August 24, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC Sure, leggings may seem like the perfect seasonless wardrobe staple, but try walking home in them after a sweaty bootcamp when the temperature is over 80 degrees. Not so comfy anymore, are they? In times like these—or as I like to call it, summer—it’s running shorts to the rescue. They may not be as buzzy as bike shorts are right now, but hear me out: They’re loose enough to let in a cooling breeze, they’re usually made from material that doesn’t retain sweat and heat, and this season, at least, they’re showing up in all kinds of elevated iterations. Metallic fabrics, neon colorblocking, floral and camo prints—as you can see from the options below, there are tons of ways to upgrade from the pair you stashed in your high-school gym locker. Running shorts don’t just work for workouts, either. I can picture myself styling a black (or leopard-print) pair with a silk camisole and strappy heels for a summer night out, or tossing them over bike shorts and adding some kind of t-shirt and Tevas. Or you could follow designer Virgil Abloh’s lead and stick highlighter-yellow running shorts under a sheer maxi-dress. (This is not for the sartorially shy, but definitely a fresher option than the sheer-dress-over-granny-panties look, IMO.) Oh, and most pairs cost well under $100—if not under $50—which is a pretty good deal on something you can wear absolutely everywhere. ad_intervals[‘404925_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘404925_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100);
Category: Yoga
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the scent of your vagina
August 23, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC PSA: No two vaginas smell the same, and every vagina can put off a variety of scents. Meaning, there’s no single aromatic profile of a “healthy” vagina. Still, it’s worth noting that none of the smattering of “healthy” scents will call to mind “spring flowers” or “delicate blossoms,” despite what a stroll down your local drugstore aisle may have you believe. Progress is being made in the vaginal-product realm (via an influx of vaginal-health products made by women for women that don’t attempt to alter the natural scent). But still, nothing should make a vulva-owner feel ashamed of or a need to question the way their vagina smells. “So long as it doesn’t have an infection, the way a vagina smells is natural and normal,” says OB/GYN Felice Gersh, MD, author of PCOS SOS: A Gynecologist’s Lifeline To Naturally Restore Your Rhythms, Hormones and Happiness. Adeeti Gupta, MD, founder of Walk In GYN Care, echoes this point: “To have a vagina that smells like vagina is to be someone who has a vagina. To think otherwise is a sad approach to the human body,” she says. ad_intervals[‘392911_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘392911_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); So, what determines the way a vagina smells? In one word: bacteria. Like the gut, every vagina has its own ecosystem of bacteria (sometimes called a vagina microbiome) that keeps it healthy. “There are a billion ‘good’ bacteria in the vagina, called lactobacilli, which
Our bodies just aren’t designed for constant tech use—here’s how to keep yours safe and strong
August 23, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC I like to joke that if future humans are anything like me, legs won’t be evolutionarily necessary. That’s because I sit at my desk and use my laptop most hours of the day, and then I move on over to my couch to watch something (anything!) on Netflix while I scroll on my phone with whatever time is left before I go to sleep. So that’s how I imagine the future of humanity will evolve—before the robots inevitably turn on us and extinguish the species, that is. Until then, we’d be wise to protect our bodies agains the negative effects of technology, because we’re not physically evolved to accommodate the activities we continually do in excess. (As in, all the forms of technology with which we interact on an ongoing basis). Fortunately, a few, simple counteractive measures can go a long way in mitigating injuries we may sustain to the neck, shoulders, back, wrists, hands, eyes, ears, and more. ad_intervals[‘405555_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘405555_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); Here’s how to keep the negative effects of technology from causing physical damage. 1. The habit: sitting too much The damage: By now, you’ve likely heard that “sitting is the new smoking” (read: sitting isn’t great for your health for a number of reasons), a sentiment with which Lauren Roxburgh, a body alignment specialist who’s worked with celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow, agrees. The human body, she says, is designed to expand,
Twitter has spoken—and this is America’s preferred way to sweat
August 22, 2019 at 07:00PM by CWC Social media has become a #fitspo free-for-all. You can tailor Instagram to become your very own digital personal trainer, join a sweat-focused Facebook group, or take to Twitter for the most relatable gym memes around. But when researchers combed tweets about physical activity from 481,146 users, one sweat modality stood out from the rest: good, old fashioned walking. The survey, as reported in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Medicine Exercise, examined over one million tweets about physical activities that were geotagged in the United States between April 2015 and March 2016. After sorting out irrelevant terms (like, “The Walking Dead,” lol), the study authors identified that the top exercise terms were “walk,” “dance,” “golf,” “workout,” “run,” “pool,” “hike,” “yoga,” “swim,” and “bowl.” The volume of each keyword varied based on gender (more women tweeted about yoga than men, for example) and geographical region (more people broadcasted their hiking adventures out West). But, as a good reminder that your workouts don’t have to be expensive or fancy, walking proved to be the buzziest term overall. ad_intervals[‘417571_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘417571_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); The results make sense. First, walking has a low barrier to entry—you just need shoes, a bit of time, and somewhere to go. According to the folks at Harvard Health (who recommend logging two to four miles per day—bonus points if you take the stairs instead of the elevator), “You don’t need any special equipment to walk
How to score a trendy knotted headband for under $25 on Amazon
August 22, 2019 at 03:20PM by CWC Every summer, like clockwork, my Instagram feed becomes a series of shots of influencers on vacation in Italy, engagement announcements from people I haven’t spoken to since high school, and photos that have me genuinely wondering: “Are those hotdogs, or are they legs?” This summer, though, there’s been a new addition to the rotation of photos I’m seeing when I log into the app: knotted headbands. It seems like everywhere I look, someone is stepping up their game with an Upper East Sider-approved accessory placed artfully on their crown. Something about the juxtaposition of a traditional headband with the rogue knot makes the accessories equal parts preppy and boho, which isn’t an easy feat. Weirdly enough, the style seems just as at home on the beach in Capri as it does in someone’s “why am I at work while everyone else is on the Amalfi Coast” desk selfie. In other words: They’re for everyone and they go with everything. Chances are, the hair jewelry you’re seeing displayed on the heads of your favorite fashion and beauty ‘grammers and splayed across magazine editorials were designed by Lele Sadoughi. She sells absolutely gorgeous knotted headbands in every color, print, and fabric you can imagine—there is even a tie-dye option that speaks to me—and many of them are bejeweled with fancy baubles like rhinestones and pearls. ad_intervals[‘413626_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘413626_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); Lele Sadoughi’s headbands are amazing, no doubt, and she
Which style of rest you need, based on your Enneagram type—no naps included
August 21, 2019 at 06:02PM by CWC If you’re anything like me, you probably have one response when asked if you’ve gotten enough rest: “Rest? Never heard of her.” In the fast-paced modern world filled with FOMO, constant scrolling, and ridiculously busy schedules, it’s rare to get a chance to rest. But here’s the deal: You need it—at least a little bit. And what works for you might be different than what works for the rest of your girl gang. A post recently went viral across social media about nine different types of rest, ranging from taking time away to taking a break from responsibility. While it seems like a general list of great ideas at first glance, each type actually correlates with each of the Enneagram types and was put together by Stephanie Barron Hall, the Enneagram expert behind Nine Types Co. “In May and June of this year, I was thinking a lot about rest and self-care. I wanted to write more about it, so I asked in my Instagram stories, ‘What does rest mean for you?’ Interestingly, as I read the responses, themes started to emerge around each type,” she tells me. “I noticed that many followers of the same type gave the same or similar answers. From there, I wrote three types of rest for each Enneagram type, then I narrowed them down to the most important based on my Enneagram knowledge.” ad_intervals[‘416212_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘416212_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); Hall
How to do a perfect sun salutation every time you step on your mat
August 21, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPjppcOquE4] If you ever taken a yoga class, you’ve likely found yourself cycling through a sun salutation. They’re the cornerstone of the Vinyasa practice, and help warm up your body in order to prep your muscles and joints for the rest of your flow. But as common as the sequence is, it’s also all too easy to mess up. As with any exercise you’re doing improperly, doing your sun salutation the wrong way greatly increases your risk of injury. Some of the biggest mistakes that yoga teacher Tess Koenig sees in her students’ flows? Overarched, compressed, or rounded backs, heavy hopping, and inactive folding. All of these things can spell problems for your joints, especially when you’re doing them repeatedly over the course of a class (and as any Vinyasa lovers know, there tend to be a lot of sun sals in a 60-minute session). ad_intervals[‘417239_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘417239_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); “Sun sal is really hard—you’re warming up your body,” says Koenig, noting that these mistakes can happen to anyone, whether it’s their first time on the mat or their 10,000th. As a 10-plus year yoga vet who is constantly having yoga teachers adjust my down dog pretty much every time I’m in a class (…whoops!), I can confirm this to be overwhelmingly true. Thankfully for me—and the rest of people out there who have trouble with sun salutations—Koenig shows of the right way to do
