December 20, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC I typically answer texts, emails, and calls whenever they come in. My mission to be digitally available at all times, though, compromises the attention I’m able to give to the people right in front of me, and to be honest, the pursuit of always being on was taking its toll. (I’ve often felt like I’m a iPhone alerts away from a meltdown.) So when I was invited to try Calistoga Ranch’s silent retreat program, “Sound Off” Quiet Retreat, I was intrigued. “We created the ‘Sound Off’ Quiet Retreat to provide a solution for the luxury traveler who wishes to block out the everyday noise to truly experience extreme quiet, prioritize their wellness and reconnect with themselves and the outdoors,” says Avi Haskar, general manager and regional vice president of the wellness-forward boutique resort located in the middle of Napa Valley. “Our program caters to guests seeking out a quiet, rejuvenating solo trip or an opportunity to fully unplug with a partner in luxuriously relaxing setting.” The experience (from $1,929 per night) is customized to each guest’s needs. That may mean complete silence, sans technology. Or perhaps a couple wants to unplug from everything but communicating with each other. Or, maybe, something else. For my trip, I aimed to avoid speaking and using any technology that could connect me with others. My time on the silent retreat would mark not only my first-ever solo trip, but also the first instance I can remember being
Category: Yoga
Box ‘step downs’ test your full-body strength in just 3 reps
December 18, 2019 at 09:10PM by CWC When you stick faithfully to your workout schedule and listen carefully to your body’s recovery cues, you’ll eventually want to check in on your progress and ask yourself, “So, how strong am I?” For those moments when you’re ready to see how much all your hard work at the gym, on the megaformer, or in yoga has paid off, physical therapists recommend box “step-downs.” Cameron Yuen, PT, DPT, a physical therapist at New York City’s Bespoke Treatments, says that box step-downs mimic going up and down the stairs, and reveals weaknesses in your body from ankle to hips. “If you watch [yourself in the mirror] from the front, you can see whether the knee goes straight ahead, has some wobble side to side, or whether it caves in medially [down the middle],” says Dr. Yuen. “That lets you also know about your hip function and potentially your foot function.” While every body is unique, Dr. Yuen says that your gluteus medius—a muscle that helps your hips move properly—may be to blame if you find that your knees are unstable. “If your knees are under a lot of load and you have wobble there, that does potentially contribute to some cartilage damage, or meniscus damage, or some ligament damage on the knee over time. It’s a good test to see how your knee function is, but also your hip function,” says the physical therapist. How strong am I? The box step down test will
Put this unspoiled Hawaiian Island on your travel bucket list for 2020
December 17, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC The state of Hawaii is hardly an undiscovered travel destination. In fact, the islands are flooded with more than nine million tourists every year trying to etch out a small parcel of sand for sipping mai tais. But there is still one quiet island that has not (yet) been inundated with fellow travelers trying to soak up magic: For those who are always on the lookout for up-and-coming hot spots, Lanai island will not disappoint. Lanai island is located jus a handful of miles off the shores of Maui and was known for years as “Pineapple Island,” thanks to its long reign as Dole’s primary pineapple farming operation. These days, though, tourism is the top industry for Lanai island. Still, though travel and tourism is now a top priority for the island, crowds are still way less abundant here than they are on Hawaii’s other islands. But, with just as much (if not more) fun and relaxation to be had, and the recent opening of highly anticipated all-inclusive wellness resort concept, The Four Seasons Koele, the secret may soon get out. In case you need more convincing as to why Lanai island deserves a spot on your travel bucket list, check out the guide below. Dining, Lanai-style VIEWS Even if you don’t hit the links, a long lunch at this vista-heavy restaurant at the Manele Golf Course is still a great idea. Photo-ready backdrops greet you from every direction, while the Pacific Rim
‘Dive bomber’ push-ups sculpt—and stretch—your whole body from head to toe
