📕 Part 1: Sitting

Do you always sit down for a long time?

Actually, I try to avoid it when I can. I read a book that said it was really bad for your posture and your general health, so I tried to stand wherever possible.

Where's your favorite place to sit?

Oh, well, I'm sort of in two minds about this, because I love my couch, I have a big three seater in my living room, and I love to sit and chill there for a bit. But I also have this ergonomic chair for my office, and that's pretty comfortable too, so it's great for work.

Do you find it easy to fall asleep when sitting on a sofa?

I certainly didn't used to, but I've got to throw for it for Christmas. So it's so cozy that sometimes I just curl up under it and drift off.

When you were a child, did you usually sit on the floor?

I think so. Maybe if we were short on space, but generally, we usually had enough room to share couches and seats.

Do you feel sleepy when you are sitting down?

Well, not as a matter of course, but sometimes, if I'm on a bus and they turn up the heating, it's hard to stay conscious. Or maybe if I've been on a flight for several hours, I could drift off in a seated position. But I hate that, since I always wake up feeling extremely stiff and it's not particularly comfortable.

Right, dear listener, you know, it could be a funny topic, but actually, healthy sitting is important. Yes, dear listener, we should sit in a healthy way. Like correct sitting, healthy sitting, because we do spend a lot of time sitting down in the car, on a plane, at the office, dear listener. Prepositions are crazy. In the car, on a plane, at the office or at home. Rory, what about a chair? Do I sit on a chair? At a chair? In a chair?

Well, you can sit in a chair, is usually what I would say, but you can also sit on something like a stool or a table.

Bed.

Or a bed.

Yeah, sit on my bed. Okay? What about armchair?

Oh, you sit in an armchair, actually, don't you? But you can sit on the arm of an armchair.

Floor.

You sit on the floor.

Yeah. Right, dear listener, learning how to sit correctly is important for your mental well-being and for your posture, posture. Posture is the way you hold your shoulders and your back. So it's interesting, huh. Rory, have you ever heard of healthy sitting?

Yes, I have, because I've been reading a lot about yoga recently, so I know all about healthy sitting.

Like, what's the best way to sit?

Well, ideally, on top of your sitting bones with your head in alignment with your, well, with your neck and your back. That's quite good for you. Relaxed shoulders.

Also, dear listener, you can say that I spend a lot of time sitting while I commute to work. While I travel to work. Sitting down for a long time is bad for your posture. Posture is the way again you kind of, you hold your back. So you can say that I usually try to stand when possible. A very good expression is, I'm in two minds about this. So I am not sure. I have different answers. So what's your favorite place to sit? You know, I'm in two minds about this, I'm not sure. I love my couch. Like a sofa. And also, I have this... Chair. What kind of chair do you have, Rory?

An ergonomic chair. It's a chair that's designed for efficiency and comfort in the workplace.

Yeah. If you have two places, you can say, I'm in two minds about this. I love my bed, but also I have this ergonomic chair. Yeah. And you can say that I just chill there. Chill, like unwind, relax. I chill there for a bit, like on my couch. I usually sit on my couch, but in my chair. Yeah? I sit in my chair or on my chair again?

In my chair. Sit on my couch, but sit in a chair.

On my couch, on my bed, but in my chair, it's crazy. On a sofa, dear listener.

It's not crazy. It's the open space and the closed space.

Okay, okay. What about a desk?

What, you sit at a desk.

Exactly. You see, you sit at a desk.

I mean, I assume you sit at a desk unless you put your body on the desk, in which case you are sitting on the desk. How many people do that, though. I wouldn't do that to mine. It was very expensive.

Yeah, kind of you sit on a chair and at a desk. Because, kind of you sit on the chair and you have a desk. So you sit at a desk.

But your desk is like your place to sit.

We sit down on a sofa, and sometimes we can fall asleep, dear listener. Fall asleep? When you just, when you start sleeping. And Rory doesn't usually do that.

I certainly didn't used to in the past, but I got a throw, which is like, almost like a thin sheet for Christmas, and that is very cozy. So I just wrap it up around me. And I fell asleep the other day.

Yea. Like it's so cozy. It's so comfy. So I just curl up on my sofa. Curl up? Like I arrange myself in a comfortable way, and I can drift off, which is a very good synonym. Fall asleep or drift off. So you can say if I curl up on my couch, I can fall asleep or I can drift off. C-2, dear listener. To gradually start to sleep. Yeah. For example, I drifted off in the middle of that lecture. So I fell asleep. Yeah. Or I tend to drift off when I sit on my sofa, or when I sit on my couch, when I sit on the floor. When the examiner asks you about your childhood, you should use used. So I used to sit on the floor, but not anymore. Now you use chairs or sofas or desks, or cars, or planes.

There's a diversity of places to sit.

What about the proposition with toilet?

We don't talk about that on the podcast.

Why not? Toilet is just a regular thing.

