Shadowing Practice: The silent danger of sitting that no one talks about - Learn English Speaking with Video
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So what's a quick way that the person listening right now can feel the effect of gravity on their body?
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So we're sitting here together right now, right?
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We're at a desk.
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Even as I'm talking to you.
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Sitting is not a natural position.
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Well, I mean, we do it, but we're not designed to sit all day.
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Yes.
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Right?
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We're designed to be up and moving, running, hiking, whatever it is.
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Right now, even as I'm talking to you, I can feel myself slumped over a little bit.
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Yes.
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You can feel like as you're sitting, even if you kind of try to sit upright, you can feel pinchy like in your midsection.
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Like, you know, you're crunching the midsection.
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So if anyone's listening now and maybe in their car, maybe sitting down, in a chair, you just think about right now, feel the pressure of your body.
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in the chair and think about how that force is translating through your body.
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And if you're kind of hunched over or looking at a phone or something, what happens is your upper back moves forward.
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Your shoulders move forward and then your chest thorax moves down.
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The diaphragm moves down and then the abdomen compresses just a little bit.
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you've got this sack of potatoes in your belly that we call the gut.
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And it normally actually hangs when you're upright and that opens it up.
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And when you sit upright and you think about the muscles between - Just listening to you, I've noticed like I'm going from my great -grandmother's hunchback look to,
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okay, shoulders back, you know, like point out - Literally think about the muscles between your shoulders.
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How often do you engage those actively?
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Like really engage those muscles.
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in the mirror, I'm like, oh my God, my posture.
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Okay, shoulders back.
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- Well, that's it, you know.
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So you can see it in the mirror.
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And when you contract, what happens is the diaphragm and the chest moves up and the abdomen opens up, And it's better for digestion, for movement in the belly,
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and generally for your overall mechanism to be standing up straight.
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It's much better for your inner mechanisms too, the pumps and tubes inside.
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So as you're listening, if you just caught yourself slouching, or if you've been walking and you even felt your shoulders forward, and even as you're walking,
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you're a little hunched, just noticing that is a way to notice the pull of gravity pulling you toward the ground.
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Yeah.
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think a little bit about the back and the spine and keeping yourself upright.
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Well, what's already starting to
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go pow pow pow in my brain as i'm as i'm really taking in what you're saying
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is this is an entirely different way
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to think about posture and health because i've always just thought about the fact that
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I should just have good posture just because I should have good posture, but I've never thought about it.
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as you need to build better posture because
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if you don't gravity's always going to be there to make
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you slouch to make you look down to make you slump in your chair
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and then your poor organs are smushed like the bread at the bottom of a grocery bag that's good analogy
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and so Thinking about it like, it's not even about good posture.
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It's that developing that strength and that awareness is how you work.
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against the gravity that's pulling you down is that right absolutely and as we'll see i mean this is the basis of longevity.
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It's being stronger.
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It's being stronger of mind and body.
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What are everyday red flags?
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that For you, Dr. Spiegel, are like, you need to change your relationship with gravity.
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- Yeah, I mean, these are everyday common things.
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We talked about low back pain already, for example.
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feeling dizzy when you stand up too quickly, feeling lightheaded.
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having chronic pain, feeling exhausted, feeling mentally down, feeling like you're falling.
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Literally or even metaphorically, like you're getting gut feelings in your belly when you're anxious.
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All of these are signs of what I call gravity intolerance.
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And it's easy though for doctors to say, oh, well, that is disease A or that is disease B.
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And that's how we think about the human body.
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But I think about it as all of the systems working in unison to stand up to this planet.
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And we can diagnose gravity and tolerance through all of these different types of symptoms.
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What's amazing is there's so much literature that literally how you hold your body helps how you feel on the inside.
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You feel more buoyant.
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You feel lighter when you stand up straight.
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So think about when you are in a cathedral.
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Okay.
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And the ceiling is high.
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Yes.
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You feel glorious.
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You feel heavenly the spires point to the heavens.
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When you come into Grand Central Station in New York, you look up and think this is beautiful.
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But when you come into Penn Station, it's been said that it's like you scuttle into the city like a rat.
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These low ceilings, it's not glorious.
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It's not amazing.
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We have a neuropsychological love of expansive space, the heavens.
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Even in our language, we talk about how up is good.
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I'm feeling high.
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I'm feeling down on my luck.
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These are not just figures of speech.
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These are not just metaphors.
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That's true because emotions can be like heavy.
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Heavy.
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People speak of the heaviness, the literal heaviness of something like depression on the body itself.
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It's an existential attribute of our neurophysiology that we love to have being in expansive, beautiful worlds.
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And we do not love being in contracted, small spaces.
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Context & Background
In the recent discussion about the silent dangers of prolonged sitting, the speaker outlines the physiological effects of maintaining poor posture over time. The focus is on how our modern habits, particularly sitting for long periods, can lead to various health issues. As individuals become more aware of their body mechanics and the impact of gravity, they can begin to appreciate the need for better posture and strength. This topic not only affects our physical wellbeing but also establishes a stronger connection to our overall vitality and longevity.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- "We're designed to be up and moving." - This highlights the natural state of the body.
- "Feel the pressure of your body in the chair." - A reminder to engage and be conscious of your physical state.
- "Posture and health are interconnected." - This emphasizes the relationship between proper posture and overall health.
- "Gravity is always going to be there." - A fundamental truth that underscores the importance of maintaining good posture.
- "Developing strength is key to combatting gravity." - This phrase encourages a proactive approach to well-being.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To maximize your English speaking practice while addressing the intricacies of posture and body mechanics, follow this step-by-step shadowing guide. Shadowing involves listening to content and mimicking the speaker's pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm. This technique, often referred to as shadowspeak, is particularly useful for grasping complex topics.
- Listen Actively: Begin by watching the video or listening to the audio without distractions. Focus on understanding the content and how the speaker emphasizes certain phrases.
- Repeat after the Speaker: Play the audio in segments. Pause after each sentence or phrase and repeat it aloud. This reinforces sound and structure, which is essential for your English speaking practice.
- Focus on Pronunciation: As you engage in shadow speech, pay attention to how words blend together and the natural flow of sentences. Aim to mirror the speaker's tone and pitch.
- Practice Posture Awareness: While shadowing, also be mindful of your physical posture. Make an effort to sit upright and engage your core. This dual focus on body awareness and speech will enhance your learning.
- Reflect and Record: After completing your shadowing practice, record yourself speaking. Review it to analyze pronunciation, rhythm, and clarity. This feedback is invaluable for continuous improvement.
Integrating these techniques into your study routine not only enhances your English proficiency but also promotes an awareness of the physical aspects of communication. Engaging with content-centric themes equips you with the vocabulary and understanding to articulate complex ideas more effectively.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've noticed · i've always just thought · I've never thought |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are smushed · been said |
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.