June 02, 2019 at 11:37PM You can do this anywhere, anytime for a greater sense of calm. Continue Reading… Author Sarah Bowen | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC
Category: Relaxation
Kiss stretching and foam rolling buh-bye! Recovery can feel like a day at the spa
May 31, 2019 at 08:45AM by CWC I’ve got a confession to make: Despite knowing exactly how important recovery is (I spend like, 80 percent of my time writing about it), I rarely actually do it. I prioritize squeezing workouts into my schedule, but don’t give recovery sessions the same VIP treatment. Stretching sessions feel like a major snooze, and I’d honestly rather take another semester of AP calculus than foam roll (I know! I know!). Recovery activities tend to feel like as much output energy as the workout itself, so I usually opt to skip them instead of making time. So when I got an email earlier this week from the team at CorePower Protein revealing the recovery routines of some top trainers and athletes, I was shocked to find that a lot of them sounded a whole lot more like spa treatments than what I usually associate with recovery. “This,” I thought, “I can get on board with.” While stretching and foam rolling are definitely important elements of any routine (do as I say, not as I do), there are other things you can do for your muscles that you’ll actually look forward to…which means you’ll be more likely to make time for them in your schedule. Acupuncture People swear by acupuncture for everything from jaw tension to glowing skin, and it can also be a powerful tool for recovery. “I strongly recommend using acupuncture as part of a lifestyle and wellness routine to prevent and minimize pain, inflammation, and
*Exactly* how often you should do yoga to reap the maximum benefits
May 30, 2019 at 07:00AM by CWC The #YogaEveryDay hashtag has 5.7 million photos attached to it on Instagram. Some of them feature people doing headstands in front of exotic locales (Machu Picchu seems to be a popular choice), while others simply show yogis hanging out in child’s pose in their local studios. The vast collection serves to prove that there are a whole lot of yogis out there getting into their practice on the reg. But whether you subscribe to the “yoga every day” way of life (like one of our writers, who got her vinyasa on every day for an entire year), or hit the mat only as frequently as the mood strikes, how much yoga should you do to be able to reap the benefits? Well, there isn’t really a one-size-fits-all answer to that question. Really, it depends on what you’re looking to get out of your practice, be it a stronger mind, body, or something else entirely. But according to the pros, there are definitely positives associated with the #yogaeverydamnday (another very popular take on the hashtag with 16.1M ‘grams) movement. “Daily yoga practice can definitely help your mood,”says Kajuan Douglas, founder of Merge New York, pointing to studies that cite yoga as an aid to coping with anxiety and depression. “Besides becoming stronger and more flexible, you will start to change your outlook on life. Whether you believe it spiritual, mental or emotional, daily yoga can help instill patterns or routines for self care.” Los Angeles-based
*Exactly* how often you should do yoga to reap the maximum benefits
May 30, 2019 at 07:00AM by CWC The #YogaEveryDay hashtag has 5.7 million photos attached to it on Instagram. Some of them feature people doing headstands in front of exotic locales (Machu Picchu seems to be a popular choice), while others simply show yogis hanging out in child’s pose in their local studios. The vast collection serves to prove that there are a whole lot of yogis out there getting into their practice on the reg. But whether you subscribe to the “yoga every day” way of life (like one of our writers, who got her vinyasa on every day for an entire year), or hit the mat only as frequently as the mood strikes, how much yoga should you do to be able to reap the benefits? Well, there isn’t really a one-size-fits-all answer to that question. Really, it depends on what you’re looking to get out of your practice, be it a stronger mind, body, or something else entirely. But according to the pros, there are definitely positives associated with the #yogaeverydamnday (another very popular take on the hashtag with 16.1M ‘grams) movement. “Daily yoga practice can definitely help your mood,”says Kajuan Douglas, founder of Merge New York, pointing to studies that cite yoga as an aid to coping with anxiety and depression. “Besides becoming stronger and more flexible, you will start to change your outlook on life. Whether you believe it spiritual, mental or emotional, daily yoga can help instill patterns or routines for self care.” Los Angeles-based
A sleep specialist’s top 7 tips for how to deal when you just. can’t. sleep.
