Author: Cammy Pedroja

Categories
Life x Culture Lifestyle

How Agrihood Communities Are Taking The Farm-To-Table Trend To A Whole New Level

You may have a patch of tomatoes and kale flourishing in your backyard during the summer months, frequent the outdoor market every Sunday, and belong to a CSA, but you’re not exactly a farmer…yet. Planned communities with working farms at their centers, or “agrihoods,” are the next stage in committed, sustainable living, and they’re beginning to crop up all around the country as more and more young people are interested in having a connection with where their food comes from.
Of course, a community built around farming is hardly a new concept in itself. Throughout much of the world’s history, the population either grew its own food or lived in immediate proximity to the farmers who did, with the result being that even without a lot of money, community members could have access to fresh, healthy produce, milk, eggs, and so on. In other words, farming communities were the norm.
According to Richard Lingeman’s Don’t You Know There’s a War On?, even as recently as World War II, neighborhood victory gardens produced some 40 percent of produce eaten by American families. Can you imagine what would happen if we could recreate those statistics again?
But by 2008, something profound occurred: for the first time in recorded history, more than 50 percent of the world’s population lived in urban centers rather than agricultural areas where fresh food abounds. This in itself doesn’t sound very scary, but some of the unexpected effects of urbanization have included a distressing lack of access to fresh, healthy foods in many urban centers and even “food deserts” which are, by definition, areas where residents live prohibitively far from places where they can buy fresh, healthy food, instigating reliance on highly processed alternatives available in gas stations and convenience marts.
Enter the emerging trend of whole communities planned around working farms. These agrihoods are becoming more and more popular in many parts of the U.S. In fact, an article in Business Insider even claims that agrihoods are to millennials what golf course communities have been to baby boomers. So are agrihoods a status-based lifestyle for the health-conscious wealthy, or a viable new model that can provide sustainable access to healthy, fresh food for all? The answer is both.

Reviving Troubled Communities With Fresh Food and Urban Farming

A case study: It’s no secret that the city of Detroit has been suffering in recent decades. Economic difficulties and the city’s declining industrial center have led to widespread poverty, abandoned homes and factories, and disintegrating neighborhoods. But sometimes the most inspiring things come from trouble. And that’s exactly what’s happening in Detroit’s North End, where the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI) has been running what they call, America’s first sustainable urban agrihood, a project that not only provides free healthy food to people who need it, but also a means for promoting education and healthy communities. Sound pretty cool? It is.
The all-volunteer non-profit that is MUFI has heralded big changes in its home neighborhood, where two-square blocks of formerly vacant land has been transformed into “a three-acre agricultural campus,” anchored by a “two-acre urban farm that has produced more than 50,000 pounds of free produce since 2012 to more than 2,000 households, food pantries, churches, and businesses within two square miles of the farm.” These impressive figures come from David Darovitz, a volunteer communications director for MUFI who has been working with the organization for the last two years.
According to Darovitz, their agrihood, with the help of an average of 8,000 to 10,000 volunteers per year, has taken an area that was once a prime example of urban decay in the heart of a food desert and transformed it into a “working farm that feeds people in an area that used to be ignored and desolate.” It’s also a highly successful model of “adaptive reuse of the built environment.” Not only has MUFI turned formerly abandoned land into a sustainable and high-producing urban farm, its volunteers have also made impressive strides in rehabilitating and repurposing existing neighboring structures. Does this make you fantasize about what could be done with some of the run-down areas of your city? Me too.
Darovitz says they have markedly “enhanced the area by removing tons of debris left in and around abandoned houses and buildings near the farm,” as well as restored “a long-vacant former apartment complex into a Community Resource Center for residents and visitors.” It’s hard to find anything but good things to say about MUFI’s mission and methods, and they hope to serve as an example for future projects in other regions.
“We get many inquiries from people all over the world who want to understand what we do and learn from our model to employ at their location,” says Darovitz, adding that “we set up our model with the hope that others would replicate it.”
Lots of volunteers come from right in the neighborhood, but many travel from all over the world as well, says Darovitz, to “work on many projects from cutting grass, planting, harvesting crops, painting, various neighborhood clean-up projects, and much more.” The food is donated free of charge “to anyone who needs it with priority given to North End residents,” he explains, adding that the organization “feeds about 2,000 households annually.”
Here’s hoping this model spreads to cities in need all over the globe!

Farming and The High Life: The Upscale Agrihood Model

You may not live near Detroit, and you may be able to afford fresh, healthy food, but if you’re getting psyched to get involved in community-based agriculture, you may be able to find just what you’re looking for thanks to a different model.
While the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative is the first urban agrihood dedicated to helping transform its low-income community, recent years have also seen an impressive collection of more high-end lifestyle communities built around working farms, and young families are clamoring to move in.
I spoke with Kevin Carson, NorCal president of The New Home Company, the master developers behind The Cannery, an upscale agrihood in Davis, California. While The Cannery doesn’t have the same mission of benefitting a low-income community (costs for the cheaper row-houses in the community start in the mid $400,000 range, and larger single family homes in The Cannery’s Sage Neighborhood start at a base price of almost $800,000), the hundreds of homes in the planned community certainly have drastically altered the shape of the neighborhood.
In fact, Carson calls The Cannery “much more than an agrihood…[it’s] a model project for adaptive reuse.” The 100-acre site had formerly been the Hunt Wesson Tomato Packing Plant, explains Carson, saying, “When we developed the site three years ago, the plant had been demolished, and all that existed was the parking lot.”
Since 1999—when the Hunts Tomato factory and cannery was shut down—the area where The Cannery now flourishes had been an abandoned industrial property, doing little for the East Davis community. Now, in addition to its 7.4 acre working farm and 520 energy-efficient, eco-friendly homes, Carson says the 100-acre property that makes up The Cannery also includes walking and bicycle trails, a community clubhouse with a swimming pool, an amphitheater, and tons of parks and additional green space. But what’s it like to actually live there?
Carson says people who move to The Cannery are looking for “something different”—something more than cookie-cutter homes built around the ubiquitous water-sucking golf course. Health-focused community events, like fun runs around the beautifully and sustainably landscaped grounds, farm stands, and an annual harvest festival certainly make family fitness and healthy community engagement a bit easier.
In addition to the other luxe eco-amenities residents can enjoy, one of the biggest draws to Cannery life is the unparalleled access to fresh produce along with the knowledge that your food comes to you sustainably from literally around the corner, rather than being sprayed with chemicals and shipped to you from far away using loads of fossil fuels.
Sounds amazing, right? But if you’re like me, you may be looking at your long to-do list and wondering just how much work are you going to need to put in in order to reap the benefits of a farm in your backyard. While every agrihood is different, many lifestyle-focused, buy-in agrihoods leave the nitty-gritty of how engaged you want to be up to you.
For example, the Essencia Farm program in Orange County requires each participating household to work four volunteer hours per month and pay $200 per year in exchange for daily access to flowers and herbs, as well as weekly produce boxes. But according to Carson, the Cannery Urban Farm is run by the Center for Land-Based Learning, a county-run non-profit. So while there are volunteer days when community members can choose to work on the farm and get that close-to-the-land experience, the farm is “first and foremost operated by professional farmers.” So just by owning a home and living in the Cannery community, residents get the benefit of “food box days where fresh produce and eggs are available,” as well as “edible landscaping (fruits and nuts)” in every yard on the property. Talk about an idyllic lifestyle.

