Hello and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast. My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 43, Day 5 of Your English Five a Day. This is the series where we are focused on improving your English by expanding your active vocabulary, improving your listening, and generally keeping you company, giving you your daily dose, which is what you need in order to improve. Just a little bit. Every day does make a difference. Of course, if you want to be doing more, if you want to progress faster, then there are other things I can do to help. I do have videos available for free on YouTube. Just search for English Like a Native. I also have an incredible community that you can join. Just go to englishlikeanative.co.uk to find out more about that. Let's kick off this final day of Week 43 with the idiom go with the flow, go with the flow. Flow, F L O W. To go with the flow means to let things happen to you or to let other people tell you what to do rather than trying to control what happens. Just imagine that you are in a river, and there is a current pulling you along, and for a while, you're trying to swim against the current, you're trying to go in the opposite direction to the water, you want to go upstream, but the stream is going down, and you're trying to fight against it, that's exhausting. So eventually you relax and just let the river take you in the direction that the river wants to go. You decide to go with the flow. In a metaphorical sense, it's about not fighting against what's happening, not pushing against it, not opposing it, but just seeing what happens, letting other people make the decisions. For example, if I am meeting my friend in central London and she says,"Oh, what do you want to do? Did you make any plans? Do you have any ideas?" And I say,"I don't really have anything in mind. I just thought we could meet up and you could tell me what you fancy doing. And I'm quite happy to go with the flow, really. You tell me what you want to do while you're here in London, and I will go with the flow. I won't try to control things." Here's another example,"My New Year's resolution is to stop trying to control everything and go with the flow a bit more." Do you like to go with the flow or are you quite controlling? Do you need to be in control of everything that's happening? Next on the list is the adjective bendy, bendy. We spell this B E N D Y bendy, bendy. If you are described as bendy, then it means your body bends quite easily. It means that you are flexible. You're quite bendy. A gymnast could be described as quite bendy. Here's an example sentence,"I don't do a lot of sport, but I'm still very bendy." I'm relatively bendy. How about you? So I can stand up and with my legs straight, I can bend over and touch the floor with the palms of my hands. However, I can't do like the box splits. In fact, probably right now I can't do any splits. I used to be able to do scissor splits, but not box splits. And now my joints are quite stiff. I haven't done much stretching or much work on my flexibility lately. So I'm not very bendy right now. Next on the list is the adjective flexible, flexible. We spell this F L E X I B L E. Flexible. Flexible. Flexible means able to bend or to be bent easily without breaking. For example, I bought a flexible ruler recently. Normally, rulers are made out of metal or hard plastic, but a flexible ruler has a bit of bend in it, so it doesn't break so easily. Here's an example sentence,"Most gymnasts are naturally flexible that's why they choose this sport." Next on the list is the noun, balance, balance. We spell this B A L A N C E, balance, balance. Balance refers to the ability to remain standing, especially when your weight is equally distributed. So, if you're able to stand on one leg without any problems, then you have balance. You might need to have balance in your life, but that's something slightly different. Physical balance is important. Here's an example,"Yoga improves balance as well as flexibility." We often talk about losing and finding our balance. So if you are feeling dizzy, then you might lose your balance, you might fall over, and then someone will stand you up and tell you to take your time, find your balance, and then they will stop supporting you. Okay, next on the list is the idiom have a word with someone. To have a word with someone. Have a word, W O R D. To have a word with someone. This means to talk with someone briefly. So you might say,"I need to have a word with you about what's going to happen tomorrow. Can we have a word?" And then you come back and you say,"Anna had a word with me earlier about my responsibilities for tomorrow." When you see your neighbour, you might need to have a word with them about something that's been particularly bothersome. Maybe they've been leaving their bin near your garden and maybe their bin smells terribly and it's attracting lots of flies and it's been a nuisance because you like to have dinner in your garden. And so maybe you have a word with them, a quick talk, to discuss the bin and ask if they can move it to the other side of the garden. Maybe you need to have a word with your partner about something that's really important. Maybe you need to have a word with yourself. Sometimes we use that phrase to tell someone to reconsider their behaviour or reconsider their opinion. So if someone's saying something that you completely disagree with, or you think they are out of order, you think they are being unreasonable. Then you might say,"Have a word with yourself. Have a word with yourself." Meaning, go away and think about this. Go and think about how unreasonable you're being. Of course, that phrase, to have a word with yourself, is quite strong, so I wouldn't advise using it in the workplace. Alright, that's our five, so let's do a quick recap. We started with the idiom go with the flow. Thinking about the river, it means to let things happen. Don't try and control things. We had the adjective bendy, and the adjective, flexible. Both of which mean that you can bend easily. Then we had the noun balance, which is the ability to remain standing. Then we had the idiom have a word with someone, which means to talk to someone briefly. Alright, let's do this now for pronunciation purposes. Please repeat after me. Go with the flow. Go with the flow. Bendy. Bendy. Flexible. Flexible. Balance. Balance. Have a word with someone. Have a word with someone. Fantastic. So if I'm quite controlling and we're going to throw a party and you want me to relax and just let things happen, what idiom could you use?"Anna, go with the flow." Yes, very good. And if I am able to reach down and touch my toes with no problems whatsoever, what two adjectives could you use to describe me? Bendy and flexible. Yes. Now, if I'm able to stand quite securely on my hands, I'm able to do what? What ability do I have? Balance. Yes, I have balance. Fantastic. If you need to talk to me briefly, what phrase could you use?"Anna, could I have a word? Could I have a word with you, please?" Very good. Okay, listen out for these items once again in today's storytime. Jason had been thinking about trying yoga for a while. He had heard a lot of his friends talk about how good it was for your body and mind, and he wanted to give it a try. So he looked around online and found a class near his home. When he arrived at the yoga studio for the first time, Jason started to feel a bit nervous. Everyone else seemed so flexible as they moved from one pose to the next."I'm just not that bendy," he thought to himself. As the class went on, Jason struggled to hold the poses. His balance was off and his muscles felt tight and inflexible. By the end of the class, Jason wasn't sure if he wanted to come back."Maybe yoga just isn't for me," he thought. But on his way out, he decided to have a word with the teacher and explain his concerns."I'm sorry, but I'm just not very flexible and my balance is terrible. Everyone else here seems so much more advanced than me," Jason explained. The teacher nodded understandingly."A lot of people feel that way when they first start yoga," she said."But the purpose of yoga isn't to be the most flexible person in the room. It's about accepting your body where it's at, limitations and all. And besides, the more you practise, the more flexible you'll become." Jason felt relieved to hear this."I guess I just need to be patient with myself and keep trying," he said."Exactly!" The teacher replied."Just focus on your own practice and go with the flow. Before you know it, you'll be touching your toes with ease." Jason left the studio feeling much more positive. He was ready to stick with it and see how yoga could improve his body and mind over time. And that brings us to the end of today's episode and to the end of Week 43. If you did enjoy anything you heard this week, then please take a moment to leave a like, a rating or a review. All your support greatly helps and is much appreciated. So, until next time, take very good care and goodbye.