Category: Relaxation

April 12, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC Oatmeal baths have been a savior for itchy, dry skin for ages—and the perks they offer aren’t simply anecdotal, either. Yep, dermatologists also swear by the soaks from a medical POV. “Oatmeal has long been used in skin care because of its moisturizing and soothing benefits,” says dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD. And for a second opinion (hey, gotta do your due diligence), dermatologist Gary Goldenberg, MD, agrees: “It’s also anti-inflammatory and reduces itch. Oatmeal is soothing and can repair dry, inflamed, and damaged skin,” he says. Of course, you don’t need to have a skin issue—like eczema, psoriasis, dry skin, poison ivy, insect bites, or a sunburn, among other conditions—to enjoy the benefits of oatmeal. While it’s a great option for people who struggle with an itchy skin condition, it’s also perfect for simply pampering your skin when you’re in the mood, Dr. Zeichner says. But rather than just rubbing your benefits-laden bowl of Quaker Oats on a patchy area of skin, set the scene and draw yourself a hygge-approved, mood-boosting bath. Considering how simple it is to make a homemade oatmeal bath, you’ll be wondering why you waited so long to start the practice. In fact, there’s a solid chance you’re already the proud owner of every required ingredient. Here’s what you’ll need for a homemade oatmeal bath: Some kind of grinder, like a blender, coffee grinder, or food processor 1 cup of unflavored quick or instant oats (organic is better, if

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April 12, 2019 at 08:26AM by CWC I do a pretty good job when it comes to keeping up with my workout schedule. I’m usually on it every single day without a complaint. Every so often, though, I’ll have to skip two days in a row, maybe three. If I’m missing workouts here and there, no big deal, right? But does gym motivation disappear altogether after a certain time? When I do skip the gym, I’m always full of excuses. (I’m too tired, too busy, too hungry, etc.) And according to Eric Rakofsky, director of fitness at The Well, it’s good to know that sometimes these excuses are totally justified. “Time is something that many of us simply can’t find enough of,” says Rakofsky. “It’s incredibly easy for one missed workout to turn into two, or three, and then before you know it you’re playing catch-up with yourself. It is important to understand that there are going to be times when you miss a day or two. That’s life.” Rakofsky says the key is to never skip more than two workouts in a row if you don’t want to lose your gym motivation. But the healthy habit you’ve created for yourself shouldn’t make it harder to accomplish your fitness goals by interrupting the rest of your life. Just a quick 20-minute at-home workout counts. “Your body is constantly burning calories, and workouts only ramp that up. So you want to constantly be in that state while also making sure you’re

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April 11, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC A recent study, using nationally representative data, of how people in the United States meet romantic partners found that 65 percent of LGBTQ+ couples meet online (whereas, for perspective, the same is true for only 39 percent of heterosexual couples). And the stat, says one prominent inclusive matchmaker, really isn’t staggering. “One of the biggest challenges when you’re queer is figuring out if the people who might be interested in are also queer,” says Kara Laricks of Three Day Rule. “Dating apps remove the hurdle of having to guess.” That’s largely why I joined the pool of queers looking for love after my last breakup and promptly began swiping. I went through the motions of engaging in half-baked conversations, then after I got my hit of attention, I’d slither away like a ghost before there was any any mention of potentially meeting up IRL. Call it karma, but once I was ready to actually meet cute potential partners, the sheer monotony of swiping felt stifling, and also about as romantic as a case of norovirus. As Laricks says, “Online dating dating may take away the guessing aspect for the LGBTQ+ community, but that doesn’t mean we’re immune to online dating fatigue (ODF).” Tinder burnout aside, Laricks says it’s totally possible to find love as an LGBTQ+ person without the help of an app—it just takes a little savvy and intel. Scroll down for 6 matchmaker-approved tips to meet LGBTQ+ singles without dating apps.

