October 23, 2019 at 06:09PM by CWC We all know that apples, toast, chocolate, celery, and bananas are just a few foods made better when smothered in the silky-smooth goodness that is peanut butter. But not in my wildest dreams had I considered carrot peanut butter as a spread to make everything more delicious. Carrot peanut butter is a delightfully weird combination. Trust me, everyone absolutely loves the signature recipe from Miraval Arizona Resort & Spa. The hype is strong not just because it’s a lighter that but also because it’s even better for your body. Peanut butter alone gives you a hefty dose of plant-based protein at 7 grams per two tablespoon serving, as well as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and other important nutrients. And when you blend in carrots, you’ll get some natural sweetness and extra health benefits to boot. “Carrots are terrific for you. For one, they help your vision: A cup of chopped carrots lands at more than the daily value for vitamin A, which is an important nutrient for your eyes,” says Amy Gorin, MS, RDN, owner of Amy Gorin Nutrition in the New York City area. “The orange gems also help keep you fuller for longer. In that one cup of carrots, you get a good amount of fiber—which, in addition to helping to keep you satiated, can be beneficial for your cholesterol.” Making this famous Carrot Peanut Butter recipe is simple. You just need carrots, peanut butter, and a food processor or blender. Then
Category: Your Regeneration
The most common fitness mistakes that stand in the way of getting the results you want
October 23, 2019 at 05:21PM by CWC Cycling, yoga, Pilates, and barre—with all the boutique fitness classes on the market, you may have forgotten that classic lifts, like lunges, squats, bench press, and curls, can work magic for your muscles. But when left to your own devices, fitness becomes tougher to navigate and harder to plan for, which can lead you to wonder why you’re not getting stronger from all of the hard work you’re putting in. “You can build a pretty incredible workout from basic gym staples,” says Flywheel instructor and director of talent operations Alex Robinson. “In fact, classic multi-joint compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and lunges are replete with benefits such as increased joint stability, decreased risk of injury, ability to lift heavier and stimulate hypertrophy, time efficiency, and swift body recomposition. However, if you’re not performing them with precision and perfect posture, you likely won’t see the results you’re expecting from these classic movements. That’s why it’s so important to check yourself even while performing what may seem to be the most basic workout. To help ensure that you lift with care, ahead you’ll learn all the overall mistakes you and how to fix them. Mistake #1: Skipping the warmup All it takes is a few minutes before your workout to adequately warm up your muscles and prepare them for explosive movements and sustained output. Skipping this essential step can leave your muscles tight and prone to injury when your actual workout begins. The fix: Perform
A spirit guide’s 3-step hack to help you hear what your intuition is really telling you
October 23, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC Selena Gomez not-so-famously proclaims in her not-so-famous 2010 song, “Intuition,” Sometimes it’s just gets so confusing / Feel like I don’t know what I’m doing / But I trust in my heart and in the end / It turns out to be better than when it begins. She was on to something (even if not so many listeners got the message): Intuition is, by definition, a way of receiving information without conscious reasoning that can guide us toward positive people and things and away from the negative. The thing is, while our ancient ancestors relied on their inner knowing to, say, safeguard them from tiger ambushes and the like, modern society has made knowing how to trust your intuition a lot harder—and less socially acceptable. “The patriarchal system has created the idea that if it’s not logical, it’s nonsense,” says spiritual guide and healer Shaman Durek, author of Spirit Hacking. “We’re inundated with distractions, and we’ve moved away from that feminine aspect that holds the intuition—our ability to sense beyond our senses and know beyond our knowing.” But, Durek adds, intuition is something we all have within us, even if we don’t use it very often. The trick to connecting with it more closely? Getting out of your head and feeling into your body. Durek refers to this process of learning to trust your intuition as “calibrating your internal navigation system,” or INS for short. “Ancient shamans—who happened to be women—utilized this technique as
Skin thirsty? Squalane is the ‘Big Gulp’ of moisturizers for dry complexions