Interested? Look before you leap into an agrihood.

Are you considering a new home and a lifestyle change all in one swoop? Here are some important things to think about before making a move toward agrihood life:

How much time do you want to invest?

Every agrihood is different. Volunteer hours are required in some and not in others, but encouraging resident involvement is essentially an amenity, so it helps if you’re wanting to get your hands dirty and get into the spirit of things.

Do you want to talk to your neighbors?

More than just track houses with a farm at the center, agrihoods are planned neighborhoods, meaning that in addition to loving fresh food, residents of agrihoods tend to be interested in community. That means knowing both where your food comes from and knowing your neighbors. That doesn’t mean you can’t be an introvert and live in an agrihood, but it could be a greater incentive for chatty Cathys to jump on the bandwagon.

Are you willing to move far away?

Agrihoods may be popping up all over the country, but there’s definitely not one in every city yet. If you find yourself really wanting to commit to an agrihood, you may have to move to an entirely new state.

Are you thinking realistically or aspirationally?

It’s not hard to fantasize about waking up to fresh eggs, slicing homegrown zucchini into your dinner salad, and blissfully harvesting apples from the orchard next door with your kids on the weekends. But it’s also important to consider how big a change that would be. If you’re already knee deep in the organic, local food movement, becoming part of an agrihood community could be the logical next step. But if you’re just starting out on an eco-friendly and healthy eating journey, you could try a smaller step first before uprooting your life, like joining a CSA produce subscription program or getting a plot in your local community garden.
Either way, if inspiration for sustainable, healthy living strikes, why not take advantage of it and make a positive change? Agrihoods are great for the people who live in and love them and, so far, evidence suggests that they’re great for the larger community as well.
The local, organic food “trend” is growing and here to stay, Eve Turow Paul, an expert consultant, told The Washington Post. The phrase “urban farming” may seem contradictory, but in reality, it could change your life and even work to solve hunger issues in America. If you’re already dedicated to choosing organic, local foods whenever possible (and maybe even dabble in growing, composting, canning, and the joys that come along with these activities), you may be wondering how to become even more invested in the farm-to-table movement.
Are you ready to take the plunge? You can start with inspiration from the Charter for Compassion’s list of 12 compelling agrihoods to explore in the United States.

Categories
Conscious Beauty Lifestyle

Which Hair-Removal Method (If Any) Is Best For You?

Is it weird that millions of women around the world spend tons of time and money—and regularly test their pain thresholds—in the name of removing face and body hair? Who’s to say? Culture is weird. Humans are weird. We are weird. But we do know that at this point, most women’s decision to go hairless, neatly trimmed, or long and loose—and how to achieve the look—is based predominantly on aesthetics and cultural standards of beauty.
Once upon a time, in addition to beauty standards, there were more health-oriented reasons to remove hair, e.g., nixing breeding grounds for parasites and maintaining cleanliness. But those of us living a modern lifestyle get to make the choice based on what looks and feels good. Experts Tsippora Shainhouse, a board-certified Beverly Hills dermatologist, and Enrique Ramirez, esthetician and founder of Face to Face NYC, share their insights on best and worst hair-removal methods based on their clients’ specific needs.
How you groom—or whether you go wild—is a personal choice. But if you do choose to keep your stubble on lockdown, we have the lowdown on the pros, cons, and best practices associated with managing when things get hairy.

The Methods and Their Madness

Hair grows in different amounts all over the human body and is “normal, natural, and genetic,” says Shainhouse. “Some ethnicities [tend to grow] more hair than others, while some women have darker hair that is more noticeable [versus] lighter, finer hair.”
In women, elevated testosterone levels can be responsible for darker, thicker hair in some places, while a thyroid imbalance can sometimes be to blame for loss of hair. Shainhouse says there are no dietary or otherwise easy fixes for tricking your body into growing less hair, so you’ve got to learn to either love the fuzz or exert the effort to eliminate it.
Here, we break down the eight major players in the hair-removal game by their pros and cons, exploring the associated pain, cost, convenience, and duration of results. We also touch on best practices for achieving smooth, flawless skin.

Shaving

Ah, this old standby. Shaving continues to be the default hair-removal method for most women and was often the first one they tried back in the day. Shaving maintains its popularity because it’s accessible, easy, fast, and cheap. The good news? Shainhouse says shaving will not make your hair grow back thicker. That said, the results of shaving can “last hours to days, depending on the body site and how quickly your hair grows,” according to Shainhouse, meaning it’s one of the shortest-lasting hair-removal methods.
If you’re committed to shaving, you’ve got to be prepared to rinse and repeat—potentially every day, depending on how quickly your hair grows and how important it is to you to be stubble free. Another potential downfall of shaving is the likelihood of nasty razor burn, which Shainhouse says can be prevented by using an electric shaver, which is less likely to irritate the skin but doesn’t guarantee a razor-close shave.

Tricks of the Trade

Shainhouse says it’s best to scrub up with warm water before reaching for your razor and shaving cream. This will soften the hair and open the pores, making for a smoother shave. It’s also a good idea to keep skin exfoliated, which will lessen the likelihood of folliculitis. This common shaving risk occurs when “follicles get irritated or infected,” according to Shainhouse, who also recommends using a razor with multiple blades for a closer shave with less chance of irritations like ingrown hairs. Once you’ve done the work, there’s not much you can do to slow the growth of shaved hair, but you will certainly want to keep the area soothed and moisturized.

Waxing and Sugaring

Like ripping off a band-aid (only worse—maybe more like 100 band-aids), waxing is not for the faint of heart but is extremely satisfying once it’s over. Waxing is super effective and is one of the longest-lasting hair-removal methods (more than a month of smoothness), according to Ramirez, whose expertise is waxing and sugaring. The cons here are the high pain factor, the cost (one treatment area can cost anywhere from $7 at a strip mall salon to more than $100 at a high-end spa), and the time and effort it takes to get in for an appointment with the professionals.
Like waxing’s hipper, crunchier cousin, sugaring works basically the same way (pulling whole areas of hair out at once with product-infused strips of cloth), but with a solution of sugar, lemon juice, and hot water in place of wax. In Ramirez’s expert opinion, “Sugaring is perfect for those who prefer the organic approach to life,” but will feel a bit more “uncomfortable to the client as we apply the paste in both directions to ensure every hair is caught in the sugar paste.”
Results will last about the same duration as waxing (four to six weeks on average) and come at a similar cost, depending on which salon you visit.
So how do you make the choice between waxing and sugaring? Ramirez says, “If the hair is soft and thin, then I suggest sugaring. For thicker hair, waxing is best.”

