June 03, 2019 at 07:42AM by CWC I am firmly team Sleep in the Nude. Like, I straight up don’t get people who sleep with their clothes on. Part of this is comfort (what’s cozier than no clothes at all? Nothing!), and in part because I’ve always thought that you had to remove your underwear at night to let your vagina “breathe”—and I’ve never questioned it until my editor asked me to investigate this topic. You know, for science. Here’s what I learned: It can be beneficial to sleep without underwear on, but it has less to do with your vagina and more to do with the health of your outer parts. Basically, everyone with a vagina experiences vaginal discharge, says Shweta Pai, OB/GYN and member of the Love Wellness medical advisory board. “Some women may have more physiologic discharge than others, thus creating a moist environment within their underwear,” she says. “Excess moisture can lead to bacterial overgrowth, which can lead to a vaginal infection,” she says. By sleeping in the buff at night (or wearing cotton-only underwear), Dr. Pai says that you can ward off future vaginal infections by decreasing the amount of moisture that surrounds your vagina or vulva. (Hence the whole “letting your vagina breathe” thing.) However, Dr. Pai says if you’re prone to recurring infections ~down there~, you should talk to your doctor; there might be something bigger going on than just your choice of underwear at night. There’s also another reason why Dr. Pai
Category: 2019 Health
This 6-minute plank-crunch combo gives abs day a whole new meaning
June 03, 2019 at 07:33AM by CWC I like to track my workouts by how many songs it takes to finish them. A three-mile run suddenly seems a lot more manageable when I realize it will only take me six or seven Justin Bieber tracks to get through it, and 45 minutes on a spin bike is basically just nine Ariana Grande jams before I’m outta there and onto brunch. So when I found out that this week’s Trainer of the Month abs series would only take six minutes—AKA less than two songs—I was pumped. “That’s nothing!” I thought to myself. Boy, was I wrong. Trainer Meg Takacs‘ latest core workout may be quick, but man-oh-man is it intense. It focuses on every part of your core, from your midsection through to your inner and outer obliques, leaving no muscle un-worked. Thankfully, she shares some modifications to help get you through it, and even those will leave your burning. Pop on your favorite playlist and follow along with Takacs to burn out those abs, and don’t forget to check back next week for an entirely new workout. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsSBamlIhSc?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281] Do each movement for 30 seconds, and cycle through the series twice. 1. Hollow rocks: Balancing on your glutes, straighten your arms and legs to create a hollow “V” shape in your body. Roll back through your spine, keeping your legs straight. Think about crunching your belly button into your spine, keeping the tension in the core. Let the momentum of your
This 6-minute plank-crunch combo gives abs day a whole new meaning
June 03, 2019 at 07:33AM by CWC I like to track my workouts by how many songs it takes to finish them. A three-mile run suddenly seems a lot more manageable when I realize it will only take me six or seven Justin Bieber tracks to get through it, and 45 minutes on a spin bike is basically just nine Ariana Grande jams before I’m outta there and onto brunch. So when I found out that this week’s Trainer of the Month abs series would only take six minutes—AKA less than two songs—I was pumped. “That’s nothing!” I thought to myself. Boy, was I wrong. Trainer Meg Takacs‘ latest core workout may be quick, but man-oh-man is it intense. It focuses on every part of your core, from your midsection through to your inner and outer obliques, leaving no muscle un-worked. Thankfully, she shares some modifications to help get you through it, and even those will leave your burning. Pop on your favorite playlist and follow along with Takacs to burn out those abs, and don’t forget to check back next week for an entirely new workout. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsSBamlIhSc?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281] Do each movement for 30 seconds, and cycle through the series twice. 1. Hollow rocks: Balancing on your glutes, straighten your arms and legs to create a hollow “V” shape in your body. Roll back through your spine, keeping your legs straight. Think about crunching your belly button into your spine, keeping the tension in the core. Let the momentum of your
Derms finally explain why zits keep coming back to the same. exact. spots.