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April 10, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC Find me a person who isn’t stressed and I will also point to the pigs flying by the window because that just feels completely impossible. Case in point? In a 2018 survey of Well+Good readers, 95 percent reported feeling stressed. Work and finances topped the list of stressors, while many other people said that their interpersonal relationships were a major source of stress and anxiety. But what about the times when nothing is ostensibly wrong, and you still find yourself lying awake at night or trying to shake off a nagging feeling that something is off? Is it possible that your body could be stressed, even if you don’t feel stressed out? When fight-or-flight goes haywire If you’re asking yourself, “Am I stressed?” despite not having anything concrete to be stressed about, blame that super fun feeling on evolution. When your brain sees something it perceives to be a threat, your amygdala —the part of the brain associated with emotions—takes over, “cutting off communication to the frontal part of your cortex, which is where the rational coping thoughts would be,” says David Austern, PsyD., clinical assistant professor at New York University’s department of psychiatry. The result is that fight-or-flight response: a racing heart, sweaty palms, dizziness, that feeling that your stomach just dropped to the ground. These are all your body’s signs to stop thinking and start running. A thousand years ago, this was a helpful reflex; nowadays, not as much. Unfortunately, our brains

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April 10, 2019 at 04:46AM by CWC The learning. The relaxation. The perks. There’s a million reasons to go on a wellness retreat—but if you’re short on time, now you can get them without the flight. That’s because, together with Athleta, we’ve created a two-hour mini-retreat experience right in New York City: Wellness Collective. Think of it as a new type of wellness experience, curated by Well+Good and designed to give you direct access to the biggest game-changers in the industry right now, all happening at Athleta’s Flatiron flagship. “Our mission since day one is to bring wellness into the world in new and exciting ways,” says Well+Good co-founder Alexia Brue. “Wellness Collective is just the tool that lets people walk away with practical ways of incorporating wellness into their daily lives.” At the debut event on March 30, that included everything from jade rolling to stretching and recovery, career advice, and intention setting—and you can expect the same comprehensive deep dive at every monthly event through January 2020 (and yes, April tickets are on sale now!). “Wellness Collective is just the tool that lets people walk away with practical ways of incorporating wellness into their daily lives.” That’s because each experience is designed to cover four different pillars: Mind + Body, Finance + Career, Self Care, and Community, complete with a 30-minute workshop on each topic taught by next-level brand founders and experts. The goal? To give you actually useful tips on how to apply wellness to every sphere

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April 10, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC Ever been in a situation where you find out that you’ve been doing something either wrong or totally inefficiently since, oh, the beginning of time? (Like realizing you should have thought of that iced-matcha shortcut first, or could have saved so much time had you just known about this mind-blowingly simple decorating trick…) Well, it’s time to get way back to basics, because the thing I most recently discovered I’ve been doing totally wrong is the only thing I do consistently, at all hours of every single day. Oh, and there’s a good chance you’re doing it wrong, too. During my recent trip to Bali, I had my first-ever session with an energy healer, I Wayan Linggen. The session started with a full-body massage that leaned more sports-esque than Swedish as he searched for energy blocks via physical chakra points. And afterward, he gave me the prognosis: When he pressed on the fleshy area right above my hipbones, I felt discomfort, which pointed to a blocked second chakra and a busy mind. “It’s an emotional muscle. Many things can make this area hurt,” he told me. “When you have a busy mind, sometimes it feels like a mess—this pain in the stomach is connected. When you’re tired or thinking too much, it’s connected.” And since I’ve got a hunch that I’m not the only sleepy worker bee thinking a mile a minute who has lower abdominal discomfort conveniently located exactly where menstrual cramps

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April 08, 2019 at 08:36AM by CWC It’s one thing to analyze your own sleeping position, but when it comes to analyzing your snooze-time setup with a bedmate, other factors are worth considering. Namely, while spooning may be cute, laying that way for too long is hot—the sweaty and distinctly not cute kind, to be clear. And according to body-language expert and co-author The Body Language Handbook and 365 Ways to Get a Good Night’s Sleep, Maryann Karinch, feeling this way doesn’t make you an unromantic exception to the sleeping-position rule. Karinch been with her partner for 23 years, and even though she says they cuddle often and in different configurations, no single position is sustainable long-term (meaning through the night). And, good news: that’s okay. “One of the basic things about those positions is that they’re just not that comfortable for a long period of time, so we would never think of them as sleeping positions,” she says. “We would think of them as ‘waking-up positions’ or ‘going-to-bed positions.’ But not actual sleeping positions. Because they’re pretty much all uncomfortable, your arm goes to sleep or you’re way too hot because you’re too close to the other person.” But, she’s quick to caveat that none of this necessarily points to a lack of intimacy. So, rather than learning what your sleeping position might say about your relationship, it’s more apt to discuss your “almost-sleeping” or “just-about-to-wake-up” poses. Below, Karinch decrypts the meaning behind these common cuddling styles—but if you’re

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