March 25, 2019 at 10:04AM by CWC Since sex-ed left a ton of us high and dry (like, very dry) when it comes to implementing info we can really use, let’s just cut right to the chase about pegging: “The term refers specifically to a sexual practice in which a woman performs anal sex on a man, using a strap-on dildo,” says sexual-wellness expert and director of education at sex-toy brand Satisfyer Megwyn White. The term was born in 2001 as a result of columnist Dan Savage’s contest for coining a term to describe strap-on play between a woman and a man, because at the time, it was somehow a dictionary blank space. But as pegging has continued to make its way into the popular conscience (thanks, Broad City!), queer and non-binary folks have started using the term, too. “It’s become a more fluid term as gender boundaries have become less rigid,” says brand manager at luxury sex-toy company LELO. And it’s good news, considering the healthy effects experts say pegging allows for. First, there’s the physical pleasure to account for: For men, pegging targets the prostate gland (essentially the male G-spot), and many describe the resulting sensation as a full-body orgasm, says Alicia Sinclair, sex educator and CEO of anal-sex-product company b-Vibe. “It’s usually different than other orgasms. It’s full-force.” While she adds that the pegger may also find the act to be physically stimulating in addition to empowering, pegging can notably cater to the general health of any
Category: Fashion
3 tips for a more sustainable home, according to a wellness guru
March 24, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC We get it, no one has time to spend hours outside picking up trash in the name of saving the planet. But even if you can’t control the way the rest of the world treats the environment (looking at you, litter bugs), you can manage your own impact by turning your home into a mini sustainable sanctuary. And before you get overwhelmed at the prospect of a total home revamp, Property Brothers-style—don’t. Upping your place’s sustainability status is simple if you make a few strategic changes. Take it from movement-and-meditation maven Kait Hurley, who started her personal eco-friendly home makeover in 2010 when her sister was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. “Shortly after her diagnosis, she started overhauling her lifestyle and shopping smarter,” Hurley explains. “My sister’s healthy habits rubbed off on me. It’s funny how what’s good for our bodies is often what’s good for the environment.” “It’s funny how what’s good for our bodies is often what’s good for the environment.” The creator of The Move + Meditate Method started her home upgrade by swapping plastic food containers and water bottles for glass, and switching her beauty essentials to cleaner alts. She re-painted her bedroom with non-toxic paint in 2015, and is rolling her home green-up into this year. “I didn’t make all the changes all at once—that would have been overwhelming and expensive,” she says. To help you create your own personal environmentally friendly ecosystem, Hurley is sharing her real-life advice for designing
Here’s what to do when you’re being body-shamed at work—from someone who’s experienced it
March 24, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC If you’ve ever felt a co-worker’s wandering eyes or been the subject of your boss’ dirty jokes, you know body shaming isn’t restricted to Instagram comments or off-the-clock hours. But dealing with it in a professional setting is 100 times trickier to navigate when your career is caught up in the mix. Kira Finney, a senior consultant in Omaha, Nebraska, knows the deal because it’s happened to her—and she is so not here for it. She’s been fielding comments about her 34DDs since middle school, when she seemingly “bloomed overnight,” and those remarks didn’t end when she entered the workforce. Yes, women being objectified in the workplace is a real thing, and it’s been going on for way too long. “‘Wear tighter shirts. Wear lower cut shirts. Show off your body. This will help you advance,’” her bosses have said to her throughout her career, Finney shares. “‘You see that one female over there, she is going up the chain, and that could be you.’” Yes, women being objectified in the workplace is a real thing, and it’s been going on way too long—which is why it’s so powerful to see women like Finney take back control of the conversation. In the spirit of women owning their own self worth, we’re teaming up with Target to celebrate bodies of every shape and size, and Finney is sharing her wisdom on how to handle situations like hers. Scroll down for her 4 pieces of advice for
The calf-stretching guide that’s way better than a leg massage