Tricks of the Trade

You can prep for waxing or sugaring by resisting the urge to shave beforehand, as your hair should be at least a quarter of an inch long at your appointment. You should exfoliate, however, to reduce the risk of ingrown hairs. And if you’re really concerned about the pain, you can pop an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen a half hour before you go.

Depilatory Creams

The unappealing aspects of over-the-counter depilatory creams like Nair and Veet are their weird odors and the fact that you have to stand around in the bathroom naked and awkward until it’s time to rinse them off. That said, they’re cheap, fast, easy (even for hair-removal novices), and can be used in the privacy of your home whenever you have a spare moment.
Plus, depilatory creams have results that are similar to shaving—with none of the razor burn, because they chemically soften and dissolve unwanted hair so it can be rinsed away.
Shainhouse makes the point that “results should last a few days, depending on how quickly your hair grows, but in contrast to a razor blade that slices each hair shaft so that new hair growth appears thick and blunt, the tips of the cream-treated hairs will grow in softer,” which may let you go longer between treatments.

Tricks of the Trade

Shainhouse says depilatory creams are quite safe to use as long as you do a patch test first to make sure you don’t have an allergic or other reaction to the product. After you rinse and wipe the hair away, moisturize the area as you normally would.

Epilators

Once hailed as the at-home hair-removal “revolution” of the ‘80s, the new epilator machines are sleeker and smaller but still operate in the same (slightly scary-sounding) way that their predecessors did. An epilator machine is a small, hand-held electric device that looks a bit like a shaver but is really a system of many tiny tweezers that electronically pull out several hairs at once as you move the machine over the skin. You’re probably asking yourself Doesn’t that hurt? The answer is a resounding yes. So why do some people, including epilator fanatic Kelsey Miller, still stick with this method?
It lasts about as long as waxing, has the benefit of reducing hair thickness over time, and you can do it in your home without a salon appointment. Plus, you only need to buy the epilator once (usually for under $100), which means no more shelling out for expensive waxing treatments every four to six weeks.

Threading

This seemingly magic hair-removal method needs to be performed by a trained professional since it requires the special skill of using two strands of twirled thread to “catch” the hairs and physically pull them out. Seriously, how do they do that? As with plucking, you can only grasp a few hairs at once, so threading is better for small areas like your eyebrows and lip line.
There are no products applied to the skin in this method, so there’s “no risk of contact dermatitis,” according to Shainhouse, “but you can irritate the follicles from the tugging and potentially develop a folliculitis.” You have to be prepared for the pain, which is akin to regular plucking, and the cost (usually about the same as waxing), time, and effort associated with getting yourself to a professional threader. You can get nice shaping work done this way, however, and can expect results to last several weeks.

Should you go big and go permanent?

This decision is akin to getting a tattoo: You should only consider a permanent (or permanent-ish) hair-removal method if you’re sure you won’t regret it. Kim Kardashian famously wrote on her website that she regretted zapping the little hairs around her neck and hairline since now she thinks they look “youthful.” But if you’re positive you won’t want to try the pro–body-hair trend that might catch on even more in the future, you do have some options that will allow you to just be done with it. They’re expensive in the moment, but compared to years of buying waxing and shaving products, you may come out on top even if you opt for a pricier treatment.

Electrolysis

Electrolysis is the only truly permanent method of hair removal, according to Shainhouse, who puts it this way: “This old-school method uses electricity to zap individual hair roots within the follicle. The goal is to destroy the root and the follicle so that no new hairs grow.”
It’s also one of the most expensive hair-removal methods, costing “a few dollars per minute of treatment,” and usually requiring multiple treatments to get genuinely permanent results. Even then, it is possible for hormonal imbalances to cause new hairs to grow, requiring more treatments. That said, in most cases, once your electrolysis treatment course is complete, you can revel in your smooth, hairless skin into perpetuity.

Tricks of the Trade

Yep, as you may have guessed, electrolysis a pretty painful way to go hairless, but the discomfort of treatments can be managed with a topical cream applied before the procedure. Other risks include tiny, temporary scabs around the treated hair follicles and, worse, scarring that Shainhouse says is “either due to post-inflammatory pigmentary changes or physical scarring of the follicle and skin.” Finally, since this is a clinical treatment that should take place at a medical spa, you’ll want to follow aftercare instructions to a tee, otherwise you can risk bacterial infections like impetigo.

Laser

Although not a truly permanent hair-removal method, laser treatments are a very effective method for “permanently reducing hair growth by at least 50 to 70 percent after a set number of treatments,” says Shainhouse. It’s the most expensive option discussed here, and, as Ramirez stresses, must always be completed or overseen by an MD at a medical spa. You’ll also need to plan to stay out of the sun for a few days after each treatment to avoid skin hyperpigmentation. That said, after five to 10 treatments, you’ll see impressive results that people tend to be happy with. In fact, the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery reports that laser hair removal just keeps getting more and more popular.

Tricks of the Trade

This isn’t so much a trick as it is a shortcoming. Although people who get laser treatments tend to be happy with the results, it’s not suited to every skin or hair color.
“The laser uses focused light that is attracted to brown or black pigment,” explains Shainhouse. “It works best on people with light skin and dark hair. Lasers cannot treat blonde, white, gray, or red hair because there isn’t enough pigment to target.” On top of that, using lasers on darker or tanned skin carries a risk of burning or removing pigmentation from the skin. Major bummer. So while there are specific lasers that are safer for darker skin types, you’ll want to discuss whether laser is a safe option for your particular skin tone.

Or, you could just not.

Not into the hassle, money, pain, or aesthetic of baby smooth, hairless skin? More and more women are rocking their body hair au naturale. Maybe you’ll be the next one to let it all out.

Categories
Happy x Mindful Wellbeing

From Sutras To Breathwork, Here’s How To Take Yoga Off The Mat So It Can Improve Your Whole Life

Sure, one reason to love yoga is that it gives you a strong, bendy body that won’t quit. But the benefits of this ancient practice don’t stop there. With health benefits ranging from strength, flexibility, and endurance to better organ function, there’s no shortage of reasons to make yoga part of your fitness routine.
But anyone who has delved deeper into the mental and spiritual areas of a yoga practice, like its intersection with meditation, will tell you how much it can improve everything from your self-image to your focus at work to your relationships with your loved ones as it supports you in practicing patience and empathy. So, while a physical practice can definitely give you the muscles and lean look you’re after, yoga is oh-so-much more than just a workout.
In the Western world, when we talk about yoga, we’re usually referring to the physical part, as in a room full of spandex-clad women stretching, bending, and sweating their way through a set of salutations to the sun. But yoga as a form of exercise is simply one small part of the whole picture. Physical yoga, or asana, is just one of the “eight limbs” of yoga, so if you only focus on getting through the postures during a class, then you’re merely thinking about the tip of the iceberg. So, what’s below the surface?
An entire way of thinking, being, and acting mindfully and intentionally that can change your world for the better. Here’s how to take your yoga practice off the mat and invite it to improve every aspect of your life.