June 03, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC If you’re like me, you’ve grown pretty accustomed to breaking out in the exact same spot time-and-time again. And, I’m sorry, but what gives? I cleanse, tone, moisturize, and treat my face (and body) with top-quality skin-care products, so I’d really appreciate if that silly zit could just quit it. Sound familiar? I can’t say I’m surprised. After all, it’s pretty standard, albeit unfortunate, to experience recurring breakouts. While it’s great to know that we’re not alone in this pus-filled world, it’s much more helpful (for our skin at least) to understand what’s causing the frequent pimples in the first place. “Zits that return in the same spot are usually cysts, or inflamed pimples deep in the skin,” says New York City-based dermatologist Arielle Kauvar, MD. “Our pores are the surface of channels (or tubes) which start in the oil glands and interconnect with one main channel in a hair follicle. When the channels become blocked, excessive oil and bacteria cause inflammation and expansion of the channel into a balloon-like sac that we can feel as a bump under the skin.” When these blockages occur deep within the channel, cysts form. Over time, those channels can become narrower, and even scarred, which predisposes the corresponding pores to become clogged and infected over-and-over again. What may seem like recurring zits could actually be the same pimple taking its sweet time to fully go away. “There is redness and inflammation that needs to get cleared
Is it even possible to have a chill wedding?
June 03, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC I’m sitting in front of my laptop right now, a document open in front of me titled, ominously, “Wedding Spreadsheets.” That’s right, not just one spreadsheet, but many. The first has nearly 300 lines and stretches 10 columns across. It’s filled with an array of information: names of guests, likelihood of their attendance, actual costs of everything ranging from rental chairs to lemonade, estimates for whatever we don’t have real numbers on, things for which we’ve put down a deposit, things we haven’t decided at all. Move to the second spreadsheet and you’ll find a “Wedding Weekend” log, which will eventually contain a variety of tasks and who’s in charge of each. The last spreadsheet is a play-by-play of the wedding day itself, a minute-to-minute scheduling mastersheet that I hope to hand off to some TBD person (or people)—TBD because I can’t really afford a planner and also feel the masochistic need to do as much of this as I can myself. This all kind of flies in the face of the note I wrote to myself about the kind of wedding I wanted to have when I started planning 6 months ago: Not a pain in the ass; good food & booze; NOT TOO EXPENSIVE; can party late?; enough room for people/not too hard to get to? Also: chill/quirky/fun like us, not super fancy or uptight or boring/bland/basic. Spreadsheets are not remotely quirky (even if they are color-coded), and they’re certainly not
Expert tips for saying no to things you’d, like, really rather not do—without feeling guilty
June 03, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC Even if you don’t harbor people pleaser tendencies, learning how to say no can sometimes feel like a Herculean task—especially if you skew toward being an empath. Texting allows some people to find the easy way out in the form of thinly veiled lies like, “Maybe I’ll swing by.” But when someone in your IRL social sphere asks you for a favor (read: a demand) and you really don’t want to do it, you’re suddenly tongue-tied. It doesn’t matter if it’s a loathed boss, a trusted friend, or your own damn parent. It’s one word, two letters, and somehow tougher to say than slaying the Nemean lion. Luckily there are pros who can offer some guidance, thus relieving your endless sense of guilt: “You can’t give a real wholehearted ‘yes’ if you don’t feel like you can ever say ‘no,’” reasons Helene Brenner, PhD, licensed psychologist and creator of the My Inner Voice app. And wow, do I feel seen. Building up relationships and being true to your own needs can be a super-tricky balance to strike—especially when those two forces are working in opposition. “You can’t give a real wholehearted ‘yes’ if you don’t feel like you can ever say ‘no.’” —psychologist Helene Brenner, PhD Sometimes a “no” is really necessary for the sake of personal wellness. If you, too, need a guidebook on the art of saying no, here are some handy tips to follow: 3 things to consider if you’re on
New moon confusion: It’s definitely a thing right now