October 23, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC Hyaluronic acid is like the popular girl in school—the captain of the skin-care cheer squad, if you will. But as if plucked from a throwback cheer movie of your choosing: Another hydrating ingredient is giving it a run for its place in your skin squad, looking for v-i-c-t-o-r-y for your complexion. That ingredient is squalane. Like hyaluronic acid, squalene (its base compound) is naturally made within your our bodies. “Squalene is a lipid in our sebum produced naturally by our own bodies,” says Liana Cutrone, a skin therapist with Heyday. Also like hyaluronic acid, it tends to diminish within your body as you age—which is why it’s a good addition to your skin-care products. In skin-care formulations, squalene originally came from shark liver oil, which is obviously frowned upon for its sourcing. You can get it from plants, though—Cutrone points out that common sources include amaranth seed, rice bran, and wheat germs. Naissan Wesley, MD, FACMS, a board-certified dermatologist in Los Angeles, adds that you can also find it from extra virgin olive oil. But squalene “must often be hydrogenated first to give it stability,” she says—because it’s not particularly stable on it’s own. Squalane, however, is completely hydrogenated squalene, which is why it’s more common on skin-care shelves. “Squalane is more commonly used as it’s typically more stable in products,” says Cutrone. The reason you can find it on every shelf? It’s super hydrating and calming on skin. “Squalane and squalene act
Feeling stressed? Try these Ayurvedic techniques to get back in a calmer headspace
October 23, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC For wellness expert, writer, and cook Mira Manek, Ayurveda—a holistic medicine and wellness practice from India—played a major role in her upbringing. From doing yoga with her grandmother to eating foods best suited for her dosha, it was just simply how she lived. Here in the U.S., Ayurveda isn’t quite as well-known among the mainstream population, and when it does come up, it’s most mostly in the context of food. The wellness-obsessed cook uses Ayurvedic spices, for example, and maybe washes down their food with lukewarm water. But as Manek discusses in her book, Prajna: Ayurvedic Rituals For Happiness ($18), Ayurveda is a holistic lifestyle, with a lot more to offer than just helpful tips on how to eat. In fact, Ayurvedic practices can be especially helpful when managing stress, Manek says. (Surprised? You shouldn’t be.) Here, she shares her tips on how to use Ayurveda to feel more peaceful—even when your to-do list seems miles long. Next time you’re stressed, try these Ayurvedic lifestyle practices: 1. Take a deep breath Ever heard the advice that deep breathing can help quell anxious feelings? It stems from Ayurveda. “‘Prana-yama’ means the stop or control of the breath,” Manek explains. “It’s a set of breathing techniques that regulates the frequency and depth of the breath, falling into both yoga practice and meditation.” If you feel stressed or anxious, Manek recommends slowing the breath down and holding it for a few seconds before exhaling. “You could
The case for being okay with being bad at things
October 23, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC I’m kind of a quitter. In middle school, I quit choir because I’m not a good singer. Quickly thereafter, I quit the violin because I’m—wait for it—bad at playing the violin. In high school, I quit soccer and track, and I bet you can now guess why. Throughout my life, I’ve grown skilled at knowing when to throw in the towel on pursuits that seem to be not much more than imminent dead ends. Being bad at something makes me want to stop immediately, and even if I stick with it, it’s with a begrudging attitude—just ask my trainer, who is forced to ignore my whines whenever he instructs me to run or do push-ups. But does only sticking with endeavors at which you excel preclude you from accessing a magical feeling akin to a runner’s high that comes with improvement and growth? Or when you feel like quitting, is it okay to go that route? After all, if something doesn’t make you happy, why shouldn’t you just find the thing that can be your thing? Well, when it comes to being big-time awful in any given pursuit, there are benefits to reap from simply leaning in and letting yourself be awful. “None of us is good at everything, so if you want to really love and respect yourself, you have to be comfortable being bad at some things,” says therapist Aimee Daramus, PsyD. In practice, though, being okay with mediocrity, or even
6 interval running workouts to help you break through physical and mental barriers
October 23, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC Whether you adore running or despise it, discovering interval training for the first time can feel straight-up serendipitous. After all, the number one complaint about pounding pavement is usually that it’s “so boring.” But that just isn’t the case with interval running, which keeps your body guessing mile after mile. “Interval running pushes your body to work through short bursts of tough efforts and to recover within a restricted amount of time. Then, it recruiting the body (and mind!!) to push you to that tough spot again,” says Melissa Wolfe, a coach at New York City’s Mile High Run Club. “The perception of tough efforts may be created using speed, hills, ratio of work to recovery, or a combination of those things.” “Interval running pushes your body to work through short bursts of tough efforts and to recover within a restricted amount of time. Then, it recruiting the body (and mind!!) to push you to that tough spot again.” —Melissa Wolfe, coach at Mile High Run Club On a physical level, interval-style workouts work head-to-toe magic. “Cardiovascular function improves, post-workout metabolism increases for an extended amount of time, muscle fibers build resiliency and quicker response, and you’ll experience increased endurance both aerobically and anaerobically. Simply put, interval training is an effective way to build your body’s tolerance to the demands of your goals—regardless of whether they’re distance, time, or overall fitness-based,” explains the runner. Those bodily benefits may be enticing enough to convince you
