March 11, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC If you’re reading this now, I assume you’re trying to give The Drawer a makeover. Don’t be coy—you know The Drawer; it’s in your nightstand, and may house a vibrator, some condoms, and stray AA batteries that you hope would work in an emergency. So, if you want to breathe new life into whatever state your pleasure stash is currently in, you may be in the market for some sex-toy recommendations. While pleasure is highly personalized in terms of how a person likes to go about achieving it—whether fast or slow, experimenting with different techniques or not, etc.—it never hurts to call in an expert. For that we have Rebecca Alvarez Story, sexologist and founder of Bloomi (which, manufactures a highly effective arousal oil, BTW). “The same way we proudly leave cosmetic products and perfumes on our bathroom counter, we should feel good about leaving our favorite sex products on our nightstand,” says Story. “Here are the ones I love to display and have handy.” 4 sex toy recommendations, from a sexologist who uses each 1. The Heart Slim by Chakrubs, $139 Lest we forget, rose quartz is a love crystal, and you can charge yourself with plenty of self-love if you bring this into the bedroom. True to its name, the Heart is meant to clear blockages in your heart chakra, promote comfort and compassion, and, y’know, provide you with a totally unique sensual experience as you supercharge your next orgasm. “I’m a fan of
Category: Your Healthiest Relationship
The #1 place where most bodies are out of alignment, according to a chiropractor
March 11, 2020 at 01:00PM by CWC Chiropractors are wizards of the muscular and skeletal systems, spending their days adjusting people’s bodies back into proper alignment. And out of all of the bones that they put back into place, chiropractor Robert Shire, DC, says there’s one area that stands out as the being the most commonly misaligned. And that area is? The lower back. “The quadratus lumborum, or lower back muscles, are frequent contributors to lower back pain,” says Dr. Shire, a chiropractor at True Whole Care in New York City, who stresses that lower back pain is really, really common. Why is this the spot for improper alignment and pain? Sitting, for one. “Sitting for prolonged periods of time can exacerbate the problem,” he says. “For instance, the quadratus lumborum can become tight and spasm when we sit in front of the computer for too long.” When you have weak abdominal muscles, this can also impact your lower back muscles. “A weak core causes the lower back muscles to work overtime,” says Dr. Shire. “Without a break, these muscles build up lactic acid, and that can lead to soreness and cramping.” Remember that your spine is curved, so proper back alignment entails an “S” curve—it shouldn’t be a straight line. Lara Heimann, PT, a yoga instructor and physical therapist, has told Well+Good that the back of your skull, your scapulae (shoulder blades), and your sacrum (the bone in your lower pelvis) should be lined up. This is a good rule
Your go-to self-care activity might actually be fueling your burnout
March 11, 2020 at 12:00PM by CWC It’s probably not on-task work and it’s almost certainly distracting behavior, yet nearly all of us are known to check various social media in workplace environments. We justify it every time, thinking that we deserve a small break from the grind, that maybe seeing just how many people viewed that last Instagram Story might give us renewed energy. Well, one takeaway from the most recent Well+Good TALK, which focused on strategies for combatting burnout, made clear that this behavior actually isn’t refueling you at all. In fact, those check-ins may well be making everything worse. Okay, that sounds very dramatic, I’m sure you have a lovely brain. But the fact is that the human brain as a whole has a hard time distinguishing between spreadsheets and scrolling, and that reality might be fueling your burnout. “When it comes to tech, let me just remind you of something: Your brain doesn’t distinguish between you paging through Facebook and working,” says Celeste Headlee, journalist and author of Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving. “That’s all work. Your brain thinks that smartphone is work.” “When it comes to tech, your brain doesn’t distinguish between you paging through Facebook and working. That’s all work. Your brain thinks that smartphone is work. —Celeste Headlee, burnout expert Headlee points out then when you’re stressed, your amygdala takes over and puts you in fight-or-flight mode, letting your instinctual monkey brain control your actions. If you’re being chased by
How to use oracle cards, the simpler-to-read cousin of tarot that helps you tap into your intuition