March 24, 2019 at 10:00AM by CWC Lately, I’ve noticed that I’ve been falling up the stairs on a regular basis. Sure, I’m a little clumsy—but not usually to that level. Then, I realized it was all because I have overly tight calves. You surely know the feeling—like the area of your legs between your ankles and knees is pulled taut like a violin string, and every little movement in your lower body makes you wince. Calf soreness is very common, but it can also be behind issues that seem totally unrelated elsewhere, such as shin splints and messed-up rotation of the feet and ankles. Here’s the honest truth: Those basic calf-stretching moves (looking at you, toes up the wall) aren’t fully resolving the tightness in the bottom of your legs. To dig deeper, I found out what can make calf tightness a thing of the past. For that, keep on scrolling. The low-down on your calves First of all, a mini biology lesson: The gastrocnemius is the big muscle in your calf that gets all of the attention, and its lesser-known partner is the soleus. Cameron Apt, the director of athletic performance services at the University of Rochester Medical Center explains that while both start around your ankle, the gastrocnemius comes up and crosses the back of your knee attaching to your thigh. The soleus, on the other hand (er, leg), runs underneath the gastrocnemius and stops right below your knee. “When the knee is bent, the soleus is more
Are toddlers doing downward dog pregnancy-predicting witches? Here’s a body-language expert’s take
March 24, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC Here are two good reasons to keep an eye on babies: 1. They’re vulnerable to the elements, like hawks or coyotes. 2. They might be able to spot a pregnancy before you have the chance to even pick up a Clearblue. Legend has it, if a baby looks through their legs while on all fours, they’re not just practicing for a new mommy-and-me yoga class. Rather, they might be prophesizing a younger sibling is en route. Okay, okay, it’s really just an old wives’ tale that you may or may not have heard while stranded at your cousin’s baby shower. The gist is that if a baby looks through their legs, they’re predicting a pregnancy is on the way and/or “looking for” or wanting another sibling. (There are, BTW, zero baby pictures of me in this pose, and I somehow landed a brother at the tender age of 18 months. Rude.) Recently, elite babies of Instagram have been assuming the pose, making me wonder…is it…could it possibly be…legit? When Man Repeller founder Leandra Medine Cohen recently posted an Instagram of her baby doing downward dog, the comment section bubbled with thoughts like, “PREDICTING ANOTHER PREGNANCY,” and “Another baby, your baby’s waiting patiently for a new addition.” Others @-ed Instagram director of fashion partnerships, Eva Chen, who, in recent months, has posted Instagram Stories of her toddler doing the same thing. “It’s something that @evachen212 use to say when she find her kids in this
Spring’s 8 biggest sneaker trends (and how to get the look at every budget)
March 23, 2019 at 08:00AM by CWC Sneakers are always in style. Pair your low-tops with sundresses and high tops with skinny jeans; style metallic kicks with denim and tees, and save your neon pink platforms for that ultra-feminine midi skirt that needs a little something extra. No matter how you style them, you can’t go wrong. Rajni Jacques, the fashion director of Teen Vogue and Allure, considers sneakers a mainstay of her wardrobe. “What I love is that there are so many varieties and styles of sneakers,” she says. For stylist Rachael Wang, the beauty of the sneaker sits comfortably in nostalgia. “I have a very emotional connection to sneakers,” she says. “I think it’s mostly as a result of growing up in the ’90s, the golden age of sneakers.” On the runway, designers made a sporty statement that certainly told the world that sneakers weren’t going anywhere—at least this year. The designers at Gucci added a little bling to their retro styles, pairing them with evening wear and workwear alike; Off-White debuted a classically inspired collaboration with Nike, walking the runway styled with some of the most striking tulle gowns in every color of the rainbow; and JW Anderson paired flirty and feminine mini dresses with his take on Converse staples. This spring, the sneakers that are hitting it big might surprise you—and simultaneously inspire a shopping spree. With little exception, though, this season’s coming sneaker trends are encouraging all of us to have a bit of fun
Woah: You should lace your shoes based on your foot type, according to a podiatrist
March 22, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC Growing up, my parents were the ones who dealt with my shoelaces. They taught me the bunny ear trick, sure, but lacing up my sneakers was a whole different story. Nowadays, I just pray the shoes come already laced and ready to go—and if they don’t, I haphazardly put the shoelaces through the holes, hoping it results in a decent enough result that keeps my shoes on my feet. But then my colleague told me this a.m. that he has a special trick for lacing his sneakers that’s specifically designed for those with high arches (like himself—hi Jamie!)—which led me down into a whole spiral of thoughts like “Why did I never know there are shoe-lacing methods for different feet types?!” and “Have I lived under a rock for 30 years?” With feet that don’t have a high arch, I’m now curious whether I require a certain arch-lacking lacing technique. And so I consulted a podiatrist for the low-down once and for all. “The lacing of a shoe can impact the way that pressure is put on the top of the foot, or the way the foot is secured in the shoe,” explains Dr. Emily Splichal, DPM, MS, a New York-based podiatrist. “The factory standard of X-patterned lacing doesn’t work for all foot types and can actually put pressure on the toes and the nerves on the top of your feet.” I feel like my world has been turned upside down. It’s not
