November 10, 2019 at 12:00AM by CWC No one ever really masters a yoga pose. Even the greats still make tiny tweaks to strengthen their practices, and for many, learning how to close the rib cage is one of those. Despite consistent cues from instructors, it’s not always so easy in practice. Tucking in your ribs is code for “engage your core,” says Lindsay Pirozzi of New York City’s Y7 studio. “It’s important to knit or close the lower ribs together to help lengthen the spin and also take the curves out of the lumbar (lower) and thoracic (upper) spine,” she says. “Drawing the ribs closer together activates your core muscles and protects your spine health.” John Kasten, dancer, gymnast, and co-founder of The Beta Way, agrees. “The ‘ribs in’ cue is what I use to help people stay aware of keeping their core contracted,” he says. According to the two movement experts, the tendency to flare the ribs happens most commonly in handstand (which is done in CrossFit and other strengthening regimens apart from yoga), mountain pose, chair pose, high lunge, Warrior II, and goddess squat. So when you’re in any of these poses, you’ll want to pay special attention to the state of your mid-section. Pirozzi recommends teaching your body what the proper movement pattern feels like. “What helps my students the most is to feel it out of alignment first, to flare the ribs by sticking out the chest in an exaggerated fashion, then feel the difference when you
Tag: Well+Good
An astrologer’s 7 tips to keep your love life safe during Mercury retrograde
November 09, 2019 at 10:00PM by CWC Mercury being in retrograde can spell disaster in all kind of arenas, like communication, technology, and getting from point A to point B. (Pro tip: hold off booking that trip to Paris). But what about Mercury retrograde relationships and dating effects—since the pursuit of love is an endeavor that often encompasses many of those aforementioned no-nos? “Mercury retrograde is a time when we turn more inward to reflect on our lives and review past decisions,” says astrologer Rachel Lang. “Because of this, relationships can be a bit more challenged than usual, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid them altogether. In fact, there are key opportunities for self-discovery and personal growth during Mercury retrograde. And in relationships, we do some of our most significant personal development.” So, if you’re jonesing to date during this Mercury retrograde, or any future ones, do so mindfully using Lang’s following seven tips. Have your Mercury retrograde relationships, and keep them healthy, too, with these 7 tips. 1. Be cautious with exes Don’t be surprised if a former love interest comes back into your life. Maybe an ex will call you out of the blue, or you’ll run into a former crush on a coffee run. You’ll feel the urge to reconnect, but that’s not necessarily the reason they’re returning to your sphere. “Often, those encounters mean there’s some unfinished business or some aspect of that relationship you haven’t fully integrated yet,” Lang says. “Ask yourself: What does
Ahiflower oil is yet another plant-based answer to fish oil—but it’s not perfect
November 09, 2019 at 08:00PM by CWC Sussing out the differences between all of the supplements that are on the market is an undertaking, to say the least. Not only are hundreds of options on the market (as anyone who has wandered the vitamin aisle at Whole Foods knows), but there is also a host of conflicting information available in terms of what will work best for you and your lifestyle. One thing you can bet on? Fatty acids (think: omega-3s) need to be a part of your regimen. As practically any expert would tell you, fatty acids are crucial for optimal brain health, fighting inflammation, and promoting skin health. While there are certain food sources that contain various types of omega-3s, the territory becomes a bit stickier if you adhere to a vegan lifestyle. After all, popular fatty acid sources include fish oil supplements, as well as non-vegan foods like salmon and herring. But one trending supplement, ahiflower oil, could be the plant-based answer you’ve been waiting for. Several companies, from Clean Machine to Source Naturals, are touting the supplement as a sustainable, vegan alternative. But is it as good for your health as the fishy original? Here, Whitney English, MS, RDN, a dietitian and certified personal trainer in Los Angeles, weighs in on ahiflower, including what it is and how it will (or won’t) benefit your vegan diet. What is ahiflower? Ahiflower oil is derived from the corn gromwell plant (Buglossoides arvensis), a flowering plant that English says
Straddle flexibility is the spine-elongating, hip flexor-opening strength you need