March 11, 2020 at 11:00AM by CWC Even though, you don’t need to spend years studying tarot cards and memorizing all the different card meanings in order to read them, interpreting the messages can be tricky nonetheless. The cards you pull may well leave you with more questions than you had to begin with. If this sentiment resonates with you, you may be interested in learning how to use oracle cards, the simpler-to-read cousin of tarot. The main difference between the two is that a tarot deck is based on a fixed system and typically includes a set of 78 cards, each with its traditional meaning. Oracle decks, which are also used as an intuitive divination tool, don’t necessarily follow a set structure. The creator and artist of each oracle deck selects all the details, including the theme, imagery, number of cards, and the meanings of each of the cards. There are decks featuring archetypes, spirit animals, angels, and affirmations, such as Gabrielle Bernstein’s The Universe Has Your Back deck. While the artwork and meaning options are essentially endless, the best part is that these meanings are usually written out for you right there are on the card, which makes extracting wisdom so much simpler. “Oracle decks support emotional and spiritual health by attuning the user to their intuition and a deeper inner knowing.” —Aarona Lea Pichinson, founder of The Moon Deck Oracle cards can be just as effective as tarot cards at providing guidance and clarity; easing fear and
The 8 under $1 items to always buy in the produce aisle
March 11, 2020 at 02:00AM by CWC Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean stocking your pantry with hoards of pricey goods. Spirulina and hemp seeds are great, but you don’t really need them to create healthy meals. In reality, grocery shopping shouldn’t break the bank at all because nutritious options that do your body good can simply mean taking advantage of all the cheap produce finds that are $1 or less. According to Brittany Modell, RD, founder of Brittany Modell Nutrition and Wellness, one of the biggest misconceptions about healthy eating is that it’s expensive. In reality, all you need to do is shop smart and build your meals around the affordable produce that’s available at almost every grocery store. Most of what you’ll find costs cents, not dollars, whether you’re getting a sweet potato for dinner or a banana for an afternoon snack. “When shopping for fresh produce on a budget, look for sales that are going on in the store, don’t buy the convenient pre-cut veggies (the whole vegetables and fruits are always less expensive!), buy produce that’s in season, and check out your local farmers’ market,” she says. “There are also several different companies that sell ‘imperfect’ fruits and vegetables at a discounted price. For example, Misfits Markets sells fruits and vegetables up to 40 percent less than normal grocery stores.” The next time you go grocery shopping, keep these low-cost fruit and veggie options in mind. You’ll be able to build delicious and healthy meals for
Running on your toes can make you faster—here’s what you need to know
March 11, 2020 at 01:00AM by CWC There are infinite reasons why people run, but in terms of getting the miles marked off, it’s a fairly simple strategy: One foot in front of the other. While most people tend to have the same form while running, there are some variations. Some people heel strike, others are mid-foot runners, and there are even those who find themselves running on their toes. According to Juan Delgado, a sports scientist and bio-mechanist with New York Sports Science Lab, roughly 80 percent of runners are rear-foot runners (AKA heel strikers), while 15 percent are midfoot runners, and the rest are forefoot runners. If you’re in the special group that toe runs, you’re going to have more power when you’re hitting the pavement. Forefoot or toe running involves contacting the ground with the ball of your foot, or your metatarsals, while your heel contacts the ground afterwards, explains Delgado. “It’s mostly used when long distance or faster speeds are needed because the faster you get, the more difficult it is to actually heel strike,” he says. The opposite running form, or heel running, slows you down. “When you heel-strike, you’re essentially braking against your body’s momentum,” says Steve Stonehouse, a coach and director of education for Stride. “You’re forcing your body to work harder than it has to. Mid-foot and toe-strike running allows your body to use the force and momentum that you’re creating to your advantage.” This is because if you’re landing in the
How Black women have historically used yoga as a tool for healing
March 11, 2020 at 12:00AM by CWC Studies prove that anxiety, stress, depression, heart disease, and other ailments affect Black people disproportionately compared to other ethnic groups, but the statistics rise alarmingly when it comes to the health of Black women. Because of the many external and internal social stressors—racism, sexism, socio-economic issues—Black women do not have space to accurately practice self-care in a way that is safe and fulfilling for them. Now with wellness becoming a trillion-dollar industry, many Black women have come to create spaces that are inclusive and safe, particularly when it comes to yoga. There are trap yoga studios, hip-hop yoga studios, and platforms—like Black Girl In Om— that cater to women of color. There is a new generation of Black women who are taking the lessons from the women before them and redefining their ideas of wellness in innovative ways. But this isn’t a new phenomenon; there is a reason why Black women have been increasingly turning to yoga since its popular emergence in the 1970s. Yoga has a complicated history with race and appropriation, and much of today’s imagery still centers around that of a white woman in an asana, or meditative posture, but Black women’s reliance on the practice as a healing tool goes back decades. In a 1975 Ebony article, “Yoga: Something For Everyone,” writer Stanley Williford addressed the relatively new phenomenon, where an increasing number of African-Americans were turning to yoga as a meditative practice, to retain lucidity and heal from the injustices that ailed them. Krishna Kaur, a Black pioneer in Kundalini