December 17, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC What if I told you that you could combine push-ups and yoga sun salutations to create a hybrid move that strengthens and stretches your body in one go? Introducing, dive bomber push-ups: the lovechild of the two movement patterns that acts as a compound movement all on its own. If you’ve never spotted the move at the gym, it involves starting in downward dog and snaking your body down, forward, then arching your body into and upward facing dog. Then, you reverse the whole thing (making it even more challenging). “I think [dive bomber push-ups] are way harder than a traditional push-ups,” says Maillard Howell, owner of CrossFit Prospect Heights and founder of the The Beta Way. “It involves more pushing with the shoulder versus pushing with the chest like in a traditional push-up. You’re also going to get a lot more hamstring and lower back stretch activation when you do dive bomber push-ups. So it’s a whole, full-body movement versus the regular push-up really just involves core, arms, chest, and back.” How to do dive bomber push-ups properly [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neiHSQrS0YI?start=14] Step 1: Start in downward dog with your knees slight bent. Step 2: Bend your elbows so they hug the sides of your ribs and lower your chest so it’s hovering just above the ground. Step 3: Push through your hands into upward facing dog pose: chest open, thighs off the ground, core engaged to protect your lower back. Now reverse it! Step 4: Bend your elbows and press your
Drop the foam roller, full-body gua sha is the best way to melt tight muscles
December 16, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L__ukzmTGAs] What’s old is new again, as they say—and in the beauty world, the ancient practice of using gua sha has been steadily climbing in popularity, thanks to its ability to sculpt and release tension in the face. However, many people don’t realize that full-body gua sha can have the same muscle-melting effects, as say, foam rolling on the entire body. In the latest episode of Well+Good’s YouTube series What the Wellness (the show where we test out the wildest treatments that wellness has to offer), director of creative development and the show’s star, Ella Dove, gets a full-body gua sha treatment, which purportedly has a whole lotta benefits. “[Gua sha] is a scraping technique that helps break up mini-capillaries, so [it’s creating] micro-trauma to the skin, which creates a healing response,” says Mona Dan, founder of Vie Healing in Los Angeles, where Dove gets the treatment. The response, according to Dan, boosts immunity, drains the lymphatic system, and stimulates collagen and elastin. So that little gemstone might be small, but it could have big potential when it comes to helping your bod. As Dove lies on the table, Dan moves the rose quartz from her neck to her chest and along her IT band, where it begins to feel kind of like a “tiny foam roller,” says Dove. So gua sha can even help with fitness recovery, too, since it digs into your fascia. The coolest part about it all, though? You don’t
Cortisol affects everything in your body—including your fertility
December 16, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC When things get stressful, the human body back-burners a lot of otherwise critical systems in order to focus its efforts on the production of the hormone cortisol. Why? Because cortisol, also known as the “stress” hormone, gives the body the boost it needs to survive. Among other things, it increases glucose (read: sugars) in the bloodstream, helps your brain use those sugars more efficiently, and aids in getting tissue repair going if needed. This whole process is super useful during, say, a saber tooth tiger attack. “Imagine if you’re trying to run away from a tiger. Your body doesn’t want you to be menstruating or ovulating—it wants to save all your hormones to keep the cortisol functioning so you can run faster,” says fertility reproductive endocrinologist Jane L. Frederick, MD. “It’s really a survival hormone.” These days, however, we’re generally no longer running from imminent death. Yet our bodies often think we are due to the chronic stress endemic of modern life. If this stress isn’t managed, its constant triggering of cortisol can wreak major havoc on immunity, digestion and, as too many people have experienced first-hand, reproduction. The “flatlining” effect of cortisol on fertility Nicole Jardim, certified women’s health and functional nutrition coach, says that when the body produces too much cortisol over long periods of time, that cortisol has a “dampening effect” on the secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). When GnRH runs low, the hypothalamus—the body’s hormone control center—fails to send
What to expect, cosmically, from the last winter solstice of the decade
December 15, 2019 at 10:00PM by CWC By the end of the week, on Saturday, December 21, 11:19 p.m., EST, the sun moves from bold and blunt Sagittarius into stern and stoic Capricorn, heralding the official change of seasons. The northern hemisphere’s winter solstice of 2019 happens when the sun’s most direct light reaches the Tropic of Capricorn. This isn’t because the sun itself is moving, but rather we, on planet Earth, are hurling through space and traveling in a new quadrant of the sky in a new season, relating differently to the sun. In the north, this night marks the longest of the year. And with temperatures dropping, calls increase to get cozy indoors, making winter the ideal time to restore what Traditional Chinese Medicine would refer to as our yin energy. Yin energy is vital to our well being, and nourishing it provides many benefits—it specifically helps to combat the challenges of aging, helping the body to feel supple, restored, and bright. Soon, the length of day will gradually expand as the sun enters a cycle of rebirth. But it’s so important to linger in this moment of darkness while it lasts. Getting quiet and nurturing yourself provides way more long-term energy than another shot of espresso will land you. In fact, more than any other time of year, staying mindful of caffeine consumption now will deeply impact your well-being. This week, specifically, provides the perfect conditions for sleep, so take advantage. Since this cosmic event marks not
