You are Here

Day: February 17, 2019

2019 Wellbeing

The Unexpected Hobby That Brings Couples Closer Together

3 min read

February 17, 2019 at 12:14PM Who knew? Continue Reading… February 17, 2019 — 22:14 PM The next time you’re cooking up a romantic date night idea, a painting session might be more effective at conjuring up romance than an Italian dinner or a stroll through the park. A new study in the Journal of Marriage and Family found creating art as a couple might be a particularly effective at helping two people form an intimate bond. Researchers studied 20 heterosexual cohabitating or married couples between the ages of 20 and 40 who were randomly assigned to do a recreational activity together like playing board games, playing cards, or going to an art class. The researchers measured their oxytocin levels (via a urine sample) before and after the couple activity and found that everyone’s oxytocin levels increased afterward. Oxytocin is often referred to as the “love hormone” because it’s typically released during sex and even while hugging; it serves to help people bond with one another and develop secure attachments. So knowing you can trigger that same chemical release during a game of Monopoly is mind-blowing. In particular, participants in the art class reported more touching than those who did other activities, and interestingly, men in the art class released twice as much of the love hormone as anyone else. “Typically, an art class is not seen as an interactive date with your partner. But sometimes couples that were painting turned the activity into a bonding time by choosing to interact—putting

Read More

2019 Health

How to let go of resentment, to give you piece of mind without giving them a pass

3 min read

February 17, 2019 at 09:26AM by CWC You’ve probably heard the adage that holding onto resentment is like drinking poison and expecting other person to die—it’s one of the most meme-able quotes in recent memory and has been attributed to everyone from Buddha and Nelson Mandela to Carrie Fisher. (Thanks, internet.) One thing is clear, though, says New York City-based therapist Jennifer Silvershein: Whoever said it was right. But once you’re in the throes of remembering and rehashing all the sins of the person who done you wrong—and getting re-pissed off about all of it—it’s hard to stop that mental loop. Even if you know it’s poisonous, remembering why you’re so mad feels good because at least it explains the feelings. And you may even get cheered on by others—hey, every hip-hop beef is fueled as much by applause as anger. But, as difficult as it is to let go of resentment, it can be done, Silvershein says. And you’ll be the happier for it, as soon as you pull focus from the object of your ire (who, in many cases, is blithely unaware of the whole thing, anyway). “So often we’re holding onto a negative feeling about someone and they have absolutely no idea. So when we’re spending our time reflecting on whatever bothered us the other person is living their life absolutely unaware,” Silvershein says. So, how do you actually put the poison down, and stop drinking from it? Here are her 3 pieces of advice. Photo: Stocksy/Studio Firma Talk it out—or

Read More

2019 Health City Fashion Yoga

Yoga pants made Lululemon founder Chip Wilson a billionaire—why isn’t he more grateful to the women who wear them?

10 min read

February 17, 2019 at 07:00AM by CWC Chip Wilson; Photo: Andrea Mestrovic (Very Polite Agency) Chip Wilson is his own employee of the month. Right there on his website, you can see a portrait of his smiling face, set within a cheap wooden frame and festooned with a gold star bearing the accolade. But in his colorful new memoir, Little Black Stretchy Pants: The Unauthorized Story of Lululemon (LBSP), the controversial Lululemon Athletica founder makes clear that, beyond ostensibly putting himself above his actual employees, he also feels superior to many of the women who wear the brand’s hundred-dollar yoga pants that have made him a multibillionaire. LBSP is dripping with contempt for the “non-athletic, smoking, Diet-Coke drinking woman in a New Jersey shopping mall wearing an unflattering pink velour track suit” who may now reach for a pair of Lulus. As he tells it, the irreverent Wilson is the star of Lululemon’s success story. And by extension, he also sees himself as the victim of what he understands to be the athleisure company’s fall from greatness to mass-market mediocrity since he resigned as chairman in 2013. If newer employees continue to find the culture refreshing, Wilson explains, it’s only because “Lululemon is living on the fumes” of its former glory. In this way, Wilson’s 400-plus-page volume often reads like a screed. It’s worth your time, however, because for all Wilson’s outrage at what the innovative company he created has become (and there’s a lot of outrage), he is still Lululemon’s largest individual shareholder,

Read More

2019 Health

Here’s your guide to what promises to be an intense astrological week

7 min read

February 17, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC Astrologer Jennifer Racioppi is here with a cosmic weather report to help you get grounded for a week that may include any or all of the following: righteous anger, “fake news,” and, weirdly, major sexual potential. Buckle up. Monday, February 18 This epic paradigm shifting day, not your typical Monday, closes a chapter while opening a new door. Chiron, the wounded healer, officially leaves Pisces, entering into Aries—a sign it’ll be in for years to come. Now’s the time own the fact that over the last few years, you’ve reclaimed a baseline connection to your mystical powers, have shed patterns of martyrdom, and are ready to emerge full throttle in your most real sense of self. This epic paradigm shifting day, not your typical Monday, closes a chapter while opening a new door. Meanwhile, Venus, the planet most closely related to your values, conjoins Saturn, the planet of discipline in structure, in tenacious Capricorn, asking you to solidify your commitment to your truth. And finally, the sun exits Aquarius, entering into Pisces too while the moon waxes full. So how do you digest so many powerful shifts? Take it slow. Don’t skip your mindfulness practice. Stay conscious. The tectonic plates of your spiritual development are mid-shift. Remain patient with yourself and others. Take time to stand under the moonlight and acknowledge how you’ve grown and changed. Tuesday, February 19 Yesterday’s stellar potential carries over today as Mercury, the planet that rules communication, conjoins Neptune

Read More

2019 Health Fashion Yoga

What to wear to hot yoga so you don’t overheat (or recreate your slip ‘n’ slide days)

7 min read

February 17, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC I am a generally sweaty person. (BRB gonna go update my Bumble profile with that sexy line.) I don’t know why, exactly, this is. I just know that all it takes is one inchworm and I’m leaving sweaty handprints everywhere. So, naturally, hot yoga is a particularly damp affair (Wet? Moist? There aren’t really any non-gross synonyms for sweaty.) Even if you’re not prone to sweat theatrics like I am, being confined in a heated room and doing chaturangas is bound to make you perspire. A lot. If you’re not wearing the right attire, there are two general outcomes. One, you feel like you’re on a slip ‘n’ slide of your own sweat, which is a terrible but accurate visual. Two, you get so overheated that you feel the urge to, and I’m paraphrasing the poet Nelly here, take off all your clothes because it’s so hot in here. So what is the right attire for hot yoga? Here are the insider recs from instructors with serious sweat cred. Photo: Getty Images/PeopleImages 1. Leggings If you only take one thing away from this article, let it be that you need moisture-wicking clothing for hot yoga. Bonus points if it’s also antimicrobial. “If you’re dripping in sweat, you want your workout clothes to absorb the moisture which will reduce the chance of sweat stains, dry quickly and decrease odor,” Ava Johanna, an international yoga and meditation instructor and breathwork facilitator, says. She’s a fan

Read More

1 2