February 26, 2020 at 01:30AM by CWC Regardless of your stance on psychics and their powers (maybe you have yours on speed dial, or you’d never ever get a reading from one, or you fall somewhere in the middle), you likely possess your own intuitive, psychic-leaning prowess. In fact, according to one pro, we all have that otherworldly sense—we just need help learning how to develop psychic abilities. That’s because “psychic” is a term that Laura Lynne Jackson, psychic medium and author of Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe, says can often be used interchangeably with “intuitive.” To that point, knowing how to tap into your powers reflects your ability to see, hear, or feel things beyond the psychical realm—which she says happens all the time, both knowingly and unknowingly. Need convincing? Consider this: Have you ever turned around because you felt someone staring at you? Or, has the thought of a certain person randomly popped into your mind, and then you ran into that person later in the day? Or maybe, you’ve simply gotten a bad vibe upon entering a room. All of these are examples of an intuitive psychic gift in action. “We can become much brighter, stronger, vibrant, engaged versions of ourselves in the here and now by reactivating and reopening [psychic] abilities.” —Laura Lynne Jackson, psychic “It can be an incredible, very practical tool to help us navigate our lives, whether it’s relationships we’re in, career choices, releasing artistic gifts we have, or whatever paths
Month: February 2020
For some parents, raising the next generation of healthy eaters is about more than eating vegetables—it’s about ending diet culture
February 26, 2020 at 01:00AM by CWC Keto, intermittent fasting, ketotarian: It’s hard to escape talk about dieting in America these days. Diet culture—a system of beliefs that glorifies thinness and weight loss, and equates those things with health, beauty, and virtue—is so pervasive that it’s even reached our children through Paleo baby food and a controversial Weight Watchers app for kids. But with girls as young as 3 saying they need to go on a diet, something in America has gone undeniably awry. “We as a society teach them that,” says Alexandra Caspero, RD, a dietitian and plant-based chef. “Kids are so impressionable when comes to figuring out their own relationship with food.” Translation: The examples that we as adults set goes a long way towards teaching kids about what it means to eat healthy. As a new generation of parents have become aware of the harms of diet culture and all the food demonizing that comes with it, many are approaching nutrition differently. For many, that means abandoning the “eat this not that” mentality of their own parents and radically transforming how they talk to their kids about food. How American diet culture negatively affects kids All parents want their kids to be healthy. But social media, commercials, and TV make that hard with incessant messaging that champions weight loss and demonizes certain foods while praising others—messaging that doesn’t lend itself to a healthy relationship with food. Dalina Soto, RD, a mother of two young kids and dietitian
I’m a physical therapist, and this is the only posture-boosting device I ever recommend
February 26, 2020 at 12:00AM by CWC All sorts of gadgets exist with the sole purpose of improving your posture. This is a good thing, considering the fact that we live in world riddled with bent-over heads and rounded shoulders. But it’s come to a point where it’s tricky to nail down just which posture-boosting device you should buy. So what can ya do? Well, physical therapist Karen Joubert, DPT—a self-professed “posture freak”—swears by one thing: the Truweo Posture Corrector ($21). The posture corrector—which you can easily snag on Amazon—is a simple back brace that goes around your upper back, connecting across your chest to help you sit up straight. Out of all of the posture-bettering devices out there, from this tiny, iPod-looking sticker to kinesiology tape, the Truweo Posture Corrector is probably the most basic. But Dr. Joubert says that it is the only tool that she recommends to her patients time and time again for the best impact on posture. She would know—a large part of her job as a physical therapist is to help people learn how to keep their bodies in proper alignment. Photo: Truweo “I like the simplicity and user-friendliness of it,” she says. “It reminds you to sit up straight and tall, and once you take it off, you’re supposed to practice sitting in the same way that the brace held you.” Over 13,000 people that have purchased it on Amazon, and clearly they’re fans: The back brace has 4.5 out of five stars,
This yoga teacher swears by weekly baths with 200 pounds of ice
