Category: 2019 Health

March 18, 2019 at 11:08AM by CWC As someone who likes to try out as many different workouts as humanly possible in the course of a given week, my leggings drawer is overflowing with what I like to call “options.” Because I just can’t (read: don’t want to) wear the same muted tones to my neon lights-filled dance class as I do to my yoga studio—the horror. While different workouts require different functionality from their leggings—for example, runners may want a pair with compression, while yogis need something with a whole lot of stretch—they also each demand a different type of swagger. You know how workouts all have their own level of BDE? Well, it’s kind of like that. And, sure—you can just pick out a black pair from the top of your pile and know that you’ll look cool regardless of what class you’re taking. But with spring right around the corner (I actually let out an audible “woo hoo” as I typed that) basic black feels a little… boring. So, I’ve rounded up the best printed workout leggings for every single personality, including the “likes to sit at brunch in their workout leggings” kinda gal. Keep scrollin’ for your workout drawer must-haves. If you’re a cardio dance class queen Photo: Adam Selman Adam Selman French Cut Legging ($135) A loud, high-energy workout deserves a loud, high-energy print to match. And what could feel better than shaking your booty than rocking a pair of leopard-print pants, care of Rihanna’s favorite

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March 18, 2019 at 08:25AM by CWC Out of all the workout moves that I have done in my life, lunges are far-and-away the ones that trainers love to make even harder. I’ll often be trying to merely survive a lower body workout when, after instructing the class to do a set of simple lunges, the instructor all of a sudden takes things up a notch. Lunges are hard enough, honestly—I mean, they’re firing up your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves (AKA your entire lower trunk), and even your abs and back. They may look simple, but after a few rounds, they’re deceivingly difficult and they majorly burn. So when a trainer adds in something like a bicep curl or weights—or TBH any other upgrade—it becomes seriously intense. “Lunges are a great movement to work your entire lower body and your core to help you stabilize,” says Erin Bailey, head trainer at Asics studio. “There are so many varieties of ways you can perform lunges to target different muscles, and the main reason they’re one of my favorites is because they require no equipment.” Though they’re just a staple lower body move, they feel extra hard—as compared to, say, squats—because they’re isolating one leg at a time. “Because you perform lunges one leg at a time, the movement creates an element of stability—so your core engages to keep you from falling over,” says Bailey. (Ah, that explains why I’m always so wobbly.) “Our core is our main stabilizer, which is why it’s so important to strengthen

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March 18, 2019 at 08:22AM by CWC Be honest. When’s the last time you bought new pillows for your bed? You use them every single night, but it’s just one of those things most people don’t think about replacing as long as they get the job done. According to experts, you should actually be switching them out every three years. And there’s one easy way to tell if it’s time to boot yours from your bed. The longer you use your pillows, the less comfort and support they’ll provide. Sleep experts recommend using a simple press test to determine a pillow’s worthiness as part of your sleep sanctuary. All you need to do is take your pillow, place it on a firm surface—like a table or dresser—and press down in the center with your finger. After a second, lift your finger up. If it instantly return to its original shape, it’s still good. But if it doesn’t… RIP, pillow. Poking your way through your pillow collection gives you a good idea as to whether your hurting or helping yourself get a good night’s rest. Just make sure that when you do pick up some a new pillow that you choose the right one by testing it properly (i.e., give it more than just a good fluff). Lie down on the ground in the store if you must. No judgements here. Between replacing pillows, you should also be washing your pillowcases on the regular to avoid icky mites. You can also get the perfect pillow depending on

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March 18, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC I like to think of myself as a fairly diligent SPF-wearer. I put it on every morning, rain or shine, and re-apply pretty much every hour on the hour when I’m at the beach. But recently, I discovered an area of my face that I (and TBH a lot of other people, according to scientific studies) have been totally overlooking—no pun intended—when it comes to sun care: my eyelids. Not only can your eyelids get burnt the same way the rest of your body can, to make matters even worse, wearing eyeshadow can make them even more sensitive (because bits of metallic in  eyeshadows can amplify the sun’s rays and make it more susceptible to sun damage). Yikes. “The skin around the eye area is thinner, making the eyelids more vulnerable to sun damage and skin cancers. This is also why we often see the first signs of aging around the eyes,” explains Deirdre Hooper, MD of Audubon Dermatology. “It’s very important to wear sunscreen on your face every day to protect your skin from sun damage, skin cancer, and aging. The skin on the eyelids is no different, but people tend to avoid it altogether as they feel other sunscreens will irritate their eyes.” To combat this very, very common problem, Supergoop has released a sunscreen specifically meant for your eyelids—only it’s more likely to be mistaken for something that comes out of your makeup bag than your beach bag. The brand’s latest launch, called “Shimmershades” are

