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,
Tag: Media
Why ‘no’ is the single most important word when it comes to dealing with anxiety
August 22, 2019 at 08:59PM by CWC When it comes to quelling anxiety, ideas for different strategies abound; there are books, balms, blankets, and beyond. But according to Kristen Bell, an advocate for mental-health realness, one of the best, simplest, and most effective ways to self-soothe just requires two small letters. In her keynote speech at last week’s Mindbody Bold Conference, Bell shared that the power of saying no more often has been a saving grace to her as she navigates the struggles with anxiety and depression. “I realized that my codependency was so crippling that I couldn’t say no to people,” she said. “So what I’ve been doing this month is practicing saying no to people in a very kind way.” But that certain doesn’t mean prioritizing boundaries and becoming a no person is an easy thing to do, especially for those who struggle with anxiety. “Perception is heavily tied in with anxiety,” says psychotherapist Jennifer Silvershein, LCSW. “So often an individual may fear that by saying no it will give the wrong impression or reflect badly on them. I teach my clients that saying no is a sign of respect for ourselves—it says, ‘I know my boundaries and I’m going to honor them.’” ad_intervals[‘417563_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘417563_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); “Saying no is a sign of respect for ourselves—it says, ‘I know my boundaries and I’m going to honor them.’” —psychotherapist Jennifer Silvershein, LCSW Beyond saying no more often being a powerful
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
Checks+Balanced: How going back to school for a career shift affects a 29-year-old’s wellness budget
August 19, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC Even in a world where questions about menstrual cups and the ins and outs of sex are completely (and blessedly) normal, somehow the ever-ubiquitous use of money remains a touchy subject for many. People want to live their healthiest life ever, but—#realtalk—it can add up. Have you ever wondered how your colleague who makes less than you do (or so you think) can afford to buy a $5 matcha and a $12 chopped salad every day? Or how your friend’s budget allows her to hit up $34 fitness classes three times a week? It’s enough to make anyone want to ask, “Ummm, excuse me. How do you afford that?!?” That’s where Well+Good’s monthly series Checks+Balanced comes in. By lifting the thick, tightly drawn curtain to expose how much women of varying income brackets spend on wellness, we’re spreading transparency and hopefully providing some inspo that’s possible to copy. Because no matter how much you make, it’s possible to cultivate healthy habits that work within your budget. This month, meet Madelana, a 29-year-old living in New Jersey who’s in the midst of a career change from media to becoming a chef. Scaling back her full-time client services job to part-time in order to attend culinary school led her to cut back on expenses, but living healthy remains a priority even while she’s budgeting for school. In fact, her whole Instagram account, @itscalledbalance, is devoted to her wellness philosophy. Keep reading to see her spending habits. Here, a 29-year-old living in New Jersey shares how
Finally getting off shared streaming accounts post-breakup is the ultimate form of modern closure
August 18, 2019 at 08:00AM by CWC It finally happened. I logged into “my” Hulu account, (it’s technically my ex’s account, but I had a profile of my own on it), only to find that the name on my profile had been changed to “Lee2.” My issues with the finding are two-fold: 1. Lack of originality for the profile name (his name is Lee), and 2. the unavoidable realization of Lee’s obvious efforts to hide from someone that I, his ex, am still using his Hulu account. (It did not occur to me at the time to be grateful that he didn’t unceremoniously kick me off by doing something so heartless as change the password, but rest assured, I’ve since noted that reality, which only adds another layer of curiosity to the other two issues, TBH.) So naturally, I lightly digitally stalked him to do a bit of recon regarding his clear new life updates. And right there, clear as day, I found his Facebook status: In. A. Relationship. I realized then that I was clinging to a subconscious (and highly irrational) hope that the Hulu name change came about as a result of him watching TV with his new girlfriend, and when they pulled up Hulu, my name was right there in her face. Why I still wanted this semblance of an upper hand despite having no relationship to speak of, I couldn’t tell you. But all signs pointed to me having unresolved feelings for my ex—and without my
Checks+Balanced: How going back to school for a career shift affects a 29-year-old’s wellness budget
August 12, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC Even in a world where questions about menstrual cups and the ins and outs of sex are completely (and blessedly) normal, somehow the ever-ubiquitous use of money remains a touchy subject for many. People want to live their healthiest life ever, but—#realtalk—it can add up. Have you ever wondered how your colleague who makes less than you do (or so you think) can afford to buy a $5 matcha and a $12 chopped salad every day? Or how your friend’s budget allows her to hit up $34 fitness classes three times a week? It’s enough to make anyone want to ask, “Ummm, excuse me. How do you afford that?!?” That’s where Well+Good’s monthly series Checks+Balanced comes in. By lifting the thick, tightly drawn curtain to expose how much women of varying income brackets spend on wellness, we’re spreading transparency and hopefully providing some inspo that’s possible to copy. Because no matter how much you make, it’s possible to cultivate healthy habits that work within your budget. ad_intervals[‘401626_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘401626_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); This month, meet Madelana, a 29-year-old living in New Jersey who’s in the midst of a career change from media to becoming a chef. Scaling back her full-time client services job to part-time in order to attend culinary school led her to cut back on expenses, but living healthy remains a priority even while she’s budgeting for school. In fact, her whole Instagram account, @itscalledbalance, is devoted to her wellness philosophy. Keep reading to
6 genius hacks that make your beauty products last *forever*
August 11, 2019 at 02:01AM by CWC After doing your research, heading to the store, and spending your hard-earned cash on beauty products, you’ll want to you get the most for your money. And if you really fall in love, you’ll want to make it last forever. Luckily, there are a few hacks to make sure you always get the most out of your favorite products. While it’s tempting to just add water, makeup artist Jeannie Vincent explains that’s a huge no-no.”You should never add water to a product to make it last longer,” she explains. Such a “hack” can introduce bacteria. To learn the right way to stretch the life of your best beauty buys, keep on scrolling. Hack your way to longer-lasting beauty products 1. Use the back of your hand to apply At the end of the fourth episode of the latest season of Queer Eye, hair stylist and beauty expert Jonathan Van Ness shows us the best way to apply liquid products like moisturizer and foundation. Take your product, put some on the back of your hand, then dab it on your face and rub in, he explains. “That way, you’re wasting excess product on your hands,” Van Ness says. ad_intervals[‘413183_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘413183_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); 2. Repurpose broken blush If you drop your favorite blush and it shatters, makeup artist Mary Irwin recommends crushing what’s left of your blush into powder, putting it into a little container, and
Can you ‘fake it til you make it’ when it comes to personality traits?