Sutras for the Win

Sutra means thread of knowledge, and yoga sutras are essentially the philosophical threads that support a comprehensive yoga practice. Basically, they’re 196 little nuggets of wisdom or thoughts on how to live your life mindfully, intentionally, and with compassion—for yourself and others. The sutras contain lots of advice about ditching your attachment to things that are weighing you down, nixing self-judgement, and learning self-empathy instead. Even though they were first written down thousands of years ago, they’re surprisingly relevant today.

Consider this:

In translation, sutra 1.22 says, “There is further distinction on account of the mild, moderate, or intense means employed.”

Apply it to your life:

Without its context, this sutra might sound opaque, but here’s a modern take on it: The demands of life ebb and flow. Give yourself the leeway to do and give what you can, when you can. You may have fallen off the exercise bandwagon when you were pregnant, for instance, or are just starting a new job and having trouble getting back to your self-care routine. Instead of feeling bad about it, remember life moves at different speeds, and you can make room for that. To everything there is a season, right?

Consider this:

In translation, sutra 2.16 says, “The grief which has not yet come may be avoided.”

Apply it to your life:

The anxieties of modern life get to us all at times. Sutra 2.16 is not a fable about planning ahead—it’s actually a reminder to the keep worry about the potential pain of what could go wrong from spoiling your present, especially if you’re worrying about things you can’t prevent or that might not happen. Even if something does go awry, worrying about it now will only cause you to suffer twice. Instead, appreciate the state of things in the now.
Worry is only a valuable emotion when it helps you act to change things for the better. The next time you’re trapped in an anxious thought loop, consider whether there’s anything good that can come from your worry. If yes, refer back to sutra 1.22 and dedicate the necessary intensity to enacting the positive change. If not? Remind yourself it’s okay to let that stress go.

Just Breathe

“Let it go” is advice that’s easier said than done. Take a tip from your yoga teacher and let it all out—through your breath. Pranayama, or breathing exercises, are easy to take off the mat and do throughout the day any time you need a little centering or focus.
Alternate nostril breathing, for instance, is taught to yoga beginners all over the world because it’s an easy and accessible technique for balancing the body and mind and intentionally directing your energy. Here’s a five-minute practice from one of my favorite international yoga teachers, Esther Ekhart.

Strengthening Your Mental-Health Muscles

Yoga is one of the best natural tools we have to combat anxiety and depression. In fact, some studies show that frequent yoga and meditation can be just as effective as prescription drugs (although yoga shouldn’t flat out replace a visit to your mental healthcare provider).
With all the physical, spiritual, and mental benefits of a regular yoga practice, you may be inspired to unfurl your mat right away! And remember, with just a bit of intention and practice, the benefits of yoga will last long after you say namaste.

Categories
Health x Body Wellbeing

Living A Sedentary Lifestyle? Advice From A Medical Researcher And A Personal Trainer Will Get You Moving Despite Your Busy Schedule

How many hours in a day do you spend sitting? If you’re like many American women who work in an office, it may be enough to sabotage your health. More American women are living sedentary lifestyles than ever before. Our jobs, our neighborhoods, and the amount of time we spend interacting online have changed the way we think about physical activity.
Where activity was once built into our lives, now it’s extremely common for the walk from the house to the car, the car to the office, and then the car back to the house to be the primary physical movement we get in a day. But our bodies just aren’t built to live that way.
Never mind weight, clothing size, or judgment. What really matters is your health and happiness, and with our real, practical advice sourced directly from experts and tested by women like you, you’re closer than ever to ditching a sedentary lifestyle and feeling like your most vital self in 2018.

Are you sedentary without even knowing it?

More of us are routinely sedentary than you’d think. In fact, research says at least 25 to 35 percent of all American adults have chronically sedentary lifestyles. There are lots of ways to define a sedentary lifestyle, but one of the clearest involves a measure of the steps you take daily. If you’re routinely moving fewer than 5,000 steps a day (or the equivalent), which is about two and a half miles, your lifestyle is considered sedentary by researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
That said, there’s a difference between sedentary behaviors and leading a sedentary lifestyle. We all have sedentary behaviors, like working at a desk for several hours a day, commuting in traffic, jamming out to Netflix on the couch, or (I’m looking at you, Chrissy Teigen) lying down and playing Animal Crossing on our phones.
[pullquote align=”center”]If you’re routinely moving fewer than 5,000 steps a day, your lifestyle is considered sedentary by researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.[/pullquote]
A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology also found that women who sit inactively for more than six hours every day are nearly twice as likely to experience life-threatening health conditions as women who sit less than three hours per day, meaning women are even more susceptible to the negative effects of sedentary life than men. Yikes.
And if you’re thinking the average female with a desk job falls into this category, you’re right: She does.

Sitting is the New Smoking (and How to Ditch the Habit)

It turns out that even women who get some regular exercise can be affected by “sitting disease,” a term coined to describe the negative impact of too much time spent sitting still in a day. In fact, the World Health Organization says, “Insufficient physical activity is one of the leading risk factors for death worldwide.” Okay, that’s definitely unnerving, but don’t freak out yet. There is hope, even if you’ve tried before and failed to change your sedentary lifestyle.
As Esther Avant, a certified nutrition coach and personal trainer, tells HealthyWay, “About 99 percent of the women I work with have been in that exact situation.” She goes on to share that she has personally witnessed hundreds of formerly sedentary women go on to kick ass and live active lifestyles by working on making small, sustainable changes, rather than focusing on quick, all-or-nothing fixes.
[pullquote align=”center”]Hundreds of formerly sedentary women go on to kick ass and live active lifestyles by working on making small, sustainable changes, rather than focusing on quick, all-or-nothing fixes.[/pullquote]
It’s so important to remember that a little movement is better than none. In fact, a 2015 study found that as little as 20 minutes of brisk walking daily can significantly reduce your risk of an early death related to physical inactivity, not to mention giving you an instant mood boost.

