April 18, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC New York City’s Lower East Side isn’t exactly known for being calm and peaceful, but it’s also one of the best areas to stay if you want to experience the authentic culture, nightlife, and food scenes the city has to offer. So what’s a mindful traveler to do? Sister City, a new wellness-focused hotel in a former Salvation Army building on the Bowery—one of the LES’s most iconic thoroughfares—opens in May and wants to make your Big Apple visit way more Zen. The newest property from Ace Hotel Group, which offers rooms starting at $199, is designed to make you feel “energized by the present moment, calm, comfortable, and well cared for,” says Kelly Sawdon, chief brand officer of Atelier Ace, the company’s in-house creative studio. One way the space aims to make good on that promise is through its collab with meditation app Headspace, officially launching today, Well+Good exclusively reports. The idea is that by outfitting each room with a Bang & Olufsen Beoplay speaker offering the Sleep by Headspace programming (sound and visualizations called Sleepcasts), you’ll be able to clock in great, restorative sleep rather than falling victim to the stress and sounds of the city keeping you up. “It’s so easy to get stressed when traveling, and so tempting to get lost in thought,” Headspace founder and CEO Andy Puddicombe tells me. “Mindfulness helps us to be more present in our life, so we feel less stressed and less distracted.”
Category: Relaxation
What we’re all getting wrong about child’s pose—and how to fix it
April 17, 2019 at 11:55AM by CWC Sit on your knees, lower your forehead to your mat, walk your finger tips forward and send your weight into your heels. Voilà, you’re in child’s pose. The magic of this asana is in its simplicity, which is why I always feel so dumb when I can’t do it right. No matter how hard I press, my butt kind of just hovers above my heels. And all that pushing diminishes the bliss. Turns out, you can make a tiny tweak to really sink into balasana. Stop worrying about it. We push ourselves in so many areas of our lives, and child’s pose is about reaping the benefits of the work you’ve already done. Positioning your body in this manner is an intentional call for rest, reflection, and relaxation. “We always say child’s pose hips to heels and it doesn’t have to be that,” says Beth Cooke, celebrity yoga instructor at Sky Ting. “I grew up as a dancer and still when I made it to my yoga mat I was still super uncomfortable in the shapes because I was constantly thinking I wasn’t doing it right. Isn’t it so much cooler if you can just pay attention to what feels good and what doesn’t?” Cooke says the inability to sit on your heels is often due to injury, tight hips, a tight low back, or tight calves, among other causes. With time and practice, you’ll be able to sit further back. Finding the
To read someone’s emotional barometer, look to their hands (not their face) for body-language clues
April 17, 2019 at 07:14AM by CWC I always feel like I can get a read on someone based on their facial expression. Maybe it’s because my face is very expressive and everyone tells me that they know when I’m feeling stressed or pissed simply because of the grimaces I make (and the eye rolling, of course). But actually, according to a body-language pro, the real way to read someone is to look at their hands. “Your hands tell everything about your emotions and reveal how you’re feeling at the moment,” says body-language expert Blanca Cobb, PsyD. “I call them your emotional barometer.” The signals that show up via your hands is a neurological response, actually. “It’s often a limbic brain response,” says body-language expert Patti Wood. “We might think of gestures as something we control, but that’s not necessarily true. Your hands have other jobs, too—they help us access information from our brain, and to gesture helps our flow of thoughts. Sometimes we’re making symbolic representations of what we’re talking about.” “Your hands tell everything about your emotions and reveal how you’re feeling at the moment. I call them your emotional barometer.” —body-language expert Blanca Cobb, PsyD Upon learning this, I started noticing all sorts of hand signals, as if the appendages have a literal mind of their own. But apparently I was late to the game, since my boyfriend’s response to the intel was along the lines of, “I could’ve told you that.” How, you may ask? Every
The *exact* steps to giving yourself a mini-workout facial massage
April 16, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC What if we told you your skin-care routine was missing one crucial step—and that said step was basically a beauty-boosting mini workout for your face? Okay, so maybe a facial massage doesn’t have quite the same muscle-strengthening results of your favorite HIIT class, but it does tap into the same feel-good benefits—which is why beauty and style maven Grace Atwood is obsessed with the technique as a part of her nightly routine. “Taking that extra 10 minutes for yourself before bed to double cleanse, use serum, use moisturizer, and maybe do a little bit of facial massage, it makes you feel better,” she says. “There’s incredible amounts of research for all the amazing things pressure-point massage can do for your skin and your body.” The buzzed-about benefits? Helping your products penetrate better, increasing blood flow, and reducing fluid build-up (AKA puffiness). To clue you in on how to incorporate the practice into your own self-care arsenal, we teamed up with Reebok UNLOCKED (the just-launched wellness rewards program that hooks you up with beauty bonuses curated by Well+Good, among other perks) and asked Atwood to share the benefits and instructions for a pressure-point facial massage. Scroll down for your step-by-step guide to facial massage, straight from an in-the-know beauty blogger. https://content.jwplatform.com/players/2RNNMnAH-dUl83MEz.js 1. Start with facial oil The key to a spa-level massage is making sure your face is oiled up first, which is why it’s ideal to add the practice as the last step to
OK, TMI: Can you get…stretched out from butt play?