November 09, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC Sitting for most of the day keeps your hips in a tight, compact position. Which is why “straddle flexibility,” aka the ability to lengthen your hip adductors and open your hip flexors, is really, really important. Although most people think of straddle flexibility as the bendy ability to drop down and do the splits, there’s a whole lot more to it than that. “Straddle flexibility is important because the hip adductors, or inner thighs, tend to be shortened because of the amount of time we spend sitting,” says Lara Heimann, PT, physical therapist and yoga pro. All of that sitting also leads to a ton of tension and tightness, which can then make you more prone to injury. “This flexibility provides decreased tension in the back, legs, and hips,” says Tianna Strateman, VP of education at Club Pilates. “The hips especially tend to carry a lot of stress and tension, so stretching decreases injuries, aches, and pains.” Besides hip tightness, straddle flexibility helps with a better posture, and makes it easier for you to strengthen your core. “Increased straddle flexibility can help with spine mobility and allow for core development, and it can assist with better spinal alignment on top of the pelvis working towards a neutral spine and pelvis,” says Strateman, adding that it also lets you have lateral rotation in the hips (key for us who spend the majority of our time in a parallel position). The good news is that, though
Our skin has a memory—here’s what that means for your complexion
November 09, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC Your skin has a memory. Those five words have the potential to completely change the way you think about your largest organ. New research suggests that our stem cells (unspecified cells in the body that have the ability to divide and grow into many different types of cells) keep track of wound responses like inflammation to better protect against upcoming attacks and essentially optimize them for future instances of inflammation. While a separate animal study even found that a wound on the skin of a mouse healed 2.5 times quicker when that spot was again injured. When you consider that pretty much everything you do to your skin either creates or calms inflammation, this is a big deal. Case in point: The fact that your skin has memory may help anyone dealing with inflammatory responses like psoriasis understand why their cells seem to be caught in a feedback loop for no clear reason. It could shed light as to why second and third laser treatments require less downtime than the first. And in the shocker of all shockers: It could once-and-for-all account for why your beloved serum works so much better when you pick it up a month after your last use. “Believe it or not, our skin has a memory and a pretty good one,” says Marc Ronert, MD, a plastic surgeon and founder of Hush & Hush, a brand of ingestibles that offer antioxidants and anti-inflammatories to lessen the incidence of environmentally
Brunch is served in just 20 minutes with these delicious ‘sheet pan pancakes’
November 09, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC I’ve never met a pancake I didn’t like. If I could skip the whole process of waiting for them to cook flipping them with a spatula, however, I would in a heartbeat. That’s where sheet pan pancakes come in. All an at-home chef has to do is spread normal pancake batter onto a sheet pan and pop it in the preheated oven. Brunch is served 20 minutes later. Although the exact (genius) inventor of sheet pan pancakes remains unknown, I first caught wind of the dish from vegan blogger Nisha Vora of Rainbow Plant Life. Even though she prepares her breakfast confections with zero animal products, there’s a pancake to fit every eating style and diet. So grab a sheet pan because your griddle gets the weekend off. How to make sheet pan pancakes vegetarian: WHOLE WHEAT GINGERBREAD PANCAKES Gingerbread season usually gets reserved for the end of the year, but if you ask me, the flavor really deserves to be eaten year round. The molasses in these pancakes give them a heartier consistency that’s made for breakfast in bed. Ketogenic Diet: BERRY, BERRY PANCAKES Although carbohydrates mostly get booted from the keto diet, you can still experience that fluffy, starch-like feel in the morning. This recipe uses sour cream, almond, and coconut flour to make dense sheet pan pancakes you can freeze and eat all week. Mediterranean diet: GREEK YOGURT PANCAKES Get all the protein greek yogurt has to offer in a
Furniture and home decor rental services are here to make moving suck less
November 09, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC There has never, in the history of the human language, been a conversation about moving that has not involved at least one person proclaiming that moving is the “woooooooooorst.” But honestly, it’s true. Packing up your entire life into a bunch of boxes and schlepping them to a different location, only to have to unpack them with Tetris-level skill to fit into your new space is a particular kind of exhausting (and not to mention, expensive) hell. Then, there’s the issue of decorating, which can deplete your bank account faster than you can say, “I should have hired movers.” Lately, though, a new crop of companies has emerged to make the moving experience slightly less terrible by allowing you to rent furniture and decor. Instead of pouring $1,000 into a couch that will only serve you until your lease is up, or a set of shams that you’ll get sick of after a year, you can now treat yourself to temporary home goods that you can get rid of the minute they stop serving you. Considering millennials are moving more than ever before—in its most recent survey, the United States Census Bureau found that between 2007 and 2012, millennials accounted for about 24 percent of the total U.S. population, but made up over 43 percent of all movers—it makes sense that this type of no-commitment home decor has become increasingly popular. Add to that the fact that far fewer millennials are buying homes