Self-Motivation: Bidding Self-Judgement Farewell and Embracing Positives (Even When You’ve Failed Before)

Michelle Segar, PhD, master of public health, and director of the University of Michigan’s Sport, Health, and Activity Research and Policy Center says that even though there are tons of scary statistics thrown around in an attempt to frighten people away from living a sedentary lifestyle (like worsening depression and anxiety, increasing your risk for cancer, causing blood sugar spikes, and generally increasing aches and pains), scare tactics don’t generally work to change behaviors long term.
Instead, “we want to promote [movement] for its immediate benefits,” she says. So rather than trying to shame yourself into moving more, Segar encourages women to focus on all the benefits movement can have. “Let’s tell people it will immediately generate energy and help them lift their moods. Now isn’t that a more compelling reason to get out of the chair?”
[pullquote align=”center”]Even though there are tons of scary statistics thrown around in an attempt to frighten people away from living a sedentary lifestyle, scare tactics don’t generally work to change behaviors long term.[/pullquote]
Avant agrees that focusing on the positives, like how good gentle exercise can make you feel, and avoiding pushing yourself too hard at first are the secrets to succeeding in a fitness regimen that addresses physical inactivity, even if you thought you’d never be able to. “The key to successfully going from sedentary to active is starting small, even smaller than you think,” she emphasizes.
“Start small and prove to yourself that you can do it. Set small goals and then accomplish them. That empowers you to realize that you can do a little more the next week, so maybe you add a fourth day or one day of bodyweight exercises. Each week, you build your confidence and motivation when you accomplish your goals and you do a little bit more. This sure beats the old approach of trying to change everything at once week one, falling short, getting disappointed, and quitting.”

Change your “why” for working out.

In her book, No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness, Segar writes about how we’ve been taught we need to work out to lose weight, look a certain way, and avoid bad health. “But those are logical and pragmatic reasons to move,” she says, “not the type of emotional motives and hooks that [actually help women] stick with it long term.” So rather than thinking about all those “shoulds” for why we need to get exercise, what would work better? “We need to help people learn the immediate emotional and positive, feel-good benefits they’ll get from moving instead, like joy, vitality, and connection,” she emphasizes.
[pullquote align=”center”]“Let’s tell people it will immediately generate energy and help them lift their moods. Now isn’t that a more compelling reason to get out of the chair?”
—Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH[/pullquote]
So being kind to yourself works—even when trying to combat what can sometimes feel like a stigmatizing sedentary lifestyle? Sounds good to me! It seems that if you truly want to change your sedentary behavior, focusing on the potential negatives of physical inactivity rather than on how good you can feel when you’re active will likely backfire.
It’s not about weight. It’s not about appearance. It’s about remembering to give yourself the best care and nurturing that you can. It’s about body positivity, feeling healthy and vivacious, and making changes that make you feel good—both in the moment and over the long term. In many cases, the biggest barriers to addressing a sedentary lifestyle, sedentary behavior, and physical inactivity are your thought patterns, so get ready to start small—and with honest introspection—to make lasting change.

Starting Small and Winning Big: A One-Month Beginner’s Plan

Even if your starting point is a truly sedentary lifestyle and you’ve already tried (and maybe even failed) to get active, we’ve got your back. Avant designed and shared this step-by-step routine to take HealthyWay readers from deskbound and binge-watching to vital and capable movement mavens.
Here’s what she recommends:

Week 1

Pick three days when you’ll walk for 30 minutes. Pencil these walks into your calendar like important appointments so you make them happen. Shooting for three walks during the week gives you plenty of opportunities to make up a walk you might miss—so have a backup day planned in case something pops up.

Week 2

Pencil in three walks and add in one day of bodyweight exercises. A quick, total-body workout could include the following exercises performed in a circuit for two sets of 10 reps: push-ups, squats, bench (or chair!) dips, lunges, and 30-second plank holds.
[pullquote align=”center”]“We need to help people learn the immediate emotional and positive, feel-good benefits they’ll get from moving instead, like joy, vitality, and connection.”
—Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH[/pullquote]

Week 3

This week, commit to three walks and two days of the same bodyweight workout you completed once during Week 2.

Week 4

Add a third set to your bodyweight workout circuit and increase the length of your three walks by five to 10 minutes each.
Initially, you committed to 30 minutes of exercise, three times a week—by the end of the month, you’ll be up to 30 to 45 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week, with a combination of strength and aerobic training, which Avant calls a major improvement! Talk about busting out of your sedentary lifestyle and committing to an endorphin- and confidence-boosting routine!

Common Excuses (and High-Impact Solutions)

I asked both Avant and Segar about the most common reasons women don’t exercise, and what their most motivating responses have been. Here are some of the best motivational rebuttals inspired by the pros.
Excuse: I don’t have time.
Solution: Redefine how much time it takes to work out. If you’re truly strapped, just take a brisk one-mile walk around your neighborhood. You won’t need to change clothes or drive all the way to the gym, so you’ll save that time. And if you’re willing to be a bit introspective here, think of it this way: It’s not necessarily that you don’t have time to work out, it’s that you have other priorities that you’re putting before overcoming your sedentary lifestyle. Ask yourself: Am I willing to change around any of my priorities to address my physical inactivity? Your answer to yourself should be enlightening and may lead to a shift in priorities.
Excuse: I can’t afford a gym membership, or when I get to the gym I don’t know what to do and feel silly.
Solution: Just start with walking. You can walk outside, or even around a mall if it’s miserable out. After you’ve done that for a while, you might move on to slowly running, or following one of the many couch-to-5k programs out there (I recommend this one from famous running coach Hal Higdon, which I used once upon a time when I was a newbie to fitness). Once you gain confidence in your base fitness, go ahead and try the gym again if you can afford it. If not, troll YouTube for free no-equipment-needed workout videos or check out HealthyWay’s free Holiday HIIT series or ultra low-cost wellness plan advice.
[pullquote align=”center”]Ask yourself: Am I willing to change around any of my priorities to address my physical inactivity?[/pullquote]
Excuse: I just don’t like exercise.
Solution: Well, you may be working out too hard. Yes, really. If you hate running, for instance, you may be trying to run too fast for your current fitness level. Exercise should feel mostly good, so slow down, don’t compare yourself to others, choose activities that fit your interests, and learn to love the boost exercise can give you, especially when it means freedom from deeply entrenched patterns of physical inactivity and sedentary behavior.

Finally: 6 Ways to Trick Yourself Into Moving More

We think nearly everyone will be able to succeed by making small changes, focusing on the positive feels, and giving themselves as many chances as they need to address their sedentary lifestyle or sedentary behavior. That said, if all else fails, what’s wrong with simply fooling yourself into moving more and reaping the benefits? Here are some ways to sneak activity into your week:

  1. Buy a standing desk converter. Okay, so you may not be able to control what desk your office provides for you, and you may not want to stand all day long anyway. But with an adjustable standing desk, you can convert your existing desk into a standing work station for part of the day, then just push it back into place when you need to sit back down.
  2. Schedule walks with friends instead of coffee shop chats.
  3. Track your movement (I love my Fitbit, which also tracks heart rate and calories burned) and share the data with friends or co-workers for a little friendly competition and support. Lots of people find that they get kind of obsessed with the data and that it keeps them motivated.
  4. Make exercise a seamless part of your day by trying a human-powered commute. This won’t work in every circumstance, but if you live close to work, try walking a few days a week. If you live a little further (but not crazy far) try strapping your helmet on and riding your bike. It may take some time to start this new habit and convince yourself to leave the car keys or MetroCard on the shelf, but you can change your ways slowly by starting with doing the human-powered commute just once or twice per week. I’ve gone so far as to leave my kid’s car seat at a friend’s house so I would have no choice but to bike my daughter to and from her daycare (with helmets and kiddy bike seat, of course)!
  5. Even if you can’t commit to an entirely human-powered commute, park further away and walk more. The stress of finding a spot close to the office, school, or grocery store dissipates, and you’ll get more steps in. You can also commit to avoiding your building’s elevator in favor of climbing the stairs.
  6. Download an exercise motivation app like MyFitnessPal to incorporate your love of tech with your health and fitness pursuits.