Feeling stressed? ‘Safety signals’ might help your brain better cope in the moment
March 10, 2020 at 11:00PM by CWC We’ve all experienced it before: visualizing a beach or a mountain vista to calm your nerves before a big presentation at work, or you reach into your pocket to feel the soothing weight of a crystal when the person in front of you at your coffee shop starts arguing with the barista. It’s legitimately comforting to see or touch something familiar during a tense or stressful situation. According to recent research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), these comforting cues (formally known as “safety signals”) aren’t just placebo; they have a very real impact on our ability to find calm in stress-inducing situations. Simply put, “safety signals are stimuli in the environment that represent safety,” says Paola Odriozola, a PhD candidate in psychology at Yale University and co-first author of the December 2019 PNAS study. “A safety signal could be a piece of music, a person, or an item—like a stuffed animal for a child—that represents the absence of threat.” These safety signals essentially serve as a tangible reminder for us to calm down during a stressful event. Previous research on the subject has found that, in rats at least, the presence of a comforting safety signal inhibited the traditional stress response from the brain, which allowed the rats to be more social even in uncontrollably stressful situations. Though more research will confirm which types of real-world safety signals are most
The best foundation application tools to use depending on how much coverage you want
March 10, 2020 at 10:30PM by CWC Sephora sells more than 100 different foundation brushes and sponges. And there is no right or wrong tool to use when it comes to applying your foundation, it all comes down to your personal preference. But Boston-based makeup artist Jeannie Vincent says the tool you use can impact the amount of coverage you get. “Different tools have different porosity which leads to varying results,” says Vincent. “For example, a sponge absorbs more than a brush does.” The tool you use can help you manipulate the formula to get the type of coverage you want—to an extent. “The tool has a medium effect on the coverage level,” says Vincent. A watery skin tint will never give you all full-on beat no matter what tool you use, but you can play with the products you have to make them closer to what you want depending on the day. The best foundation application tools for each level of coverage 1. For lighter coverage Both Vincent and Neil Scibelli, a makeup artist in New York City, say a makeup sponge like the Beautyblender ($20) is perfect for light coverage. “You can really diffuse the coverage, and create a sheer finish,” says Scibelli. Vincent says to use a damp sponge, and that the sponge will help to absorb “to achieve a lighter coverage, use a damp Beautyblender or makeup sponge to apply foundation. The sponge will help to absorb a bit of the product. 2. For medium coverage For medium
Stretch, strengthen, and stabilize tight shoulders with IYT stretches
March 10, 2020 at 10:00PM by CWC Your shoulders are often the unintended victims of a long day at the office. Hovering over your laptop for hours on end can cause a serious slump in your posture, which leads to all sorts of problems—not the least of which is discomfort. “Our bodies are in a forward head position and our shoulders are hunched over, which causes our back muscles to get weak and stretched out while our front muscles get very tight and strong,” says Phaeleau Cunneen, PT, a New York City physical therapist. Because of this, it’s important to do back-targeting exercises to help balance out your strength. Enter the IYT stretch series, which targets your middle and lower trapezius and infraspinatus—aka the muscles around your shoulders—to help strengthen and stabilize them. This, in effect, will help un-scrunch your body from all the hours spent hovered over your computer. And the best part? You can pretty much do it anywhere. How to do the IYT stretch series for your shoulders Lying flat on your stomach on top either a ball, a bench, or—yup—your bed, position your body so that your head is slightly dangling off to the side. You can do the exercise either with or without weights, depending on the strength of your shoulders. Then, cycle through each movement until your arms or shoulders start to feel fatigued, at which point you’ll move on to the next. To get the most out of the series, focus on lifting