May 29, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC It’s easy to find yourself searching for what to do when you can’t sleep when, well, you’re staring at a smartphone screen in the middle of the night with bloodshot eyes. You want to be well-rested, like desperately, and yet you’re struggling with insufferable bouts of insomnia like you’re Edward Norton in Fight Club. Well, spoiler alert: Not sleeping created lots of problems for him and it’s probably not doing you any favors either. So if you find yourself stuck in a no-sleep holding pattern, read on for a few short- and long-term strategies from experts for breaking that detrimental cycle in favor of a surplus of REM. You know, before you go full Tyler Durden. 1. Your bed is only for sleep (and, okay, sex) Here’s where I’m doing this wrong, because I use the bed for sleep, sex, The Sims, self-care, and eating a plate of chocolate chip cookies while watching Labyrinth. This behavior fools our subconscious into thinking the bed is NOT a place for rest, and thus, we teach ourselves that it’s not for sleeping. “You can’t force sleep to happen, and staying in bed awake, frustrated, tossing and turning only continues to teach your mind and body that the bed is for wakeful activities, not sleep,” says Shelby Harris, PsyD, sleep-health expert and author of The Women’s Guide to Overcoming Insomnia. “The more you only sleep—and have sex—in bed, the more your body learns that the bed is only
Why reaching a big goal can feel like a letdown
May 29, 2019 at 06:54AM by CWC After working for years on two major book projects, librarian and editor Ray P. felt a sense of relief when they were coming to an end. The work was over and he could finally relax. But it wasn’t long until that sense of relief turned into uneasiness. “I felt restless, a bit depressed, and curious as to what I would be working on next to keep feeling productive or busy,” he says. I felt similarly after publishing my first book last year. After years of working on it, I felt a rush of satisfaction when I walked into a Barnes & Noble and saw my book on the shelf. But then, as I looked at all the blank space in my once-packed schedule, I thought, “Now what?” I didn’t feel relaxed and free; I felt lost and unaccomplished, despite seeing the fruits of my labor right in front of me in black and white. This, I soon found out, is pretty normal (phew!). Some people experience a lackluster feeling of emptiness after accomplishing a major, long-term goal. Author Kelsey Ramsden calls this unpleasant lack of fulfillment after reaching your milestone a “success hangover.” But it’s not all bad. Once you’ve identified those post-accomplishment blues, you can learn to use them to your advantage. Why we feel blah after crossing the finish line In her book, Ramsden argues that ambitious people often prefer the race over the finish line. She writes that “it’s in
Have a drink with your blooms for the ultimate plant-lady self care
May 29, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWcTPyZmgR8] Calling all dedicated, multitasking plant parents! Ever wonder how to incorporate your own self care into your routine for caring for your blooms? (Because anyone with a fauna family to call their own knows it can be a time-consuming effort.) It’s certainly possible, and the latest recent episode of Well+Good’s Self-Care Nation, with plant-lady wellness coach Brittany Gowan of Pause with Plants, outlines a few tips using the benefits of plants that’ll lead both you and your potted pals to really blossom. Even if you’re cursed with a perpetual inability to foster a plant successfully (I, for one, once killed a succulent), there’s one self-care tip that even a casual nature lover can incorporate into their wellness routine: Just get out there into nature, people. Check out more hints from Gowan about how you and your plants can help each other grow. 1. Water your plant babies, then water yourself Gowan says making sure her plants never want for nutrients provides her with a hearty dose of relaxation and joy. She loves seeing her greenery flourish, and to even further optimize this bonding experience, she even joins them for a drink. “I enjoy watching the water soak into the soil, and it makes me feel good to be helpful in assisting my plants to grow well and thrive,” Gowan says. “After I water my plants and before eating breakfast, I look to jump-start myself with a glass of water or two.”