April 16, 2019 at 10:31AM by CWC Anal sex and butt play are like pineapple skin care: If you’re not trying it for yourself, there’s a good chance you’re at least curious about it. And considering butt play can lead to A-plus orgasms no matter your anatomy (shout-out, prostate and A-spot), the interest makes total sense. Butt still (had to), because sex-ed left so many of us confused by every innocuous topic under the sun, whether you’re already an Anal Pro™ or you’re someone who can see yourself testing those back-door waters in the future, you might wonder whether butt play can stretch you out or even cause permanent damage. Good news first: “The short is answer is no. In safe anal play, there should be no long-lasting effects,” says Alicia Sinclair, certified sex educator and CEO of b-Vibe, an anal play product company. But there’s a longer answer, too, and it requires a quick anatomy lesson: The rectum is the last part of your large intestine, which leads to the anus, says Evan Goldstein MD, CEO and founder of Bespoke Surgical, a sexual-wellness company specializing anal-related health. “There are actually three sets of muscles that comprise the anal sphincter, which is the last part of your anus.” Two of these muscles are voluntarily controlled (relaxed and contracted), while the third operates involuntarily. For pleasurable and “successful” anal, all three of these need to be relaxed. How? Foreplay. Just as you can overstretch your hamstring in yoga, you can overstretch
Why even the most basic, 101-level cooking is really good for your health
April 16, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC At Well+Good, we believe that cooking is an important piece of the wellness puzzle and that everyone can make magic (or at least some avo toast) happen in the kitchen. Sometimes, you just need someone to show you where to start, and maybe a few others cheering you on. It doesn’t need to be complicated, or every day—like most things in the wellness world, a little goes a long way. That’s why we’ve launched Cook With Us, a new program designed to help you feel creative and confident in the kitchen. This week, Cook With Us is kicking off with a week of stories that’ll inspire you to sharpen your knives, plus introduce you to healthy recipes we’re sure will become weekday staples at your house (like this sweet potato gnocchi and these gluten-free chicken fingers). And stay tuned for the launch of our new digital community, a place for you to chat, learn, and share your favorite recipes with other wellness-minded home cooks. Think book club takes the kitchen. Make a promise to start cooking tonight (maybe snag a copy of our cookbook) and meet us in the kitchen. Photo: Clarkson & Potter Even with a gorgeous new cookbook (ahem) prettying up your kitchen, cracking it open and putting it to use can be intimidating. But here’s the thing: It doesn’t matter if the end result doesn’t look like the picture. You don’t need a pantry full of spices you’ve never heard of and you
What leads you to burnout, according to your Myers-Briggs personality type
April 15, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC To each their own, they say—and it’s true. Different personalities enjoy and thrive in entirely different circumstances and environments. While ISFJs love routine and stability, ENTPs need room to explore the outskirts of each project and role they adopt. On the flip side, what depletes you is also thoroughly unique. Some can’t stand detail-oriented tasks, while others have no patience for teamwork or theory. If you’ve ever found yourself burnt out and can’t understand why (or don’t know how to turn things around), your Myers-Briggs personality type can help you understand. (Don’t know what your MBTI is? Read this first!) Get more insight into what depletes you—and tips for recovering from burnout—according to your Myers-Briggs personality type. Graphics: Well+Good Creative ISFJ You tend to burn out when dealing with high-conflict environments or when trying to please everyone. It’s hard for you to say no to events and obligations. You know you’re burnt out when: You find yourself stressing about what could or might happen (instead of what likely will), or dwelling on random negative events. To re-energize yourself: Surround yourself with people you know and trust who can provide the right perspective to your problems or help you break out of a funk. ESFJ ESFJs tend to burn out when they’re unable to schedule efficiently, make firm plans, or see their friends. When you don’t socialize, you tend to get bogged down in work. You know you’re burnt out when: You overthink seemingly
People are cooking less than ever before—here’s why we’re determined to change that