Do you need a sign to inspire your commitment to making 2018 the year of you? Consider this it. We’re rooting for you.

Categories
Happy x Mindful Wellbeing

What’s Up With Sound Bathing? (And What To Know Before Your First Sonic Healing Sesh)

Is your yoga studio advertising sound bathing sessions or has a friend been raving about her recent experience? From massages and aromatherapy to sensory deprivation tanks and crystal healing, more and more women are trying natural wellness therapies that may have been dismissed as “too out-there” just a few years ago.
Still, being adventurous has its benefits, and proponents of the so-called sound healing trend are a new wave of pioneers. One of the major benefits for overworked or overtired sound bathers is that all you really have to do is lie down and let the healing wash over you.
Sounds amazing, right? If you’re stressed, have a chronic health condition, or are just looking for a new way to give yourself a nourishing treat, you owe it to yourself to try this therapeutic treatment for the mind, body, and spirit.

Wait, what’s a sound bath?

No, you won’t get wet. Instead of warm water and bubbles, when you partake in a sound healing session, you “bathe” in the sonic vibrations created by instruments like Tibetan singing bowls, gongs, handpans, bells, and chimes played by the sound bath practitioner for your benefit. Some sessions also incorporate singing and chanting. As sound specialist Monte Hansen told The Washington Post, one of the reasons it’s called a bath is because people “feel like they are being submerged in sound, like the sound waves created by the Tibetan singing bowls are a visceral thing and they are washed in waves of water.”
Sound bathing and gong healing sessions have been popping up more and more frequently in alternative wellness centers and yoga studios, but it’s actually an ancient tradition that’s experiencing a major comeback.

Does it really work?

Maybe. I say this as someone who recently tried sound bathing and experienced a tangible benefit, so I want to say yes! Of course, aside from my personal experience, it’s important to note that while there are lots of studies showing real, empirical evidence that sound, audio vibrations, and music therapy are legitimate treatments for conditions ranging from generic stress to PTSD, there aren’t any peer-reviewed studies specifically about sound bathing—yet. But as many sound healing enthusiasts will tell you, “I may not know exactly what it’s doing to me or how it works, but I know if feels amazing.”
I went to a Shakti Gong Sound Healing event at The People’s Yoga—my regular yoga studio here in Portland—hosted by the Starnes Sisters. Stephanie and Sarah Starnes have been conducting sound healing sessions for years, and they’re known for their otherworldly singing voices, which they bring into their sound healing rituals.
I’m already a frequent practitioner of yoga and meditation, and am pretty open to alternative wellness, but was still totally shocked at how different I felt after simply lying down and absorbing the sounds for 90 minutes. I would describe the feeling as a slow, creeping relaxation that ended in me feeling almost exactly as if I had just received a massage.
Sarah says sound baths are “an opportunity to connect more deeply with yourself,” while Stephanie invites sound bathers to “lay down with [their] eyes closed in a safe space, allowing [them] to relax and absorb the sound that we create.”

Know before you go.

A sound bathing experience usually involves laying down on your back on a yoga mat or blanket in savasana (corpse pose), with or without supporting props like bolsters and pillows, with your head directed toward the source of the music. The idea is to be as comfortable as possible. If your sound bath is hosted in a yoga studio, there will likely be some props available to borrow, but the Starnes sisters recommend bringing your own cozy accoutrements like pillows, blankets, and an eye mask—anything you want to help you feel “extra comfortable.” They also recommend wearing layers, since lying still for an hour and a half can cause your body to cool, and you don’t want to get chilly.
You should also know that some people have reported feeling strong or unexpected emotions during or after their sonic sessions. Some even feel the need to laugh or cry. As Stephanie said at the end of our sound bath, “Just in case something has come up for you,” you should make sure to “keep caring for yourself and treating yourself gently” for the rest of the evening. As for me, I went home, drank tea, and basked in that post-sound bath feeling that you’ll come to know if you give it a try.

Categories
Gym x Studio Sweat

Beat Boredom And Freshen Up Your Fitness Routine With New Workouts In 2018

There are only so many times you can get excited about doing the same old gym routine. Are you bored with your current routine or trying to amp up after reaching a fitness plateau?
Studies shows that mixing up your workouts not only keeps you motivated, but can also help you prevent injury, reach your goals, and have more fun to boot. So why not commit to trying a new kind of fitness class in the new year? Here are some trending workouts to choose from…
[sol title=”Hot Pilates” subheader=”You’ll love it if you’re a fan of: Bikram Yoga, Hot Yoga, Mat Pilates”]
What to expect: According to the HotPilates studio in West Hollywood, California, “Twenty-two full-body exercises will leave you feeling long, lengthened and toned. Expect to work. Expect a tighter waistline. And expect to get hot.”
Since hot exercise classes can range from between 85° F to over 100° F, you’ll want to make sure you stay hydrated.
[sol title=”The Boss Chick Dance Workout” subheader=”You’ll love it if you’re a fan of: Zumba, Going Out Dancing”]
What to expect: This women-only full-body sculpt and cardio workout combines dance moves with hip-hop, dancehall, and afrobeat soundtracks, and claims to burn up to 1,000 calories per session. Founded by classically trained dancer Simone Sobers, this upbeat workout class is now taught at 21 studios around the world—from Las Vegas to Hackensack, New Jersey, to Istanbul.
[sol title=”Airborne Aerobics” subheader=”You’ll love it if you’re a fan of: Gymnastics, Trampolines”]
What to expect: If you were the trampoline queen on your block growing up, SkyFit might be your new favorite workout. Sky Zone Trampoline Parks across the country now offer group fitness classes in which exercisers bounce, twirl, and flip their way to gains in their arms, legs, and cores.
[sol title=”IMAX Cycling” subheader=”You’ll love it if you’re a fan of: Spin Classes, Outdoor Cycling, SoulCycle”]
What to expect: Group cycling classes with a virtual reality twist? Sign me up. These 45-minute, high-energy, all-levels spinning workouts at IMAX Cycling Studios push cyclists to the next level with giant movie screens that simulate outdoor biking trips.
[sol title=”Cardio Drumming” subheader=”You’ll love it if you’re a fan of: Rhythm, Workout Mash-Ups”]
What to expect: Out of all the up-and-coming workout trends I surveyed, this is the one I’m most excited to try. Class-goers use specially weighted drumsticks to drum up a beat and a sweat, in what the POUND website calls a “full-body workout that combines cardio, conditioning, and strength training with yoga and Pilates-inspired movements.”
Whether you want to feel more grounded with hot pilates or take to the air on a giant trampoline, with so many creative workouts to try in the new year, you can expect to be tired and sweaty, but definitely not bored.