This muscle group suffers most from sitting all day (no, it’s not your hips)
May 28, 2019 at 12:10PM by CWC One of my yoga teacher’s is like the Seinfeld of vinyasa. In between deep breath work and ooey-gooey poses, he’ll drop one-liners that make me belly laugh mid-downward facing dog. And during a Sunday morning class not too long ago, he called the groin—and I quote—”the deep, dark dungeon of the body.” The whole class snickered, but what the instructor dropped was indeed a truth bomb. Hips and IT bands get all the attention for being extra tight, but the area between your thighs? Er, not so much. “Anatomically, the ‘groin’ refers to the area between the abdomen and upper thigh around the pubic bone containing various adductor muscles,” explains Jeff Brannigan, director of programming at New York City’s Stretch*d. “These are muscles that connect at the base of the pelvis and extend along the inside of the thigh.” He’s in agreement with my teacher—this part of the body tends to get overlooked. A travesty, really, considering that the groin does a whole lot of leg work (literally) to help you do just about everything—from sitting up straight between the hours of nine to five to going hard in a HIIT class. “Allowing [the groin] muscles to become tense or tight will compromise movement of the hip and leg, increasing tension on the joints and increasing chance of injury.” —Jeff Brannigan “Coupling long hours at a desk and strenuous activity without time for recovery is a recipe for disaster,” warns the stretching expert. Like
This muscle group suffers most from sitting all day (no, it’s not your hips)
May 28, 2019 at 12:10PM by CWC One of my yoga teacher’s is like the Seinfeld of vinyasa. In between deep breath work and ooey-gooey poses, he’ll drop one-liners that make me belly laugh mid-downward facing dog. And during a Sunday morning class not too long ago, he called the groin—and I quote—”the deep, dark dungeon of the body.” The whole class snickered, but what the instructor dropped was indeed a truth bomb. Hips and IT bands get all the attention for being extra tight, but the area between your thighs? Er, not so much. “Anatomically, the ‘groin’ refers to the area between the abdomen and upper thigh around the pubic bone containing various adductor muscles,” explains Jeff Brannigan, director of programming at New York City’s Stretch*d. “These are muscles that connect at the base of the pelvis and extend along the inside of the thigh.” He’s in agreement with my teacher—this part of the body tends to get overlooked. A travesty, really, considering that the groin does a whole lot of leg work (literally) to help you do just about everything—from sitting up straight between the hours of nine to five to going hard in a HIIT class. “Allowing [the groin] muscles to become tense or tight will compromise movement of the hip and leg, increasing tension on the joints and increasing chance of injury.” —Jeff Brannigan “Coupling long hours at a desk and strenuous activity without time for recovery is a recipe for disaster,” warns the stretching expert. Like
What’s next after athleisure? Smart clothes (yes, really!)
May 28, 2019 at 03:30AM by CWC The promise of connected, healing clothes is approaching “science fact.” They can heat and cool you, adapt to your movement, and help you sleep, moisturize your body all day, or instantly broadcast your mood. Well+Good Council member Susie Ellis, chairman and CEO of Global Wellness Summit previews the clothing of the future—and the game-changing garments that are already here. Clothes are the only things pressed up against our bodies all day, but aside from broadcasting our style or just covering us up, they’ve been decidedly “dumb.” The promise of intelligent, connected clothing has been dangled for years, but too much of the technology was clunky, with all those awkward batteries, sensors, and wires. (Smart underwear doesn’t feel so smart if you can’t wash them.) The tech tipping point finally feels here. But the tech tipping point finally feels here. Sensors and power supplies are becoming seamlessly integrated into new fabrics, and with the interweaving of everything from AI to body-mapping technologies, it means the new connected clothes aren’t just smart, they’re intuitive. They can adapt to the environment and weather, your movement and body state—in real time. They can heat and cool your body, regulate airflow and UV rays, help us sleep and recover, change shape based on our movement, and shift color and pattern with our mood. In time, they will collect all kinds of biometric and behavioral data, and perhaps ultimately give people some extra-human powers. New clothing lines are even