The key to lower body strength is the ‘foldability of your legs’
December 15, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC Toddlers are natural-born yogis. They stretch their backs out in cobra pose and cat-cow like there’s no tomorrow. And according to Will Torres, founder of NYC-based movement studio, Willspace, the squat babies pop into naturally while they’re playing with toys serves a leg strength exercise that grown-ups should be doing, too. “The legs are made up of two parts: the lower leg, which is between the knee and ankle, and the upper leg, which is between the hip and knee. If you bend the knees, flex the hips, and dorsiflex the ankles, both parts of the leg come together with the upper leg resting on the lower leg,” says Torres. The ability to hang out in this position is called leg “foldability” and it can increase your range of motion, help with digestion, and keep the spine, hips, knees, ankles healthy. “It’s also incredible for the tendons and ligaments and is beneficial for blood flow and removal of toxins and waste within the body. It is the ultimate equalizer,” says Torres. Training your squat doesn’t require complex moves or stretches. Instead, you just have to (literally) pop a squat and work your way up to longer and longer holds. “After every two hours of working at a desk, you can step away and lower yourself into a squat and just hold it for time. After driving to work or home from work, sit in a squat. While you watch TV or play with
Level up your health and wellness knowledge in 2020 with these 8 online courses
December 14, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC As much as I love a good Netflix binge, after a few hours of being a couch potato, I often feel wish I had an avenue for channeling some quality productivity…preferably while still remaining comfortably recumbent on my couch. Enter: digital learning. Thanks to a number of online courses and memberships spanning an endless spectrum of topics and interests, it’s now entirely possible to gain empowering knowledge and know-how, right from your own home. So, in the spirit of a new year, new you mentality, rounded up below are eight of the best online courses covering a variety of wellness, spirituality, and personal-development topics to add to your queue. Check out the 8 best online courses to level up your health and wellness needs in the new year. 1. “The Journey by Pause Breathwork” Breath work is mindfulness tool that asks your body and your breathing patterns to do the healing work for you. “The Journey by Pause Breathwork,” taught by speaker, author, and wellness coach Samantha Skelly, is a great place to start for learning more about this. During the six-week online course, Skelly shares a powerful breath pattern to unlock and release stagnant emotions and empower you to feel safe in your own body. Pro tip: Keep some tissues handy. Duration: Six weeks (weekly modules with a brief video lecture, breathwork aduio, and worksheet) Available: Year-round Price: $197 2. “Life-Force Academy” With any mindful or movement practice, the most important component is
The Mayo Clinic reveals *exactly* how to test if your exercise is vigorous enough
December 13, 2019 at 07:30PM by CWC As one of its physical activity recommendations, the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (DPHP)calls for adults between the ages 18 and 64 complete 75 minutes of exercise classified as “vigorous.” To which I say: “Cool. But what constitutes vigorous exercise?” The Mayo Clinic—a network of 4,700 physicians and scientists—answers that very question in a recent video. Exercise can be organized into three categories: the light activity zone, the moderate zone, and the vigorous zone. All three contribute to a well-rounded fitness routine, but learning how to distinguish between each will help you learn when you need to push your body—and when it’s time to pull back on the “harder, better, faster, stronger” mentality. You can actually test yourself mid-workout. Are you meeting your vigorous exercise quota? Here’s how to tell [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHLGYVFw-sQ] Light exercise test Slow, meandering walks, vacuuming, gardening, and even cooking can all be considered “light” exercise, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center. Want to test if you’re in this zone? The Mayo Clinic recommends breaking out into song (may I suggest Lizzo?). If you can carry a tune from start to finish, then your exercise is light, cortisol-free, and relaxing. Moderate exercise test As one option for your weekly dose of exercise, the says you can perform 2 hours and 30 minutes of “moderate exercise. ” The Center for Disease Control says hiking, aerobic dancing, ice skating, yoga, and walking at brisk pace all count