Categories
No Gym Required Sweat

How Digital Fitness Is Changing The At-Home Workout Game In 2018

It’s 2018, and you can have pretty much anything delivered right to your home and find any movie or TV show streaming in an instant. We’ve come to expect our services to come to us—no need to get in the car and drive somewhere (or even put on pants and a bra for that matter). So when can we expect the fitness world to grab hold of the instant-gratification trend? That time is now.
You may not be able to afford (or even want) your own personal trainer to come to your house every day to design a workout for whatever your mood or goals might be. But now, with advances in the digital fitness market, you can have the next best thing: unlimited variations of studio fitness classes streaming directly to your home—many with no special equipment required.

Go somewhere with Peloton.

Even though you may not cover a single mile riding a Peloton exercise bike, that doesn’t mean you’re not getting anywhere. From a new kind of high-tech spin bike that was originally funded on Kickstarter to an international tool of choice for at-home workout devotees, Peloton has made its mark on the digital fitness industry.
Using the bike’s large, wifi-enabled screen, subscribers can tune in to the hit of energy that comes from taking part in a live spin class coming to you via streaming video from New York City. Users can also choose from a catalog of pre-recorded classes.
Peloton has tapped in to the market for high-quality studio fitness on your schedule, in your own home. And they’re not the only ones. Now other companies, such as Flywheel and Equinox Tier X, are following suit.

The future is digital.

Fitness buffs and beginners alike are going digital. In fact, a recent market research report on opportunities in the global digital fitness market states that “the global digital fitness market is expected to reach an estimated $27.4 billion by 2022.”
These figures include wearable tech like Fitbits (I’m got mine on!) and Motiv Rings, as well as “smart clothing,” digital equipment like Peloton Bikes, fitness apps, and streaming fitness subscriptions.

HIIT your workout goals at home with ClassPass.

There are many websites offering on-demand fitness classes, but a forthcoming service from ClassPass (the subscription service to basically every fitness studio in your city) now aims to provide that specialized boutique fitness studio energy and attention in real time from the company’s studio in Brooklyn, New York, to in-home viewers.  
The new service, called ClassPass Live, will be released in “early 2018,” according to Business Insider. It will focus on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) content at first and is expected to cost $15 per month for new members.
At-home HIIT warriors will consistently be able to access new live content coming to wherever their corner of the earth is. The company hasn’t yet shared any plans to make the platform open to uploads from fitness influencers outside of their in-house team, but the possibilities do seem boundless.
And if you’re looking to get in some HIIT time before that service launches, be sure to visit our HIIT video series. We’ve got you covered!

Categories
Conscious Beauty Lifestyle

This Simple Skincare Routine Will Keep You Looking Fresh All Winter Long

Great skin isn’t just a sign of good health, it’s also a seriously attractive feature in a woman of any age. So what do you do when winter bares her teeth and ushers in dry, uninspired, or even downright itchy skin? You kick your cold air skincare regimen into high gear and make it to the spring equinox looking radiant.
Recently, skincare addicts have been touting the miraculous benefits of a 10-step Korean skincare regimen. But if you’re a mere mortal like me, you may only have the time, money, and patience for…slightly fewer steps. I did the research about simple changes beauty experts and dermatologists make to their routines to combat the effects of winter, and present perfect morning and evening winter skin routines that pack a punch but won’t overtax your wallet, or your patience.

The “Good Morning” Routine

Resist that bracingly hot shower you love.

At least, don’t take them too often during the winter, as anything over lukewarm for longer than 10 to 15 minutes can actually cause lasting harm to your skin in addition to over-drying it. The same goes for washing your face in the sink.

Switch to a cream cleanser.

Foaming or gel cleansers, or ones with other drying ingredients, like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide, should be stashed on the shelf in winter when you’ll want to reach for a creamier option. We like CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser for a cheaper choice, or Murad Renewing Cleansing Cream for a few more bucks. Both are gentle enough for oily, dry, and combination skin.

Treat your skin to an extra layer of healing.

Between cleansing and moisturizer, it’s a good idea to apply at least one additional layer of nourishing protection during winter. If you tend to have oily, breakout-prone skin, you can opt for a very light serum like the Chlorella Serum from Skin Inc. that promises to “brighten and tackle” acne spots while it hydrates and de-flakes skin. If you struggle with a drier face, though, you might want to splurge on a serum with hyaluronic acid like Caudalie’s Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum.

Moisturize and protect.

Keeping your face hydrated and protected from the harsh winter elements is a must for maintaining healthy and pretty skin. Even if your skin usually produces more oil than you’d like, you’ll probably need a creamier product in winter than you do in summer. But don’t ditch that summer SPF when making the switch.
Even if it’s not sunny out, the harsh rays of the sun can travel right through cloud cover and damage skin no matter how low the temps go. Yep, dermatologists say you should wear sunscreen every single day of the year. But you can save a step and still stay protected by choosing a creamy moisturizer with an SPF of 30 or more. We love Juice Beauty Oil Free Moisturizer with SPF 30 for oily or blemish-prone skin or Olay Professional Pro-X Age Repair Lotion (also SPF 30) for dry or aging skin.

The Goodnight Routine

Bye-Bye Makeup Residue

Before you cleanse at night, you’ll want to remove any makeup you applied in the morning or throughout the day. Though any gentle, non-drying makeup remover will work, I personally love using an inexpensive and gentle micellar water on a cotton pad—no rinsing necessary!
Then your morning cleanser and serum can step up to do double duty on the night shift.
No need for a different cleanser in the evening. Make life easy on yourself and cleanse your face thoroughly with the same product you used to start your day, then apply a light coating of your favorite serum to your face and neck.

Moisturize, p.m. style.

You don’t need SPF when the moon is out, so try a nighttime-specific option like CeraVe Skin Renewing Night Cream, which is thick and creamy (but won’t clog pores), or you can splurge on a truly decadent anti-aging night cream like Vichy LiftActiv Night Supreme, which promises anti-wrinkle and firming effects in addition to hydration.
You’re headed for bed, so it’s a great time to lay it on thick and let the nourishing ingredients soak in.

Pamper your pucker.

Don’t forget to care for the sensitive skin on your lips, which can get flaky and dry quite easily in the winter. In addition to making sure your body is hydrated by drinking lots of water, it’s a good idea to keep a stick of gentle lip balm in your bedside table to swipe on right before you turn off the lights so the moisture can soak in as you sleep.

Extra Credit

Not everyone needs an eye cream separate from their normal facial moisturizer, but if fighting signs of aging is one of your goals, dabbing on a gentle eye cream like Clinique’s All About Eyes every morning after moisturizer and before makeup will fight wrinkles and fine lines.
Finally, you may think frequent exfoliating would be just the thing to rid your face of scaly, flaky winter skin. But experts say exfoliating just once a week is enough. On Sunday nights, after cleansing, I like to use a gentle exfoliating mask like this one from Karuna. Then, you can follow up with serum and an intensive moisturizing night mask (like this lovely pick from Clinique) that you wear until you rise and shine…with glowing, beautiful skin, of course.