Is lab-grown coffee the new lab-grown meat? Experts aren’t convinced
November 09, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC While many people are still debating the merits of lab-grown meat—aka meat grown in a lab through cultured cells from animals—most experts agree on one point: anything that cuts down on factory farming is a win in the sustainability department. So logically, it would make sense to apply the “lab-grown” methods to other products we consume, right? Seattle-based coffee startup Atomo thinks so. Atomo is the first company to make coffee without using coffee beans—instead, they create versions of coffee’s chemical compounds in a lab. The end result is a beverage that looks, tastes, and has the same caffeinated effects as a traditional cup of coffee. “The first step was identifying what was actually in coffee,” Atomo CEO and co-founder Andy Kleitsch says. “We discovered that there were over 1,000 [chemical] compounds in coffee, so the next question we asked, was ‘where can we find these compounds in natural ingredients, and up-cycled materials?’” Kleitsch says that because sustainability is one of the company’s pillars, it was important for them that all the ingredients were environmentally ethical. While the ingredients list is still being kept under wraps because the patenting process isn’t complete, Kleitsch says some of the ingredients Atomo experimented with include watermelon seeds and the husks of sunflower seeds. Finding the perfect ingredients wasn’t the only hurdle. “You can’t just take all the chemical components, put them together, and expect them to react a certain way; coffee is a very complicated beverage that
Book that girls’ trip now, because traveling with friends promotes health and happiness
November 09, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC Any excuse to travel is great, but there are so many mind and body benefits to glean from travel with friends, specifically. That’s why my three best friends and I have ritualized our annual girls’ trips. The first getaway we took was to Panama City Beach, Florida, for spring break in 2007. A lot has changed since we were sophomores in college, living together, taking many of the same classes, going to the same school events, and attending the same parties. We’ve since moved to cities nationwide, gotten married, become moms, bought homes, and gotten big promotions. Still, a lot has remained the same and even grown stronger—namely how much we care about each other and how much time we wish we could spend together. That’s partially why our annual girls’ trip has remained a constant. Over the years, it’s gotten harder to get my crew together for even a long weekend. The planning process often feels like the opening scene in Netflix’s Wine Country, when Amy Poehler’s character essentially begs her friends to get together for a long weekend in Napa. After all, there are mortgages to pay, babies and dogs to find sitters for, and bosses to consult before booking a flight. And as these obligations have steadily crept into our lives, it makes sense that we have trouble carving quality time for each other—but that doesn’t make prioritizing it any less important. Social-personality psychologist William Chopik, PhD, studies friendship and
How to make healthier everything bagels with your air fryer
November 09, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC You already know your air fryer turns vegetables into crispy perfection, but did you know you can also use it to bake up a batch of soft and fluffy everything bagels? Air fryer bagels topped with an ungodly amount of avocado? Sign me up. Kaila Proulx, the health coach and food blogger behind the blog Healthy Helper, came up with a wholesome vegan and gluten-free air fryer bagel that takes just minutes to make at home. “I’ve discovered some pretty cool uses for air fryers that you won’t find in any manual or recipe book. Namely… bagels,” she writes. “After seeing a few people attempt to make bagels in their air fryers on social media, I thought it was time to try my hand at the experiment.” View this post on Instagram Looks like it's turning into a bread filled week #ontheblog! First dinner rolls on and now we're onto #BAGELS! But not just any bagels…ones made in the #AIRFRYER. Yup that's right! ** Today I am sharing my Everything Air Fryer Bagels made with @so_delicious coconut yogurt. Your favorite salty n' savory Everything bagels gone #vegan and #glutenfree! Made in the Air Fryer, these healthy, whole grain bagels are high low-fat, high-protein, oil-free, and require no boiling/baking. Easy to make and SO delicious with your favorite vegan cream cheese spread! ** Post: https://buff.ly/2m6LvMf ** #linkinbio #nothingcompares #sodeliciousyogurt #veganfood #veganrecipes #healthyfood #healthyrecipes #healthyeating #cleaneating #plantbased #plantbasedfood #glutenfreefood #glutenfreerecipes #oilfree #dairyfree #noaddesugar #TODAYfood #wholefoods #realfood