August 09, 2019 at 04:01PM by CWC It’s been a summer of not-enough-Netflixing, so forgive me if I’m still hung up on Alway Be My Maybe. Months after watching the rom-com, my stand-out moment is—well, it’s slow-mo Keanu Reeves, you can’t deny that kind of elegance in movement. But, okay, my second stand out moment is when Marcus calls out Sasha for using her heightened and pretentious “phone voice.” “You know, that voice you use on the phone,” Marcus says. “‘Brilliant!’ ‘Excellent as always!’ ‘Ta-ta, Julian!’” It cuts me to the core because I’ve absolutely adopted a “phone voice” in order to conduct interviews. If I couldn’t fake being friendly or jovial with sources I would’ve ended my career… well, I probably would’ve never started my career in the first place. Even when the conversations are lovely and engaging (which they always are, of course), I feel exhausted by the performance. But I know I’m in good company. As one recent Reddit thread points out, people fake everything from confidence and impartiality to intelligence and ambitiousness. ad_intervals[‘413930_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘413930_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); My question is, does that even work? And more to the point, are there some traits that are easier to fake than others? “Research shows that the whole, ‘fake it till you make it,’ thing does actually work in some cases,” says psychologist Paulette Sherman, PsyD, and author of Dating from the Inside Out. You already kind of know this because
7 easy foil packet recipes that spare you a sink full of dishes
August 07, 2019 at 05:02AM by CWC Even as someone who doesn’t spend a wealth of time in the kitchen, I can see how cooking can be therapeutic. Meditatively chopping veggies, breathing in the aroma of spices as the food sizzles, and of course savoring each bite once the meal is on the table. But unless your a full-on Monica from Friends, there’s nothing therapeutic about tackling a sink full of dishes. In fact, it’s stressful, if anything. And that goes double if you’re having a barbecue; scrubbing the grill after a fun cookout is a major buzzkill.This is exactly why I’m a big fan of foil packet recipes. This method of cooking is exactly what it sounds like—you throw everything you’re working with into a foil packet, sparing a pan from getting covered in hard-to-clean cooking juices. Pop it in the oven, and a Netflix episode later, dinner is done. The cooking method works for fish, meat, veggies—anything really. ad_intervals[‘413307_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘413307_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’);}); } }, 100); For a more sustainable twist on foil packet recipes, use parchment paper, which does the same job, but can be recycled right along in your paper trash. (All the recipes below can be adapted to use it.) Keep reading to see a roundup of dinner recipes, all of which utilize the foil packet cooking method. Then, daydream about how you’re going to spend that dishes-free 30 minutes of your night you just got back. 7 easy foil
A 107-year-old woman says the secret to long life is being single forever
August 02, 2019 at 12:21PM by CWC Is the key to living a long life… solitude? Bronx resident Louise Signore, 107, credits her longevity to the fact that she’s held on to her status as an independent woman. “I think the secret of 107: I never got married. I think that’s the secret,” she told CNN affiliate WBCS. I’m getting some serious Cher-circa-1996 vibes right now (a man is like dessert—not necessary). Signore is an icon. Basically, the centenarian’s relationship advice: don’t. Signore also exercises regularly, eats healthy, and plays Bingo, which obviously factors into her overall health. But I’m choosing to narrow the focus to the benefits of being single. There’s actually research to suggest myriad advantages to a life of solitude. (I swear I’m not just saying this to make myself feel better.) One study found that marital stress can be a precursor to depression. Unsociability can also help you be more creative, as you have more time to be introspective. I’m taking this as permission to retreat to my couch and watch Netflix instead of going on a date. Also, as I’ve previously discussed, sleeping alone is simply the best. (Though the science is a little torn on whether or not people who sleep alone sleep better—to which I say, you do you.) However, if being alone scares you, you’re not… well, alone. A recent study found that people would rather give themselves an electric shock than be alone with their thoughts. ad_intervals[‘412763_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if