This Google graph pretty much confirms squats are the most misunderstood move
March 22, 2019 at 12:42PM by CWC If my browser history is any indication, I have a bad case of gym confusion. In the past month, I’ve Googled “how to do a trap bar deadlift,” “what is a bear crawl,” and “what’s the difference between a forearm and a hand plank.” Above all though, the squat (which comes in sumo, jump, and many more iterations) is the move that eludes my understanding the most. Apparently, I’m in good company: A quick Google Trends search of burpees, planks, crunches, squats and lunges reveals that the rest of the internet is equally as perplexed as I am (see below for graphical proof). Photo: Google Clearly (the data doesn’t lie!), we could all use a refresher on the biodynamics of this booty-centric move. And fortunately, Obé trainer Megan Roup provided Well+Good with full scoop. The general aim of a squat is to “break parallel” with the ground, she explains. “Feet are nice and wide. You’re in a strong stance. And as I shift back [pouring the weight into] my heels, my chest is up. Ignite your glutes, squeeze back up,” she says. For an extra challenge, place a resistance band around your knees or hold a medicine ball between your palms. Once you repeat 25 to 30 reps total, you can consider your butt workout done, done, and done. Oh, and you can take satisfaction in never opening your browser for an explainer again. Megan Roup demonstrates the correct form for squats: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OfycnUL0h8]
Why a coffee shop is the most psychologically strategic spot for a first date
March 22, 2019 at 12:05PM by CWC I get heart eyes for anyone who buys me a strong cup of coffee with a splash of oat milk. Maybe it’s the rich, luscious aroma. Maybe it’s the heady taste that signals my brain to leap into a brand-new day ahead. Or maybe, as Scientific American argues, I’m really experiencing a “misattribution of arousal,” a term in psychology for confusing which part of a given interaction is appealing to you. “Most of the time what we feel is not really ‘anger’ or ‘happiness‘ but simply arousal, a word that tends to take on a sexual connotation yet really just means an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and sensory alertness,” reports Scientific American. When your brain scans your emotions for the source of these physiological responses, it may attribute your racing heart beat to attraction rather than the onslaught of caffeine. The same goes for fear, according to the “love bridge” study, which was conducted in 1974 on heteronormative test subjects. In a scenario that could be straight out of an Alfred Hitchcock film, researchers asked 85 male participants to walk across two different bridges. One was suspended 230 feet off the ground; one was only 10 feet off the ground. Once they’d made their way across their respective surfaces, each man was approached by an “attractive” woman who asked them to fill out a questionnaire and write a story about an image she provided for them. She then gave them permission to
I literally showered myself in CBD, and let me tell you, it was luxurious
March 22, 2019 at 07:00AM by CWC By now, there’s so much buzzing about CBD that it’s practically been incorporated in some manner of fashion into most parts of my life. It’s a steady part of my beauty routine (for both my skin and hair), my supplement regimen, my workout recovery, and it’s even in my, uh, bedroom (ICYDK: CBD lube is a thing). But it’s not like I’m showering in the stuff. Just kidding. As of this week, I have been. The wellness ingredient known for its stress-reducing and anti-inflammatory benefits is now sitting alongside surfactants in bar soap, so that I can take my skin-cleaning to new heights with extra bubbly benefits. Leef Organics’ Nooks + Crannies bar soap ($22), has 20 milligrams of CBD in it that are meant soothe inflammation and work as a nourishing antioxidant. “This small bar of soap yields mighty results with topical skin irritations,” says Emily Heitman, CMO and COO of brand Leef Organics. “It contains a carefully curated ingredient deck that feeds the skin thoughtfully and calms irritations to reduce long-term discomfort.” Since my skin’s just battled the dry air of the winter, it’s definitely thirsty for some soothing hydration both in and out of the shower (namely: my flaky elbows and shedding legs). When I get the bar all sudsed up in the shower, it provides a nice lather that feels moisturizing at the same time. There’s none of that unhealthy stripping action going on, which is thanks to the other ingredients like coconut milk and