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Often, meditation can feel like you’re just sitting there going over your to-do list or thinking about the process of meditation itself, which can cause the time to drag on. Rest assured that you might be going deep into meditation—even if you don’t realize it. Like falling asleep, the transition into a deep meditation can be subtle. Admittedly, this is where the practice gets tricky. Anyone who’s tried to make themselves go to sleep at night by thinking about how they can’t sleep usually ended up keeping themselves awake for longer....

The Enneagram can be a liberating personality system to learn more about yourself. While most personality tests typically box people in, the Enneagram does the reverse with its intense level of engagement. It doesn’t call people out as much as it calls people in to find self-awareness. The Enneagram symbol, or diagram, reveals how we can move toward transcendental transformation and how we can also get trapped in suffering of our own making....

Taking a book club from drab to fab is all about keeping things light—swapping out the heavy literary conversations for lively games, opting for effervescent Ketel One Botanical cocktails, and surprising your guests with unexpected, flavorful bites. Your friends are coming to have fun, not a full-on literary discourse! And with these five tips, they’ll get exactly that: Devon’s first book, Earth Women, is coming soon. To learn more, join the mailing list, and receive updates, head to www....

Here are five ways to jump into 2022 feeling present, confident, and determined to make it your best and healthiest year yet: My personal favorite is the burning bowl ritual. You start by writing down all the things you want to release onto a piece of paper. Next, find a safe place to light a fire in a pot or bowl (this can also be done in a fireplace). As you toss your paper into the fire and watch your words turn to smoke, visualize your unwanted thoughts being released up into the universe....

Even still, it can be hard to squeeze moments of gratitude into your jam-packed life. And while the hustle and bustle of the holiday season may seem like the busiest time of the year, leaving you with no free moments to crack open a gratitude journal, in fact, showing people you appreciate them and focusing on what you’re grateful for is literally the reason for the season. This is good news because it makes it extra easy to turn your gift-giving into a gratitude practice....

If this is an area of tension in your family, here’s what you need to know about setting healthy boundaries with parents. Without proper boundaries, parents may believe and feel that it is OK for them to be imposing their beliefs and ways of living onto their adult children. While these conversations can be difficult to have, they are necessary in developing a healthy relationship with them and with yourself....

When I told them the dictionary’s definition (“a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique"), the kids weren’t entirely sure what I was talking about. Feel free to try these at home! This exercise is not only fun and gets the kids excited about sharing their experiences with others, but really helps them connect to the present moment and the sensitivity of their perceptions....

Here are seven ways to emotionally connect with your partner: And once you’ve stated that you’re being reactive, STOP, no matter how tempted you might be to continue your reactivity. Soften your belly, breathe more deeply, and wait until you’re ready to say what you’re feeling and nothing more. Adapted from Emotional Intimacy: A Comprehensive Guide for Connecting With the Power of Your Emotions by Robert Augustus Masters, Ph.D. Copyright © 2013 Robert Augustus Masters....

You’re probably most used to noticing the psoas after sitting for an extended period of time (when it tightens up), or doing ab work on your back that involves a lot of leg movement (when it fires up). Psoas weakness and tightness often also manifest in unexpected places, like chronic low-back pain, poor posture, leg-length discrepancy, limited internal/external rotation, sciatica, pelvic floor dysfunction, and even painful sex. Knowing what’s going on in your own body is not only empowering but allows you to focus on what is actually going to make a difference in how you feel long term....

To make more sense of it all, mbg consulted experts to create this go-to guide for diuretics. Here’s all you need to know: A few of the most common types of diuretics: Diuretics are often prescribed to people with cardiovascular issues, like hypertension (high blood pressure) or heart failure, as well as those with kidney disease or swollen tissues. 5 Diuretics (mainly loop diuretics) are also beneficial at treating edema and lymphedema....

That said, I work out almost every day—and while I can vouch for the reality that it’s not easy, it is a priority. However, it took me a while to figure out my system for squeezing in workouts while cruising after toddlers. If you can grow a baby inside of your body and can clean up more poop in one day than you thought was possible, you can find thirty minutes a day to exercise....

The problem is that healthy relationships aren’t exactly automatic. Staying on track in being authentic, transparent and compassionate (among other qualities) takes commitment. It requires resolve – to promise ourselves and our partner that we won’t just coast, but actively nurture the relationship. Here are nine promises you can make (and keep!) for a healthy, happy relationship: “I promise to listen when you speak to me.” Instead of merely hearing, listen with the intention of seeking understanding of what your partner is trying to say....

That being said, it’s important to tend to the discoloration patiently and brighten your skin tone with time, but some days you may just want to slap on some concealer and disguise those marks for the time being. We hear you. Don’t just take my word for it: “The color you need to match your forehead will probably be a slightly different shade than that of your cheek or nose,” iconic makeup artist and brand founder of Jones Road Beauty Bobbi Brown shares on an episode of Clean Beauty School....

Beatriz Garces of Nature’s Way Farms explains, “The ponytail palm is a popular houseplant for its drought-tolerant nature and adaptability to almost any environment. It stores water in its unique trunk, which is why it is so easy to maintain.” While it first became popular in the 1970s, Garces describes the plant’s recent moment in the sun, “We have seen a resurgence in popularity of the Ponytail Palm due to its unique appearance....

Dopamine makeup is just another buzzy term for the bright colors and reflective hues that essentially “scratch your brain” when you look at them. But if you don’t want to go full-out, can you do a maximalist look in a minimal fashion and still achieve the dopamine glam title? Certainly—here’s how. In order to truly understand what dopamine makeup is, it’s helpful to analyze what it is not. “All I can think of right now for the opposite of dopamine makeup is Wednesday Addams’ look in Wednesday,” Donni Davy, head makeup artist of Euphoria and co-founder of Half Magic tells mbg....

In response to those thoughts, which may or may not be founded in some truth, a person coping with this fear of abandonment may become clingy, insecure, jealous, emotionally manipulative, or even controlling. Typically, this is a learned response. Perhaps they saw adults react this way when they were kids, or maybe their close friends in early adulthood responded to rejection in this way. The normalization of these kinds of unhealthy tendencies can go on for quite some time....

As our collective understanding of skin care becomes increasingly advanced, even amateur beauty fans have started looking into the invisible shield, how it affects skin health, and what our modern skin care routines are doing to it (hint: it’s not so great). Board-certified dermatologist Mamina Turegano, M.D., agrees: “That slightly acidic state serves almost like a protective shield to various invaders like unwanted bacteria or other microbes and contaminants.” Instead, just be mindful of the cleansers you are using: Make sure they are not too stripping (hint: your skin should never feel “tight” after washing; just clean, hydrated, and refreshed)....

Registered dietitians have some thoughts about the similarities and differences between agave and honey. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1 teaspoon of agave syrup1 or nectar contains 21.4 calories, 5.27 grams of carbohydrates, and 4.69 grams of sugar. “The amount of sugar is indicative of the glycemic index (GI),” Davar explains. GI measures how much a carbohydrate-rich food will raise blood sugar levels. This is especially important for people with diabetes, she says, since foods with a high GI can trigger a spike in blood sugar....

Now, all textures can have baby hairs, no matter whether your hair is fine or thick, voluminous or flat. And figuring out how to style yours might take a few pointers—as well as hair care tips to make sure the delicate strands stay as strong as possible. These feathery hairs are quite short, too, as a result of a shorter hair growth cycle; when the growing cycle (the anagen phase) shortens over time, new hairs may sprout, but they never seem to grow as long as the rest of our strands....