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March 18, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC Lindy West’s new comedy series starring Aidy Bryant recently premiered on Hulu, and though it’s called Shrill, it very easily could have gone by called Holy Eff, This is Pretty Much My Entire Life Playing Out Onscreen. The series—based on feminist writer West’s best-selling memoir of the same name—chronicles the ups and downs of Annie (played by Bryant), a Portland-based writer who is going through it. Among many other things, she has to deal with a difficult boss, body-image issues, and judgmental parents. And while I lost count of everything I could relate to within, like, the first 10 minutes of the pilot, one plot line in particular hit me like a truck. When we meet Annie, she is immersed in, a, uh, “relationship” (if you wanna call it that) with a man-child named Ryan, played by Luka Jones. Ryan lives like a slob, works on a corny podcast with two other equally childish schlubs, and throws parties that a college freshman might find cool—and yet Annie, despite being objectively better than him in every conceivable way, is stuck in hookup hell. Annie wears all the hats a dream girlfriend might (offers emotional support, rocks his world in the bedroom, seems genuinely happy to be with him whenever), but Ryan wants to keep their rendezvous as casual and quiet as possible. In fact, after being intimate, Ryan makes Annie sneak out the back door, just so he can avoid introducing her to his roommates. It’s

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March 18, 2019 at 03:30AM by CWC Well+Good is pleased to present Wellness in Color, a new series highlighting prominent wellness practitioners of color who are doing healing work in their communities. Featuring conversations led by Latham Thomas, a Well+Good Council member and the founder of Mama Glow, these stories will shine a spotlight on energy workers, nutrition experts, sexuality doulas, and other wellness luminaries. Here, Thomas connects with Portland, Ore.-based sexuality doula Ev’Yan Whitney. Latham Thomas: Ev’Yan, how and when did you begin your work as a sexuality doula? Ev’Yan Whitney: I’ve been in the sexual liberation field for about a decade. This work started from a place of me realizing that my own sexuality—the way that I express myself sexually—was really being washed by a lot of old stories and limiting beliefs. I was tired of not feeling like my own voice and my own sexual curiosities and desires were being acknowledged and celebrated and really deeply expressed. So I started my own sexual liberation journey—which looked a lot like me reading a lot of books, being in therapy, and really beginning to unpack the layers of the old stories that I had been given about myself. From that place I started writing about my journey  on a public blog called Sex, Love, Liberation. Very shortly afterward, I started getting a lot of people who were saying, “Wow, this is my story.” After a year or two of people asking me when I was going to start working with

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March 18, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC What’s something that keeps you up at night, makes you turn red at the slightest provocation, and is the center of all your idle thoughts? No, it’s not a new romance—it’s itchy skin. A persistent, can’t-stop-won’t-stop itch is its own kind of special torture, whether it’s from a mosquito bite or a bout of super dry skin. And if your aloe vera lotion isn’t quite cutting it, having an arsenal of essential oils on hand to help soothe (and even wipe out) your scratchy scaly ailments is…well, essential. “Nature has given us some of the best, proven remedies for dry or itchy skin, and we’re able to harness the life force and healing properties of these botanicals as essential oils,” says Barbara Close, a certified herbalist, esthetician and aromatherapist, as well as the founder of Naturopathica. She breaks down her go-to essential oils for itching, and how to best use them. 1. For bug bites: tea tree oil If a camping trip turned into being the appetizer, main course, and dessert for a swarm of mosquitos, then you’ll want to give tea tree oil a try. Well known for its antiseptic and antiviral properties, it also can soothe itchiness and discomfort. Close says the oil is the clear winner when it comes to spot treating the site of a bite. How to use it: Close recommends placing a small amount on a tissue or cotton ball, then dabbing it directly onto the affected area.

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