Because no one goes to the toilet.

Huh? Okay, dear listener, you sit on the toilet. Okay? Yeah. But like if the examiner tells me, like, where's your favorite place to sit? My toilet.

What? No, it's not okay.

Why not? If I enjoy sitting on the toilet. Like...

Ideally, you shouldn't be sitting on the toilet for more than, like, 10 minutes or something.

No, even 10 minutes is just a long time. Yeah, dear listener, it's not healthy, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard doctors talk about this, and they say, no, no, no. It's not healthy to sit on the toilet for a long time. Yeah. Now, you know. So when I was a child, I used to sit on the floor. Okay? A lot. So used to means that you don't do it anymore, now. I usually feel sleepy. Sleepy or drowsy when I sit down. So when I'm on a bus. So you sit on a bus. You kind of, you can drift off, right?

Especially when it's very warm.

Oh, yeah. That's true. If they turn up the heating. So it's really warm. You are on a bus or on a train, and you just drift off. And also, when you are on a plane, I could drift off in a seated position. So another synonym is when I'm in a seated position, when I sit down.

Bless you.

When you feel stiff, what does it mean? Feel stiff.

Oh, when you feel stiff? It just means that it's difficult to move your arms and legs and body because you've been sitting in a particular position for a very long time.

Yeah, when your muscles hurt because you've been sitting down for a long time. So your body can't move. It's stiff, it's hard. For example, sitting still at a computer all day long can give you a stiff neck. So we say, sit at a computer?

Yes. Well, don't sit on your computer, or you'll break it.

Yeah. Kind of you sit in front of your computer? Yeah, you sit like with your computer. So you should adopt a correct sitting posture, dear listener.

Or an appropriate seated position.

Right, dear listener, if you want a band nine, you can use such phrases and words as like, I prefer to have one leg under my hip. Okay?

Well, that can't be good for you.

Yeah, but you explain your sitting position. So I usually have, I usually place one foot on the chair and another foot is kind of, is tucked under my hip. So you explain how you sit exactly, because it requires like special vocabulary. Or, for example, I place a pillow under my butt. Can I say but, Rory?

I think I place the pillow under myself will be appropriate.

Under myself? Okay. Or I sit on the edge of my office chair. To sit on the edge of the chair. I sit in an upright posture, okay? I place my back leg under the chair.

Place my back leg behind my neck and do a yoga pose.

No, place the back leg under the chair. Or I place my foot on my knee, okay? And I change sides. So you see, you can kind of like Google sitting positions and read the explanation of one sitting position. Remember it. And speak about it during the exams. Band nine, super cool. And now Rory's vocabulary show.

Yes, this is the part of the show where I ask Maria questions about the vocabulary and grammar I used, and she has to work out what I am talking about. You can join in. So let's go back to our very first question. And that was about whether or not I sit for a long time, and I said that I usually don't do it, but I didn't say I usually don't do it. I used a different expression.

I try to avoid it.

Yes. And the usually part, when I can. Try to avoid it when I can. Then in in the second question, we discussed my favorite place to sit, and I actually had two answers. But what phrase did I use to express this idea that I had two things to say about this?

I'm in two minds about this.

Nice. Question three was about whether it's easy for me to fall asleep sitting on a sofa, and I said that I was given something to curl up under on the couch, but what was that thing called.

A throw.

Yes, a throw. And we discussed what I did when I was a child, and I said, if we didn't have enough space, then I would do this. But I didn't say if we didn't have enough space, there was something else I said

We were short on space.

Yes, short on something? You don't have enough. And finally, Maria asked if I felt sleepy when I'm sitting down. And I said, not normally, but I didn't use that expression. I used a different one to say not normally.

Not as a matter of course.

Fab. So if you don't do something as a matter of course, it just means you don't do it normally. And Maria, you got 100% so do you know what that means?

Yay! A bonus question.

A bonus question. But the bonus question could be from any question, and I am not or from any answer, and I am not going to tell Maria which one. She has to work out what is being described. So this was a special adjective that describes furniture designed in a way to make working more comfortable and efficient.

Ergonomic.

Nice. Yes. Ergonomic chair, ergonomic desk, ergonomic keyboard.

Yeah, ergonomic design, and usually like I have an ergonomic desk chair. Yeah.

Nice.

Right, dear listener, I recommend reading about sitting and the risks of sitting too much. Like really interesting stuff. And...

And invest in an ergonomic chair.

Yeah, there has been some research, according to which sitting for long periods of time causes health problems, okay? And you can also say like extended sitting, so like sitting for too long. At a desk or behind a wheel. We also forgot that we do sit while driving, so we sit behind a wheel. So when you drive, you sit behind a wheel or. Or in front of a screen, in front of a computer, could be harmful. So prepositions, dear listener, prepositions are crazy.

But we are not, and hopefully we've been helpful throughout this episode. Join us in the next one. Bye! Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff: Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi