May 17, 2019 at 12:23PM by CWC This morning, I walked into my Pilates class in a brand new workout outfit. Three separate people complimented me on my #lewk before I had even sat down on the Megaformer, and for the first 10 minutes of class, every time I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, all I could think was, “Damn girl, you look good.” I was feeling myself, for real. But then, when it came time to do weighted squats, I looked down and realized there was a massive sweat stain between my legs. My thoughts of my own hotness were immediately replaced with was mortification (like, I genuinely considered bolting out of the class), followed quickly by annoyance: I loved these leggings so much, but I could literally never, ever wear them to a workout class again. I may be a strong, independent, confident woman (I’ve been listening to a lot of Lizzo lately), but I am not down with showing off my crotch sweat to an entire room of strangers. In order to avoid this situation from ever happening again, I reached out to a Gaiam senior designer, Nicole Andrick, to find out how you can tell if a pair of leggings will show sweat before you invest $85 in them… and then unknowingly wear them to a class in front of a whole bunch of people. “The fabric must have moisture wicking properties that will pull moisture away from body, keeping you cool during
Category: Yoga
4 tips to turn any boring business trip into a bona fide vacation
May 17, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC Traveling for work may sound fun in theory (especially to someone who’s never done it), but in practice, business trips tend to be full of endless meetings, exhausting schmooze-fests, not much sleep, and roughly zero personal time. Like, way less personal time than, say, your average Tuesday. And when you’re finally done, you likely have to head straight back to the airport (or climb into your rental car) to return to where you came from. While tacking on a bit of time for play at the end of a work trip may seem tough to handle, armed with the right travel-expert-sanctioned intel, it can be done and result in a much happier you. 4 tips to maximize work trips by squeezing in vacation vibes before getting back to business. 1. Extend your stay Have to fly to Chicago for meetings on Thursday and Friday? Consider extending your trip into the weekend, if possible. “If you’re booking the flight, look around for one that leaves on Sunday that’s a similar price as the one your company would have you take,” says Kim Mott, a travel writer based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. So long as the trip extension falls on a weekend, staying away to make good on your work-hard-play-hard goal shouldn’t compromise any on-the-clock time, says travel blogger Christina Vidal of Jetset Christina. “Extending your trip is on your dime, but if the flight pricing isn’t different, it shouldn’t matter to your bosses
Master this move to fire up your entire body in a matter of minutes
May 16, 2019 at 10:55AM by CWC This week, a bear crawl was part of my workout plan for the first time. I wasn’t scared. With such a cutesy name, how tough could they be? I made the first set look like child’s play. But I’d soon come to find out this exercise wasn’t messing around. It’s safe to say this bear is no teddy. The bear crawl looks pretty harmless at first, but watch out for its bite. “The bear crawl engages almost every muscle in your body and specifically focuses on your quads, legs, chest, shoulders, and core,” says Reid Eichelberger, head trainer at EverybodyFights in Philadelphia. “It can help improve your stability, mobility, overall strength, and endurance.” Bear crawls are also a great move to do as a warm-up to strength training sessions, according to Nike master trainer Betina Gozo. “They activate your core and nervous system, plus they’ll get your heart rate up, increasing your body temperature so you’re primed and ready for your workout,” she says. To make sure you’re performing bear crawls correctly, follow Gozo’s instructions: How to perform a proper bear crawl 1. Starting with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips, press through your hands and hover your knees off the ground at a 90-degree angle. Make sure you’re keeping your hips level and core engaged the whole time. 2. Maintaining a flat back and keeping your arms straight, pick your right hand up as you move your left foot
What it actually means to “make space” in your body during yoga
May 15, 2019 at 10:34AM by CWC Yoga’s good for you. There’s just no arguing with that. I tried resisting the practice for so long in favor of more high-intensity, sweat-packed workouts, until I was pushed into a class. It only took a couple of downward-facing dogs for me to realize that I was going to get hooked. If you’ve done yoga, I’m sure you feel me when I say that the practice has undeniable mind and body benefits. One of the reasons why I was so hesitant to dive in was that I thought that it wasn’t a good workout. I like to feel beat up and sore after a workout. But the effects of yoga are so much greater—and so much deeper—than merely being a form of exercise. In fact: It can help you change your body at a cellular level to help make more space. Here’s what’s behind that. What is happening on a cellular level Yoga makes your entire body more balanced overall. “From a musculoskeletal perspective, your body is made up of trillions of cells that get organized in a variety of ways, which then become tissues, which then become organized and become organs, which then become systems,” says Lara Heimann, a certified physical therapist and yoga expert. “The bulk of the day does not require a variety of movement, so that inevitably leads to imbalance, meaning that you’ll have some tissues that are shortened or restricted while some are not. And all of your
5 essential stretches to take your squats even deeper
May 15, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC Finding perfect squat form should be the goal of every amateur athlete. After all, squats are a foundational movement of almost every workout routine with a wide variety of modifications for every skill level. Before you step up to a series of #sorefordays variations, a few squat stretches can help you to get comfortable with the original movement. Amanda Bisk, exercise psychologist and yoga teacher, recommends different stretches that make it easier to master your preferred technique. “Squats are one of the most common exercises we do, but often the one we can’t get quite right,” she writes on Instagram. “Whether you feel like you’re falling backward as you sit down, you can’t quite get your glutes to activate, or you suffer from knee pain, these stretches will help improve essential mobility in your ankles and hips.” To better your squat form, start incorporating these simple stretches into your routine. As your mobility improves, so will your ability to get the ultimate booty burn. The best stretches for better squats, according to Amanda Bisk View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amanda Bisk (@amandabisk) on May 14, 2019 at 6:20am PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js 1. Plantar fascia stretch Not all stretches for squats are created equal. This one targets the arches of your feet since tightness in the area causes loss of mobility in the ankle and discomfort in the calf muscles. Ankle mobility is essential for getting deeper in your
Trainers agree: Vanessa Hudgens’ workout equation is something everyone can learn from
May 14, 2019 at 09:34AM by CWC Vanessa Hudgens is really, really strong. I know this, because when I worked out next to her at an event for Propel Vitamin Boost yesterday (and made all of my eighth grade dreams come true), she was not messing around. She piled on double the amount of ankle weights as the rest of us did, held a perfectly-formed plank for an entire song, and somehow made it all look so easy that she walked out with her hair and makeup still intact. I, on the other hand, collapsed on the floor into a pile of my own sweat. When Hudgens and I sat down to chat after 45-minutes of Megan Roup kicking our butts (and after I chugged two bottles of Propel’s new electrolyte water to replace all the water I’d lost during the workout), I had to know what her strength-building secret is. And while I was fully expecting her to cop to spending 2+ hours a day with a trainer, the reason behind her success in the gym is actually super simple: consistency and variety. She told me that she has pretty much stuck with the same three workouts—SoulCycle, Pilates, and yoga—for the better part of the last ten years, mixing things up throughout the week to target different parts of her body. And, in case the results didn’t speak for themselves, pros confirm that she’s onto something with this methodology. “It’s really important to mix up your routine to ensure
What most people get wrong about the “neutral spine” position
May 13, 2019 at 11:55AM by CWC Fitness instructors often ask participants to keep a “neutral spine” during all the exercises, especially in Pilates and yoga. The position is important for both performing the exercises correctly and for getting the most out of the movements, helping to activate the right muscles. But if you think “neutral” means “stick straight,” think again. Contrary to popular belief, a neutral spine position isn’t straight at all. “A neutral spine refers to the three natural curves in the spine: the cervical (upper), thoracic (middle), and lumbar (lower). When viewed from the side, these curves form an ‘S’ shaped curve, and when all three are balanced, our spine is said to be in neutral alignment,” says physical therapist Kelly Avant. “When we think about good posture or standing up straight, the misconception of actually having a straight spine is inaccurate. Good posture requires each curve to be equally represented and balanced.” If you’re not focusing on trying to make your back as straight as possible, how do you even find your neutral spine in the first place? There are two ways to go about it, depending on whether you’re lying down or standing up. How to find your neutral spine According to Alex Leviner, a trainer at EverybodyFights, the easiest way to find your neutral spine is to lie down on your back and relax. “That will usually be ‘your’ neutral spine, but everyone is different,” he says. “There will be a gap between your
Why laughing so hard it hurts provides an instant boost in happiness
May 13, 2019 at 11:20AM by CWC A few years ago, a yoga teacher gave me a piece of advice I (try to) put into practice each day. “Anytime you start laughing,” she said, “try to keep it up for as long as you possibly can.” The idea was that by extending laughter for as long as your lungs will allow, you also maximize the hit of happiness chemical (endorphins!) flowing through your brain. Leaning in to the benefits of laughing out loud presents a free option for boosting your mood. Endorphins are happiness chemicals prompted by exercise, spicy food, love, and orgasms, according to Scientific American. Your body responds by experiencing a buzz of sorts (similar to the one you feel after an intense treadmill session). The chemicals also help you tolerate pain. Why? Well, researchers believe that the abdominal exhaustion caused by intense belly laughter signals your body to produce more and more endorphins. You read that right: Chuckling over hilarious (timeless, really) Spongebob memes, could be giving you a low-key abdominal workout and a boost of joy at the very same time. (“Art thou feeling it now, Mr. Krabs?!“) The wellness world has caught on to the mega power of endorphins. Both laughter yoga and laughter meditation have emerged as extra-curricular offerings for relieving stress. As the Jefferson Center for Mental Health in Hoboken, New Jersey, explains on its website, human connection and laughter go together like peanut butter and jelly. So if you make it your business to
Fillers are injecting themselves into the wellness convo and honestly, it’s awesome
May 13, 2019 at 09:57AM by CWC At Well+Good, we love a good beauty hack and a holy-grail dupe. But one of our favorite things is taking a closer look—at labels, at our habits, at the stigmas that sometimes still prevail in the beauty industry. In our new series Beauty Geek, we’ll be dusting off our glasses to get nerdy with the science of skin care and explore the many ways that beauty serves us in our everyday lives. Join us. I’ve just rolled onto my right side and propped myself up on my hands. And in the dimmed light of the palo santo-scented studio, just before bowing to acknowledge the light and love in every person, my yoga instructor directs the class to soften our brows. “Yeah, right,” I think to myself. Because, while some people strive to nail a perfect crow pose or get their heels to the ground in down dog, all I want is to be able to relax my over-expressive, constantly furrowed forehead. Enter… Botox? A recent report from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery indicated that in 2018, 72 percent of the doctors surveyed saw an uptick in the number of patients under 30 years old requesting cosmetic surgery or facial injectables (Botox and facial fillers such as Juvederm and Restylane). This accounts for a 24 percent climb from 2017. Coincidentally, stats like these coincide with mega-gains in the clean beauty industry, which is poised to reach $25 billion over the
Beets are the underrated post-workout snack your life is missing
May 13, 2019 at 08:50AM by CWC Some people say you’ll never forget your first kiss. Well, I’ll never forget my first beet. When I tried the root veggie for the first time as a kid, I was not into it. Not even the cool pink color or my cartoon crush could get me to like the intensely earthly taste. It took me a long time, but I actually like beets now—which is fortuitous, because they are packed with nutrients. Doesn’t hurt that they’ve become super trendy too. Wellness-forward cities like Los Angeles and New York even have coffee shops offering up beet lattes, which inevitably end up all over Instagram. (So pink! So pretty!) View this post on Instagram Beetroot latte 💕 @gooddaycafe after a Restorative Yoga 🧘♀️session @bathyogastudio with @georgieyogini @movegb . . #gooddaycafe #bathengland #bathuk #bathcity #yoga #igersbath #postworkoutdrink #beetrootlatte #bathlife #beetroot #inthepink #bathcoffeeshop #independentbath #cityofbath #prettylittlebath #pinkcafe #bathsomerset #somerset #igersomerset #latte #beetlatte #latte_art #latteart A post shared by Rebecca Lipkin (@rebeccajournobath) on May 13, 2019 at 7:50am PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js But back to those nutrients. What exactly is it about beets that make them such a wellness win? Keep reading for all the intel. What are the health benefits of beets? 1. They offer some bone-building calcium. If you’re dairy-free, beets are another vegetable that can help you get towards your daily calcium totals with 22 milligrams per cup. That’s about 2 percent of your recommended daily intake, so don’t consider them your sole source—but