June 02, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC If you’re at all into lunar living, you know that full moons are the times when you’re likely to feel a little cuckoo (or, let’s be honest: a lot). But this week it’s a new moon that’s bringing high highs and low lows—and yeah, it may be pretty disorienting, says astrologer Jennifer Racioppi. Here, she lays out her best advice for navigating the specific cosmic challenges ahead. The week begins Monday, June 3, with a new moon in Gemini at 12 degrees. New moons represent new beginnings, and this particular new moon bestows gifts. Happening at 6:01 a.m. Eastern, this sun and moon conjunction invites a fresh start, especially as it applies to writing, communication strategies, socializing, and networking. So please do set intentions for what you wish to see develop in your life—even more so if you aim to expand your social network and call in opportunities that elevate you socially. The upside of this new moon: You will have incredible courage to let go of that which you no longer need and take a stand for what you do. Venus and Pluto form a profound angle of support, known as a trine. And Mars, which represents action, is in an applying conjunction with the north node of fate. What does that mean? When Mars conjoins with the north node of fate, it helps you to conjure the future of your dreams. While Mars in Cancer moves into an opposition with Saturn
New moon confusion: It’s definitely a thing right now
June 02, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC If you’re at all into lunar living, you know that full moons are the times when you’re likely to feel a little cuckoo (or, let’s be honest: a lot). But this week it’s a new moon that’s bringing high highs and low lows—and yeah, it may be pretty disorienting, says astrologer Jennifer Racioppi. Here, she lays out her best advice for navigating the specific cosmic challenges ahead. The week begins Monday, June 3, with a new moon in Gemini at 12 degrees. New moons represent new beginnings, and this particular new moon bestows gifts. Happening at 6:01 a.m. Eastern, this sun and moon conjunction invites a fresh start, especially as it applies to writing, communication strategies, socializing, and networking. So please do set intentions for what you wish to see develop in your life—even more so if you aim to expand your social network and call in opportunities that elevate you socially. The upside of this new moon: You will have incredible courage to let go of that which you no longer need and take a stand for what you do. Venus and Pluto form a profound angle of support, known as a trine. And Mars, which represents action, is in an applying conjunction with the north node of fate. What does that mean? When Mars conjoins with the north node of fate, it helps you to conjure the future of your dreams. While Mars in Cancer moves into an opposition with Saturn
Your oracle deck can actually be a pretty powerful tool to fight stress
June 02, 2019 at 10:00AM by CWC Stress may be a six-letter word, but it can be d-a-m-n taxing on your mental health. Spikes in the stress-inducing hormone cortisol take a toll on everything from our skin to our sleep. While there’s no quick fix to usher any and all worry out of our lives, Tovah Avigail—a spiritual concierge and co-founder of Vibehaus—names oracle cards a game-changing spiritual practice in the midst of tough moments. In case you’re not yet familiar with tarot card‘s close cousin, oracle decks are a less rigid modality for accessing your intuition. Rather than consisting of a set of 78 cards like tarot, they may come in the form of spirit cards, angel cards, and affirmation cards, among others. Each card comes with a unique message, and Avigail says that if you tune in, you’ll receive a nugget of knowledge you might really, really need. The spirituality expert explains that the cards feel your vibration (a stressful vibration, in this case) and send back an answering energy through what card you happen to draw. “Something that I really use that was actually my entryway into the psychic world was when I inherited a fortune deck from my grandmother after she passed away,” she said while speaking on a mental health panel at WeWork in New York City. “Oracle decks are really my go-to when I’m in a moment, and I really need to check in with what I need right then.” “Oracle decks are really my
9 ways to use overripe bananas before they attract a fruit fly fan club
June 02, 2019 at 08:00AM by CWC One moment, you have a bunch of bright yellow bananas on your countertop, patiently waiting to be eaten. Then, in the blink of an eye, they’re spotted brown and attracting a full-on fruit fly fan club. They’re worse than avocados! While many recipes call for perfectly ripe bananas, they’re not always available in most kitchens. Who has time to babysit a fruit? Not me. But if you’re not going to make another loaf of banana bread, there are plenty of options that put all those overripe bananas to good use. The next time you’re in a bind and don’t want to let the fruit go to waste, try one of these recipes instead. They’re so delicious you might just let your bananas turn brown on purpose. Here are 9 delicious ways to use up your overripe bananas Photo: Baking You Happier 1. Vegan peanut butter banana brownies Fun fact: Making bananas with overripe bananas makes them even more ooey-gooey, and this recipe is proof. Photo: Gimme Some Oven 2. Peanut butter banana smoothie Adding bananas into your smoothie is a great way to up the creaminess, and overripe options are even even easier to blend up for a super-smooth finish. Photo: Minimalist Baker 3. Vegan banana crumb muffins These aren’t your average muffins. With the crumble top, every bite will melt in your mouth—guaranteed. While the recipe requests medium-ripe bananas, readers tried it with overripe options and it still works like a charm.