April 15, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC Judging by all the art-directed overnight oats and Buddha bowls on Instagram, you’d think that we’re in the midst of a healthy home cooking renaissance. But the data tells a different story—one littered with Postmates delivery fees and take-out containers. Well, at least that’s the case for those under 40. A recent report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed that “millennials consume food in a restaurant or bar around 30 percent more often than any other generation.” The 23-to-38-year-old set also allocates less time to meal prep than their older counterparts—around just 13 minutes per day, which adds up to nearly an hour less per week than Gen X—and when they do head to the grocery store, they spend more on prepared foods, pasta, and sweets than other age groups. Millennials also aren’t particularly confident in their kitchen abilities when compared to other generations, which could be leading to a reliance on prepackaged or frozen food. Home improvement site Porch surveyed 750 people and found that while 76 percent of Baby Boomers and 72 percent of Gen X consider themselves to be good cooks, only 64 percent of millennials said the same. They were also found to be less able to perform basic cooking tasks—like making a salad or preparing salmon—and less able to identify kitchen tools like a butter knife or garlic press. Perhaps this is because they’re the generation least likely to have grown up with parents who
Grab a chair: This seated yoga sequence is no joke
April 13, 2019 at 08:00AM by CWC Yoga can be quite a workout, especially when you go one-by-one through sweaty vinyasa after sweaty vinyasa. But just because you’re not standing up doesn’t mean you’re not doing your brain and body good. “Seated poses make it easier to get the great benefits of yoga at any point in your day,” says Jessica Matthews, PhD, assistant professor of integrative wellness at Point Loma Nazarene University and the author of Stretching to Stay Young. And it can be especially nice if you work a desk job where you spend the majority of your day hunched over typing (or, ahem, texting or Tweeting). Taking a couple-minute break for seated yoga works flexibility (which so many of us are lacking) and improves posture, says Matthews. What’s more, seated poses “are ideal for practicing in the middle of the day when you’re short on energy or focus. Some poses are mentally re-energizing,” she says. Think of them like a coffee break—minus the caffeine jitters. On the other hand, certain seated yoga poses can be quieting for the mind, says Jessica Bellofatto, director of JB Yoga, a holistic lifestyle and retreat company. “More often than not, what people need is the more meditative aspects of yoga. Seated and supine poses lower your center of gravity to help ground you,” she says. These can be done anytime, but may help relax you at night and keep your brain from spinning for better sleep ahead. Now that you’re ready
Why long-term success on keto can be challenging for women, according to hormonal experts
April 12, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC Hormonal naturopathic doctor and The Hormone Boost author Natasha Turner, ND, listened intensely as a female patient sat across from her, lamenting on her struggles with maintaining a healthy weight. “I’ve been doing keto for months and at first, the weight was falling off me so easily. But now I’m gaining it back. I have no idea what happened!” Dr. Turner recalls the woman saying. Dr. Turner wasn’t surprised. Ever since the ketogenic diet exploded in popularity, she’s been fielding complaints like this on a regular basis, primarily from her female patients. “I’m seeing a consistent trend of women adopting the ketogenic diet and the majority of them do not lose weight,” she says. She says she’s seen lots of patients who end up gaining unwanted weight, losing muscle, and developing signs of adrenal fatigue while on the buzzy eating plan. This isn’t just something “keto haters” are warning about. A study published last year in the journal Diabetes (and recently presented at a conference) points to this potential downside, too. When researchers looked at how the ketogenic diet affected male and female mice, they found that while the male mice in the study lost weight, female mice ended up gaining weight. They also developed impaired glucose intolerance, a sign of prediabetes. Of course, mice are very different from humans—so these findings don’t automatically mean that the ketogenic diet will mess with all women’s blood sugar levels and weight. But hormonal experts like