Wellness
fromPsychology Today
12 hours agoLove or hate the wellness craze? Here's why.
Wellness culture influences behavior changes but can also provoke defensiveness and resistance due to perceived inadequacies.
The 'Chinese baddie' diet trend on TikTok humorously highlights various traditional Chinese wellness practices, sparking interest in alternative health approaches among users.
The viral trend - where people share Chinese lifestyle hacks, from wearing red for luck during Lunar New Year to banning outdoor shoes indoors - felt like watching the world embrace the culture I grew up with. Around the same time, another phrase was everywhere: "You met me at a very Chinese time in my life." The line went viral after Hong Kong-born stand-up comedian Jimmy O Yang posted a video of himself singing the well-known Chinese song "Yi Jian Mei" on Instagram in November, with those words splashed across the screen.
A true wellness gathering is something far more ancient and far more urgent: it's any intentional space where humans are invited to arrive whole, body, mind, spirit, and leave more alive than when they walked in. That's it. That's the whole definition.
Research shows that in the days following the spring transition, there are measurable increases in sleep disruption, impaired alertness, workplace errors, motor vehicle accidents, and even short-term elevations in cardiovascular events and blood sugar variability.
Drinking tea, particularly green tea, is linked to better heart health, improved metabolism, and lower risks of chronic diseases like diabetes and cancer. It may also help protect the brain and preserve muscle strength as people age. However, processed teas-such as bottled and bubble varieties-often contain sugars and additives that may cancel out these benefits. Moderation and choosing freshly brewed tea appear key.
This opening episode dives straight into detoxing. From juice cleanses and detox teas to charcoal pills, foot pads, and coffee enemas, Edwards and Baumgardt watch, wince, and occasionally laugh their way through some of the internet's most popular detox trends. Along the way, they ask what these products claim to remove, how they supposedly work, and why feeling worse is often reframed online as a sign that a detox is "working."
Hot water is the way to go. If you get bloated, hot water. If you have period cramps, hot water. If you're a naturally cold person, hot water. If you have bad skin, hot water. First thing in the morning, when you wake up, hot water. And your life will change. You'll start to feel better.
At the heart of yoga philosophy is the belief that stillness is not simply the absence of movement, but a profound engagement with our inner landscape. Practices such as asana (postures), pranayama (breath control), and meditation serve as gateways to this stillness, allowing us to cultivate awareness amidst chaos. Through these disciplines, we learn to quiet the mind's incessant chatter and tune into our true essence.
Have you ever struggled to find the perfect drink just before bed? Something like coffee or another caffeinated drink is usually out of the question. Likewise, you don't want a sugary drink if you just brushed your teeth. Cold water, and even room-temperature water, might be the standard, but you should consider the benefits of hot water if you've never tried it before. It can benefit you in more ways than you'd think.
Physiologically speaking, feeling hot-headed is your body's regulatory answer to anger. Contemporary science has shown that your heart rate increases, your blood pressure rises, and your core body temperature climbs as the emotion activates the sympathetic nervous system, which is the body's fight-or-flight response.
Aging isn't just about wrinkles-it's about how your body moves. Or doesn't move. As we age, we often lose strength, balance, and range of motion. Our spines compress. Our glutes weaken. All of this manifests as pain, stiffness, and fatigue. But as Yogi Aaron reminds us, the true signs of aging come from a loss of mobility. The good news? You can get it back through regularpractice of our yoga routine to stay young, which includes breath, muscle activation, and mindful movement.
Whenever we talk about practicing yoga for the heart chakra, our focus is releasing tension around the heart, including the chest as well as the upper back and shoulders. More than that, the anahata, or heart chakra, has to do with our ability to give and receive love as well as our ability to feel compassion and empathy toward ourselves and others in the world.
This calming bedtime yoga practice is all about getting comfortable and allowing your system to downshift. With supportive shapes and plenty of ease, you'll set yourself up for seriously nourishing rest. Let yourself ease into this practice. Move slower than you'd like, allow yourself to luxuriate in the movement, and think of releasing any stress or tension you may be holding onto from your day. Then let the poses do the rest.
Popular definitions of yoga often include terms such as balance, harmony, health, and peace. While these qualities are certainly desirable, and must be created before one can enter the state of fixity, or yoga, they are not included in the definition Patanjali offers us in his Yoga Sutras, the classic second-century B.C. exposition generally accepted as the bible of yoga.