February 25, 2020 at 11:05PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThvmuboEOo4] What happens in a yoga class inspired by the Wim Hof Method? Watch the video to find out. When an instructor says to wiggle your fingers and toes to wake up from savasana, I’m always a little sad. It’s a bit jarring to go into the real world after reaching peak relaxation. Five, a unique practice in Brooklyn created by Danielle McCallum, takes that feeling to the next level—breathwork followed by an ice bath. In the latest episode of What the Wellness, host Ella Dove takes Five, a class comprised of five parts: yoga, meditation, breathwork, cold exposure, and you. McCallum, a yoga teacher and Wim Hof Method instructor, created Five in part to share the benefits of cold exposure. “Ice baths are good for circulation, they’re good for energy. They decrease inflammation, so that helps with recovery from injuries and illness,” says McCallum. “These are tools that have greatly increased my health, and I wanted to package them together.” The Wim Hof Method has three parts: training the mind, breathwork, and cold exposure. “The philosophy behind it is that greater health leads to greater happiness,” she says. “When you get out of the tub, you’re going to feel so alive, so invigorated, you’ll feel like super woman.” The meditation and breathwork—athletic, deep, and fast—are meant to help prepare the body for the cold exposure. Once you’re in the tub, McCallum says you have to maintain that focus on the breath. “When you get
Why a burnout expert says you should have an ‘Untouchable Day’ every week
February 25, 2020 at 09:00PM by CWC Every minute I type this my fingers are sad that they can’t grab my cell phone, and can I just say, that is horrifying. Even having it in my eye line makes me stressed out, as if it was my child dangling from a broken bridge instead of an iPhone 8 placidly charging. Technology dependency bones us all, and this addiction feeds into our collection cultural burnout problem. There’s a reason for that. At our most recent Well+Good TALK, we learned that that chronic stress leaves us in a constant fight-or-flight mode, and those little technological pings feed into the stress cycle. “Every single notification that comes in your brain treats exactly as though the phone rang or someone knocked on the doors,” says Celeste Headlee, journalist and author of Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving. “So the whole time that phone is present, or the computer is in your island, your brain is sitting there like a runner at the starting gate, waiting to respond to what it thinks is some kind of threat or alert. So that’s part of what is exhausting you because you never stop working.” Wow, I absolutely hate that. As such, getting a handle on your tech means you physically and mindfully have to step away sometimes. That doesn’t mean throwing your cell into the nearest body of water, it just means ungluing your eyes from a screen once in a while. If you’re
A $10 acne soap sold out in under a week at Ulta—and it’s gentle enough for sensitive skin
February 25, 2020 at 08:41PM by CWC Acne is one most common skin concerns in the United States, affecting nearly 50 million people each year (so, yeah—you’re not alone). With that massive number in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that when a legendary breakout-fighting product makes its way over from across the pond Harry and Meghan-style, skin-care aficionados jump at the chance to get their hands on it (especially when said product only costs $10). Such has been the case with Carbon Theory’s Charcoal & Tea Tree Oil Breakout Control Facial Cleansing Bar ($10). The UK cult-favorite launched at Ulta two weeks ago and sold out almost immediately. Peek at the ingredients list and you’ll see why: The bar’s active acne-fighters are charcoal and tea-tree oil, which zap zits without being as harsh as other acne treatments like retinoids and hydroxy acids. This means the bar isn’t just great for pimple-prone skin, it’s good for even the most sensitive skin types. Photo: Carbon Theory Why is that the case? Charcoal has long been thought of as a “detoxifier,” thanks to its ability to pull out dirt, grime, and oil from your pores, while tea tree oil acts as an anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory for skin. Together, the duo won’t leave behind flaking, scaling, or dryness (the way retinol often tends to), and just to make good on that, there’s also some shea butter in the formula to help with hydration. The soap may have sold out within a week after launch,
Alt-rice is the new alt-pasta, and it’ll be in every healthy eater’s pantry in 2020
February 25, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC It’s 2020, where it seems possible to make a healthy or vegan alternative to just about any kind of food. We’re milking oats and almonds instead of cows, using tech to make “bleeding” plant-based burgers, and using everything from lentils to zucchini to create gluten-free pasta. Now, you can count alternative rice as the latest alt-food to hit store shelves. This goes beyond the idea of cauliflower rice, which—let’s be honest—can absolutely be used in all the same ways as the grain but has a texture and taste that’s its own. The new alternatives to rice are shelf-stable and aren’t made from cauliflower at all; they’re made from legumes. A few examples: Banza Chickpea Rice ($3), Trader Joe’s Organic Chickpea and Red Lentil Risoni ($3) and RightRice ($13 for three). It’s the latest proof of the chickpea revolution taking over the grocery store and menus across the nation—one of Well+Good’s biggest trends for 2020. The inspiration for creating new alternatives to rice RightRice CEO Keith Belling says the inspiration for their four-source blend was the goal of making a rice that’s as nutrient-dense as possible—while still cooking and tasting like OG rice. “We spent almost a year looking at a range of ingredients and blends, and found that the combination of lentils, chickpeas, green peas, and a bit of rice helped us deliver a unique rice alternative that has a rice-like taste, is easy to cook, and met all our nutritional goals,” he
