounded walk where you're just looking into the horizon,
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anchoring your circadian rhythm, boosting your dopamine naturally,
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and just telling your body that you're safe, you can regulate.
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And it's just been a great way to start my mornings.
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Number four is shaking my body in the morning.
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I thought this one was a little bit weird when I first started doing it.
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I've been doing it consistently for 60 days now
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and it's honestly made a huge difference in getting off
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that excess stress and tension that your body sometimes holds in the morning.
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So the science behind shaking is that it helps clear tension,
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helps with the lymph movement,
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helps with chi movement, and kind of just releases stagnation in the body from overnight.
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I like to shake my body
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while also doing breath This is a great way to kind of connect your mind and body and your breath together.
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I've been using the OTHERSHIP breathwork app for my shaking sessions.
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All I do is put on one of my favorite guided sessions
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and it's a combination of breathing with shaking your body I
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do it after I eat before I get to sit down
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and go on my desk and it's just been a great way to
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Shake it off number five is doing a mental check-in with yourself when you wake up in the morning
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Literally just talking to yourself whether it's out loud
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or in your head and asking how your body feels How was your sleep the night before giving aches or tensions?
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What is your mind thinking about?
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Are you calm?
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Are you anxious?
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Do you feel heavy?
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Just having that body scan has really helped me be more in tune with what my body needs
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and what my mind needs Whereas I used to wake up and literally just jump straight to starting my day,
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jump straight into work I never took the time to actually ask myself how I was.
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Life is very very busy There's going to be notifications,
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there's going to be messages,
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things that you got to get done,
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priorities that you got to take care of
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But your most important priority at the end of the day is yourself and your body and your mind
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and just taking literally two minutes to ask yourself how you're feeling before your hectic day starts.
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I found it as one of the greatest ways to just check in with your nervous system,
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give it the love that it needs and help set the tone for the day.
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The awareness of being in your own body is a way of regulating your nervous system in itself.
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Number six is breath work.
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Earlier I talked about breath work along with shaking my body in the morning
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but whenever I have a downtime or a chance away from the work desk
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and away from the computer and away from the screens,
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I try to just do a little bit of breath work,
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even if it's one or two minutes.
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There's a lot of different types of breath work.
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You can breathe in with your nose,
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breathe in with your mouth,
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breathe in with your nose,
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breathe out with your nose.
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You can do lion's breath,
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box breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, lots of different types of breathing.
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Great way to really stimulate your vagus nerve and shift yourself out of that fight or flight mode.
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One of my favorite times to do it is actually midday,
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especially when you've been locked into the computer screen for a couple hours
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or you're really deep into your work stand up do some
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breath work doesn't need to be long it's just a great way to kind of ground yourself
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and it's free literally just a free medicine for your body
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number seven is morning pages slash a brain dump i used to structure my journaling way too much
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and now i just brain dump word vomit on a page
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and it's a great way to just be unfiltered with yourself get anything off your chest
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that literally just comes to your mind,
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you'd be surprised if you just let yourself write and free flow what actually comes up.
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You'll realize that it clears up a lot of mental anxiety,
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a lot of clutter, especially if you wake up, you're feeling very overwhelmed.
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Just putting whatever you're overwhelmed or concerned about on a page is a great way to just park it and say,
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it doesn't need to bother you.
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Morning Pages, the concept was made popular by Julia Cameron,
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who wrote The Artist's Way.
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It's a great book for anyone who's kind of in a creative rut,
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kind of at a crossroads or pivot with their career and their life.
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Not even just for creatives, just anyone in general.
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You'll notice that as you become more in tune with your body
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and what your body needs You actually write less
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because there's almost not as much
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that you need to get off your chest as often
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Because you're kind of checking in with your body already throughout the day
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And the last thing I do is spending time with an animal or a loved one Whether it's hugging my partner,
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petting my dog, playing with him Or even just messaging a friend
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and wishing them to have a good day This releases oxytocin
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Resetting your nervous system in isolation is really hard Your nervous system needs community It needs connection.
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It needs love, friendship, relationships.
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A little connection goes a long way
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and this has been one of the things
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that I think isn't talked about enough when it comes to resetting your nervous system.
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A lot of people nowadays,
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they live alone or they feel lonely or their support system isn't necessarily close to them in proximity.
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So feeling connected to someone can feel like a luxury.
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Extend yourself to other people,
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find a community, find people that you connect with and making sure
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that you take the time to to nourish those relationships because that in itself is a huge bonus for your nervous system.
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What you do before 8am or before your morning starts,
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whatever time that is, is literally the emotional temperature for your day.
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But what you do at night,
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how you wind down, what state you're in before you go to bed,
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that's also equally as important.
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So I'm going to be making another routine on things that I do before bed that help reset my nervous system.
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If you enjoy this video,
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I also make content on Instagram and through my newsletter.
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And my content is really for high-functioning type A women who are looking to reconnect with themselves,
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with their bodies, and ultimately slow down and feel more grounded with themselves.
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Every month I have a newsletter that I curate which includes healing protocols,
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recipes, things that I'm unlearning,
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just a great little digest snapshot of a check-in you could say.
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And I post almost daily on Instagram with a lot of the similar content
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that you'll see on my YouTube channel but more in bite-sized format.
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All the links are in my description and thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe for the next video.
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Bye-bye!
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Context & Background
The speaker in this video provides insights into resetting one's nervous system using simple, cost-free practices that can be incorporated into daily routines. Highlighting the impact of mornings on overall well-being, the speaker emphasizes the importance of making minor adjustments rather than relying on costly supplements or complicated gadgets. By sharing their personal experience, particularly relating to high-functioning anxiety and a reliance on caffeine, the speaker offers valuable advice that resonates with a wide audience facing similar challenges. This context creates an excellent opportunity for English learners to familiarize themselves with everyday language used in discussions about wellness and self-care.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “It’s not about adding more to your hectic life.” - This phrase highlights the importance of making small changes rather than overwhelming oneself.
- “Makes you more amped, but not beneficial.” - A useful expression that describes heightened energy that may not be helpful.
- “Regulate my digestion.” - A phrase handy for discussing health and wellness, particularly regarding eating and digestion.
- “Skipping breakfast is not super beneficial.” - An insightful statement that emphasizes the importance of having breakfast.
- “Micro adjustments to your existing routine.” - Excellent for describing slight changes that can lead to significant improvement.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To enhance your English speaking practice using this video, consider employing the shadowing technique, an effective method that can improve pronunciation, fluency, and comprehension. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to tackle the content effectively:
- Watch and Listen: Begin by watching the video without attempting to mimic the speaker. Focus on understanding the content and the nuances in intonation.
- Break it Down: Divide the video into segments. The speaker presents several key points; listening to each point separately will make it easier to grasp the vocabulary and sentence structure.
- Use Repetition: Listen to a segment multiple times. Repeat what the speaker says either out loud or silently, imitating their tone and pace. This can help you internalize the phrases and improve your confidence.
- Pause and Practice: Pause the video after each phrase and try speaking it back. This practice reinforces your memory and pronunciation, making it easier to use these phrases in real-life conversations.
- Integrate into Daily Life: After practicing, find opportunities to use these phrases in daily conversations. This will solidify your learning and help you engage in discussions about health and wellness.
By employing this shadow speech strategy with videos like these, you can greatly enhance your grasp of everyday English while discussing relevant and engaging topics. Whether you are looking to learn English with YouTube or enhance your English speaking practice, these methods will serve you well on your journey to fluency.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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