‘Inside Out’ inspired me to anthropomorphize my sadness to regain self-control
October 23, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC I’ve been feeding the void the past few months. Though I’m aware that reads as equal parts scary and sexual, it really just means I’ve using retail therapy to get me through a rough time. And while I’m a big advocate of the “treat yo’self” way of living, I recently caught myself veering into dangerously extra territory. When I caught myself thinking, You know what this bedroom needs? A Victorian fainting couch, I knew it was time to come up with a new emotional detachment strategy for self-soothing. Because void feeding ain’t cheap. Enter: A study recently published in the Society for Consumer Psychology that takes a cue from 2015’s Inside Out. The Pixar film examines how the psychological process of emotional detachment can ease your sadness…and help you make better choices. To that point, the study concluded that when you anthropomorphize your sadness, regarding it as an entity rather than just as an emotion, you’re less likely to make impulsive, void-feeding decisions. To test this, the researchers had one group of study participants write about sad experiences and instructed another group to anthropomorphize their sadness by writing about it as if it were a person. Both groups were then asked to select a side dish—salad or cheesecake—to accompany their lunch, and participants who anthropomorphized their sadness were more likely to end up on team salad. Of course, there’s no harm in enjoying cheesecake, but the results do make the case that by
These Native American runners are transforming their mental health, one mile at a time
October 23, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC The first time Sarah Agaton Howes laced up her sneakers and decided to go for a jog, she was admittedly self-conscious. Running wasn’t something she saw anyone doing on the reservation where she lived in northern Minnesota—or any reservation that she knew of, really. But she wanted her life to change—and this was the first step. It was her doctor who had suggested running. Howes’s daughter had died a year and a half before, and what followed was the deepest depression she had ever experienced. In the midst of her pain, she gained over a hundred pounds. Her doctor warned that if she didn’t change her sedentary lifestyle, she was at risk of becoming diabetic. “I had a new baby, and I didn’t want him to grow up watching me in the place where I was, both physically and mentally,” Howes says. So she decided to run. She didn’t get very far that first time, but Howes kept running and even signed up for a 5K. “I came in dead last,” Howes says. But it didn’t matter, especially when she saw her husband and son cheering her on at the finish line. “I felt victorious for the first time in a long time,” she says. The sight of an indigenous woman crossing a finish line is a powerful one. Headlines about Native Americans and mental health typically highlight the obstacles, not the victories—Native American populations have higher rates of domestic abuse and opioid use;
These are the best exercises for your glutes—and there’s not a squat in sight
October 23, 2019 at 12:00AM by CWC Squats are a sure-fire way to make your glutes burn. There’s no denying that. I mean, you can feel your muscles working every single time you lower down and raise back up. With that being said, dropping it low over and over again can get a little boring after a while, so it never hurts to switch things up. Some of the best exercises for glutes don’t include a single squat. If you’re dealing with a major case of squat fatigue (same!), there are plenty of other ways to give your booty just as great of a workout. Whether you’re into glute bridges or donkey kicks, these are some of the best exercises to do when you need a break from squats. The 8 best exercises for glutes that aren’t squats [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPM8icPu6H8] 1. GLUTE BRIDGE Lie on your back with your knees over your ankles and lower back firmly pressed into the mat. Lift your hips, keeping your core and glutes engaged, and pause at the top. Lower your hips down and kiss the ground before lifting back up again. Repeat. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtHxnWmMgzM] 2. Single-leg deadlift Standing on your right leg, slowly lift your left leg in the air behind you as you hinge forward. Keep a straight back and reach your hands toward the ground in front of you. Return to your starting position and repeat 10 to 12 times before switching to the opposite leg. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxP-j7nOlIY] 3. TABLE TOP WITH