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The icaros, sung by a Shaman, are an integral part of the ceremony. It is through these songs that your mareación (the visionary effects of Ayahuasca) is enhanced. It is also quite likely that you will gain a greater appreciation of the power of music through the icaros. Be wary that you might not necessarily like the information that the divine/infinite/mystery chooses to share with you. In the documentary Vine of the Soul: Encounters With Ayahuasca, one user reported that the horror she experienced was truly indescribable and that she thought she was going to die....

Other practitioners will have you lie down right away and go straight into the reiki. Then, they may reserve time afterward to chat through some of the things that came up during the session or answer any of your questions. Each person is very different in how they feel and experience the reiki energy. This practice will also continue to shift and change and feel slightly different every time, similar to a meditation....

According to William Cane, author of The Birth Order Book of Love, “birth order explains how sibling rank (firstborn, middleborn, lastborn, only child) affects personality” and how you interact with others, both socially and romantically. Here’s what you should know about birth order and how it can affect your love life. If you’re the oldest child … … you’re probably organized, ambitious, confident and dominant. As your parents’ only child for a stretch, it’s likely all your achievements were celebrated as there was no competition for attention....

Ethel’s Club started with an Instagram page and quickly grew into a waitlist of 600 people wanting in on the movement. The club opened its doors in Brooklyn in November 2019, and by the following month, its waitlist had shot up to some 4,400 people. The space offers group meditations, yoga classes, sessions with on-site therapists of color, and other wellness workshops, in addition to co-working space, a book club, culture events, and opportunities for people of color to connect and create together....

Masturbation can also improve your self-esteem and body image. Feeling better about your own body means you will be more apt to initiate and reciprocate partnered sex. The combination of having sex on the brain and thinking you’re a hot ticket will result in more sex with your significant other as well. Want to know more about the science of masturbating? Here are over a dozen benefits of masturbation proven by research....

This deep state of conscious rest, an ancient style of meditation that’s starting to go mainstream, is no longer reserved for ashram life or advanced yoga teacher trainings. It’s become a semi-regular offering in yoga studios in New York City and Los Angeles, as yogis of all levels who get a taste keep coming back for more. New release books like Yoga Nidra: The Art of Transformational Sleep, out in March, and Daring to Rest: Reclaim Your Power with Yoga Nidra Rest Meditation (due out this November) praise the modern benefits of yoga nidra and share practical applications of the age-old practice....

We all love summer, but for the summer socialites out there… Summer is your time to shine. For you, this time of year is about calling up your friends, getting out there, and steeping the season in fun and flavor. Whether that’s always having a uniquely refreshing drink on hand—like Waterloo Sparkling Water—or making sure every weekend has its designated pool party or outdoor concert, you like your summers busy and in good company....

I’m brown, and nearly everything about my world and my lived experiences is affected by my brownness. It affects how people talk to me, how much teachers have paid attention to me, how safe or alone I feel when I walk into a public space or a meeting room or a yoga studio, who’s willing to date me. For black people, it affects your likeliness to get hired, your ability to move into certain neighborhoods, how much doctors will pay attention to your pain1, and how police will treat you....

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Here are ten strategies for calming stress that really work, and are supported by science. Exercise produces endorphins1—chemicals in the brain that make you feel good—which help decrease tension, elevate mood, improve sleep, and boost self-esteem. All these are factors that can lead to reduced stress. In addition, research has found that exercise can increase emotional resilience, the way you handle stress. While structured gym time is great, Samantha Boardman, M....

Here, we’re taking a closer look at what it means if you have 11th house placements in your chart. Your first house, like your rising (or ascendant) sign, is determined by where the sun was rising over the eastern horizon the moment you were born. From there, other planetary placements are determined. The houses that the various planets fall into are thought to influence your personality. For example, if Mercury, the planet of communication, is in someone’s fifth house (which is all about expression and theatrics), they might be particularly outgoing and boisterous....

Since then, gua sha facials (both professional and DIY) have met perennial demand—the sculpting technique can move lymph fluid out of the body, increase blood circulation, and offer a toning “face-lift” effect in a few upward strokes. Not only do said stones vary in shape and size (which align with different parts of your face), but each crystal itself is associated with certain energies in TCM—and, oh, are they pretty to look at....

Here, we’ve rounded up 12 versions that suit different fitness goals and needs, to get you started.

That being said, there are some things we generally advise you to avoid in your personal care products, as research has shown them to be questionable at best. They’re commonly referred to as the “dirty dozen.” If you stick to clean and natural products, you likely won’t find these—but if you dabble in more traditional products, keep an eye out for these on the ingredient list: An older survey found that a releaser was found in one-fourth of all beauty products8; there is no more up-to-date version of this study to assess the current cosmetics industry....

When it was my turn, I brought up the challenge I felt trying to stay positive in a negative world. Cruelty, brutality and insecurity seem to me more palpable than in the past, perhaps due to 24/7 connectivity with reports of wars, tragedies and beheadings. I described steps I use to emphasize the positive during the day while still being grounded in the events occurring in the world. Control the amount of negative news in my life....

As certified sex therapist De-Andrea Blaylock-Solar, MSW, LCSW-S, CST, tells mbg, when setting up your profile, you want to be as true to yourself as possible and know what you’re looking for from the get-go. “Get really clear, even before setting up a profile, of what you’re looking for—and you can even put exactly what you’re looking for on your profile, whether that’s a long-term relationship or you just want to go on dates,” she explains....

Try it at home: While you’ll be better off reaping the benefits of arbutin in a store-bought version, you can make a fun blueberry mask regardless. It won’t be as potent, but you can do it right at home. Check out some DIY berry masks here.

Gratitude is “the practice of making space for appreciation,” licensed psychologist Snehal Kumar, Ph.D., tells mbg. This could be an appreciation for the people and things in your life, the experiences you’ve had, or the experiences you’ve yet to have, but gratitude can also (and should) be rooted in an appreciation of the self, Kumar explains. So what happens when you do something about it? Here’s a list of all the various benefits of practicing and expressing gratitude on a regular basis, according to the experts and scientific research: These findings suggest that when you’re in the thick of a stressful situation, if you are able to refocus your attention and energy on things that you are grateful for in the moment, you can calm both the mind and body, therefore reducing the physical and mental symptoms of stress....

Science is showing us that muscle mass may be even more essential to life span and healthspan than we once thought. According to a systematic review1 published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine earlier this year, muscle-strengthening activities can reduce one’s mortality risk by 10 to 17p percent. We’re predicting that a growing body of research—in addition to advancements in muscle measurement and a shifting culture around exercise—will go on to change the way we strengthen and monitor our muscle health in the year ahead....

Below, meet three of the changemakers currently expanding the reach, realm, and power of self-care—and how we think about these two little words as a result: It’s one thing to care for your body and skin by knowing what’s in a product. But when that same product is changing lives on the other end of the supply chain, that’s the ultimate sweet spot of cultivating well-being. And Olowo-n’djo Tchala, the founder of natural personal care brand Alaffia (which you probably recognize from Whole Foods Market’s beauty section) is moving this particular needle in West Africa....