‘Sober’ drinking is finally taking off, no thanks to mocktails
August 19, 2019 at 12:02PM by CWC When I was a kid, non-alcoholic drinks usually meant ordering “virgin” pina coladas and blended Oreo cookie drinks poolside on family vacations in Hawaii. Delicious, yes, but not exactly the healthiest choice to be drinking every single day for a week. So imagine adult-me’s surprise a few years ago when I decided to cut out booze for a month—and discovered quickly that most non-alcoholic offerings at various bars were still either soda water or the super-sugary virgin cocktails from my youth. Cue Cher: As if. Since my initial experiment a few years ago, there’s now a growing interest in cutting back on alcohol—and with it, an increased demand for sophisticated, healthier drinking options that better fit the sober curious lifestyle. But you won’t necessarily hear them being called mocktails or virgin drinks. “Low-ABV” and “no-ABV” (ABV meaning alcohol by volume) are the new need-to-know terms as these types of beverages get adopted in bars and restaurants around the world. According to investment firm Distill Ventures, which supports start-up spirits brands, 40 percent of restaurants in Los Angeles (and a third of NYC restaurants) already offer a non-alcoholic drinks section on their menus. The shift to more low- and no-alcohol options is largely driven by the demands of younger drinkers, who on the whole are drinking less than generations past. “There’s a tremendous trend in the marketplace right now just to drink less alcohol—particularly millennials interested in drinking less alcohol,” says Todd White, founder
Unclear when to do which step in your beauty routine? This skin-care pyramid will clear that right up
August 19, 2019 at 11:37AM by CWC Collecting skin-care products can quickly make you feel like the little old lady who lives in her serums. Case in point: My vanity looks a whole lot more like a Y2K bunker than I would ever admit to someone on a first date. Alternatively: ever. With so many different products to choose from, it can be confusing to figure out exactly what to use and when. Thankfully for all of the skin-care aficionados out there, we discovered the “Skin Care Pyramid” (thanks, Instagram) to help us sort through our collections and figure out what to slather on our faces…without, ya know, melting them off. The pyramid breaks down what you should be doing to your skin on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis so that you’re not overdoing it—think of it like a food pyramid, but for your face. View this post on Instagram Skin care #skincare #skin #beauty #natural #travel #love #instagood #skinglow #cosmetics #repost #glowingskin #antiaging #healthyskin #sun #spa #me #skinexperts #skinfood #loveyourself #skintips #healthy #tatiskincare #mm #blackandwhite #yoga #tbt #world #gunkie #hydrafacial #blackandwhite #skincareroutine A post shared by Toni_esthetician (@toni_esthetician) on Aug 16, 2019 at 5:33am PDT The daily breakdown is pretty much exactly what you’d expect: cleanser, acid, eye cream, serums, sunscreen, and moisturizer (AKA the stuff that any dermatologist or esthetician out there would tell you should be a part of your morning and nighttime regimen). Then, once a week, you should be using an exfoliant (just not
This 7-minute heart-opening yoga flow will relieve tension from hunching over a computer all day
August 19, 2019 at 05:28AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4YQeowk9JE] Welcome to Trainer of the Month Club, our brand-new fitness series, where we tap the coolest, most in-the-know fitness leaders to create a month-long fitness challenge. On Mondays, we have our “sweat drops” where you’ll get access to the week’s workout that you can follow along at home. This week, Val Verdier is teaching us a yoga sequence that’s all about opening up your heart. Posture check—how are you sitting right now? As I write this, I’m hunched over my computer like the little work gremlin that I am. I’ll probably sit like this most of today, and the rest of the work week, despite my best efforts to correct my posture. (Your writing is better when your shoulders are up to your ears and your whole body is rife with stress, right? That’s how it works?) Luckily, this heart-opening sequence from Val Verdier, our Trainer of the Month and the director of teaching at Modo Yoga, can help relieve the tension we feel from sitting at our desks all day. Here, Verdier takes us through a seven minute sequence of heart-opening yoga poses that she says will “warm the body up.” Whether you’re looking for a flow to do before a run or a way to cool down post-bootcamp, this one has all the stretchy goodness that you need to really make the most out of your time on the mat. Here’s the rundown: Start in a bridge pose to warm