This better-than-Gatorade drink replenishes your electrolytes post-workout with 2 simple ingredients
February 25, 2020 at 06:29PM by CWC With your electrolytes depleted after an intense workout, you might think to reach for a Gatorade, but it’s not the only option. While sports medicine doctors say it’s a easy way to hydrate after exercising, as “the sugar gives your body quick energy,” there’s a completely natural option you can reach for if you’re not into guzzling down neon sports drinks. Celebrity nutritionist Kimberly Snyder combines 12 oz. of natural coconut water and 1 heaping tablespoon of spirulina powder. Together these simple ingredients make for an electrolyte-replenishing drink that doesn’t contain any added sugar, artificial flavors, or artificial colors. “Swap out the Gatorade with my favorite source of electrolytes and potassium: coconut water. And get an extra boost of powerful nutrition power by adding in a spoonful of spirulina.” —Kimberly Snyder “If you feel tired or sluggish after working out or sweating—or just the dryness of winter!—try upping your electrolytes naturally with this nourishing, easy elixir,” she says. “Swap out the Gatorade with my favorite source of electrolytes and potassium: coconut water. And get an extra boost of powerful nutrition power by adding in a spoonful of spirulina, a natural algae protein that contains omega-3 fatty acids, essential amino acids, B12, iron, and magnesium.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kimberly Snyder (@_kimberlysnyder) on Feb 19, 2020 at 4:36pm PST //www.instagram.com/embed.js For something you can make right at home, it’s quite the catch. All you need to do
Mercury retrograde doesn’t have to suck—here are Susan Miller’s 4 tips for making the most of it
February 25, 2020 at 05:00PM by CWC In its most straightforward translation, Mercury being in retrograde just means it appears to be traveling backward. And that’s fitting because when Mercury is in a retrograde cycle, many of us feel like our entire lives are backward—what with travel, communication, and technology woes throwing all of us for a loop. But when I sat down for a cup of coffee with astrologer Susan Miller of AstrologyZone (and used chocolate caramel creamer, per her suggestion, to match my Taurus star sign), she pointed out that good things can also happen during retrograde. The benefits of Mercury retrograde are simply about using that power of going backward to refine our lives. “You have a chance to repolish things up and do a better job,” says Miller, who adds that it’s important to not fight against going backward. Rather, lean into it as a superpower and mindfully go back to reclaim what you’ve lost. In order to maximize the benefits of Mercury retrograde, below find Miller’s four tips. 1. Remember comforts from your past Mercury retrograde encourages you to revisit a specific flavor from your childhood because the planet’s mysticism allows you to enjoy certain foods that trigger happy memories and their healing powers. “You go back to a restaurant you loved or a meal that your mom used to make or prepare that she hasn’t made in a long time,” Miller says. But if nothing nostalgic manifests on your plate (or you don’t live
What to do if you get ghosted at work, because it isn’t just a dating thing anymore
February 25, 2020 at 04:00PM by CWC Ghosting in the dating scene is all too familiar of a pest with which we have to contend. But a lesser-known reality of the phenomenon is that it’s also very much possible to get ghosted at work. “Professional ghosting is when a potential client, colleague, hiring manager, or anyone with whom you have a professional relationship goes completely dark on you,” says executive career coach Elizabeth Pearson. “They choose not to reply to your emails, texts, or phone calls with zero explanation.” And, to be clear, getting ghosted at work is bidirectional, meaning it’s a nefarious tool that employers and employees alike can use. In the job-hunting process, for example, sometimes the employer doesn’t let the candidate know they decided to go with someone else. Other times, it’s the candidate who doesn’t respond to the employer, or doesn’t show up for their first day of work, says Michelle Armer, chief people officer at CareerBuilder. “Professional ghosting is when a potential client, colleague, hiring manager, or anyone with whom you have a professional relationship goes completely dark on you.” —executive career coach Elizabeth Pearson Professional ghosting can also certainly transpire in internal situations with a job and workplace you already have. Perhaps your boss conveniently “lost” the message you sent asking for a performance review or raise. Or a colleague is dodging you because they haven’t completed their part of a project you’re spearheading together. Whatever the scenario may be, getting ghosted sucks. To