More Skincare Products You’ll Love:

Categories
Fitness Advice x Motivation Sweat

How To Winterize Your Workouts And Stay On Your Grind In Cold Weather

Disclaimer: Just so you know, if you order an item through one of our posts, we may get a small share of the sale.

From shorter, darker days to icy sidewalks and face-numbing cold, winter has a way of making us want to curl up under a cozy throw and watch a BBC miniseries instead of braving the chill and getting our frozen hearts pumping. It’s perfectly natural to want to go into full hibernation mode in winter, but in the name of self-care, you know you’ll feel happier and healthier all season long if you make sure to keep your body moving, even if your workouts do slow down a bit when the snow begins to fall.
If you’re too darn comfy where you are to get up—or even if you feel bogged down by seasonal depression—consider this your reminder that staying active through the colder months will be worth it for your mental and physical wellness. And with these ideas to winterize your workout, you’ve already got a head start.

Get pumped for seasonal sports.

I have a super fit friend from the northern reaches of Maine who says she stays sane and active all winter by getting excited about winter-specific activities and snowy sports. Here’s what a 150-pound woman can burn in 30 minutes of some favorite winter pastimes:

  • Snowshoeing: 238 calories
  • Ice skating: 204 calories
  • Cross-country skiing: 238 calories
  • Chopping wood (or a Christmas tree!): 170 calories
  • Shoveling snow: 170 calories

Give your gear a cold weather makeover.

I once spent some time living in Syracuse, New York, one of the snowiest cities in the United States, and I learned a thing or two about cold-weather workouts. In fact, I have a pretty vivid memory of the day I had a 10-mile run on my training calendar but there was a foot of snow on the ground and more coming down. Long story short, I put on two pairs of pants, threw cleats on my shoes, and logged the miles.
Honestly, if you’ve got the right gear, you’ll only be cold for the first mile or so. Here’s what I know helps:

If you’re just not sure how much you should actually bundle up because you’re likely to get hot and sweaty after you get moving, try the “What to Wear” tool from Runner’s World. It will give you advice on what to wear for outdoor running according to weather, wind, and other variables.

Sample your city’s indoor offerings.

If exposing yourself to the elements just isn’t your thing, there’s absolutely no shame in embracing indoor heating. Winter is a perfect time to sample inside workouts like hot yoga, barre, and CrossFit. In fact, many studios offer free or discounted trials for newcomers (especially around the New Year’s resolution season).
You can get a good indoor workout without even leaving your toasty nest with fun and challenging home videos like HealthyWay’s Holiday HIIT series.

And if all else fails…

Make friends with the treadmill. I have one in my basement, which is seriously convenient. But even if you do have to drive to the gym to use one, you can bribe yourself into enjoying it (and therefore wanting to keep at it) by catching up on an episode or two of your favorite binge-worthy TV on your phone while you run.

Categories
In Season Lifestyle

Winter Solstice Wellness: Self-Care Suggestions For The Shortest Day Of The Year

In 2017, the start of winter and the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere falls on December 21. But this particular Thursday is more than another pre-Christmas date on the calendar. There’s a long history all over the globe of using the winter solstice—the darkest day of the year—as an opportunity to turn inward and celebrate the light inside the individual and the community. Ancient cultures including the Pagans, Celts, Norsemen, and even Romans used the solstice as a time to celebrate the death and consequent rebirth of the natural world that happens because of winter.
In addition to its spiritual traditions, the winter solstice is astrologically and astronomically significant as it marks the point in time when we in the northern hemisphere are tilted as far away from the sun as we’re going to get. So it’s not only the season of the shortest days with the least light, the winter solstice also marks the longest night of the year. Basically, the cold and dormant landscapes many of us are surrounded by combined with decidedly moody light conditions are ripe for tempting mere mortals to retreat from the world into a person-sized nest on the couch.
While a little hibernating with Netflix is certainly understandable, a self-care focused solstice celebration could be the perfect chance for you to check in with your whole self and make sure you’re tending to your needs and living intentionally, even during the darkest time of the year.
From the more recognizable December traditions like feasting and gathering around Yule logs, to the seemingly otherworldly customs that historians believe were nature and light-worshipping rituals at Stonehenge, there’s lots to be inspired by when it comes to honoring the winter solstice and the woman within.

Witchy Wellness with a Modern Twist

The “witchier” aspects of celebrating this darkest day are coming back into style (yay!), providing the perfect opportunity to reconnect with yourself and the natural world. So whether you want to go solo with some soothing solstice-inspired rituals for yourself or celebrate the season of spirit with your coven of friends, we have a few ideas about how you can mark the day in a meaningful and wellness-focused way.

Try This: Mind

Pagan author and educator T. Thorn Coyle writes that “for contemporary people, solstices … are a chance to still ourselves inside, to behold the glory of the cosmos, and to take a breath with the Sacred.” Whether you have an established mindfulness practice or are merely interested in meditation, a great way to help yourself focus on and take stock of the inner you is to try a guided meditation for inner reflection, acceptance, and celebrating the light within. Here’s a great one from meditation expert Esther Teule of Ekhart Yoga.

Try This: Body

Get outside! Pull yourself out of a hibernation funk by celebrating the things you love that you can only do in winter or that are made even better by the cold. If you’re in a snowy locale, plan an ice-skating or sledding date with your significant other, your kids, or your circle of female friends in true pagan tradition. Get in a little heart-pounding exercise while you celebrate the way the so-called harsh conditions of winter make this kind of fun possible. Just add a hot cider and cookie-fueled fireside (or rather, Yule log-side) chat afterward for the perfect afternoon ritual.
For solo reflection, try this cold-weather self-care practice: Fill your tub up with extra hot water, add a few drops of some of your favorite essential oils, light candles, and listen to relaxing music as you make time to melt into the tub. You can make this ritual special and specific to the winter solstice by using a mixture of oils like frankincense, pine, cinnamon, and clove, which have ties to ancient solstice celebrations.

Try This: Spirit

Whether or not you believe in divination or have experienced the cards truly speaking to you, the tarot is a time-honored tool that encourages self-reflection. The way you interpret your tarot spread can really give you insights into your personal psychology and the state of things in your head and heart that you might not have been able to realize via other means.
If you have your own deck, the solstice is a great time to use a past, present, and future spread to take stock of your life as it is and start thinking on your intentions for the new year. If you don’t have a deck handy, consider visiting a reader or exploring options that really demonstrate the modernization of the tradition, like having your cards read over the phone or even online.
Whether you want to connect to your own witchy roots or you’re just wanting another excuse to feel festive and focus on your own wellbeing, celebrating the winter solstice with one or all of these modern riffs on the theme is sure to inspire you through the long winter months.