It’s a less common, albeit powerful, technique that’s historically known for its musculoskeletal pain1, physical function2, and recovery benefits. This suctioning, which is often used by acupuncturists and other therapists, is most commonly known to promote blood flow3 in the skin and help ease pain you may be experiencing in that area. While this traditional health practice is deeply rooted in Chinese and Middle Eastern medicine, there is some evidence that it may have originated as far back as 1550 BC in ancient Egypt4....

We all have emotional triggers. It can be challenging to identify what exactly those triggers are, but the process of getting to know and understand them can help us heal and learn how to cope better in response. Here are a couple of examples that might help you to discover your own triggers: Maddie was raised by absent parents. Her father traveled frequently, and her mother was emotionally unavailable. She was left alone a lot even as a toddler, and when her sister was born two years later, Maddie was put in charge of her....

From gel to cream to pencil and beyond—there are more types of liner out there than you might think. Luckily, celebrity makeup artist Jamie Greenberg recently gave a quick rundown on TikTok to coach us through it. Here are the SparkNotes. You’ll most often see them in one of two forms: Either the tip comes attached to a pen where the ink slowly comes out, or there’s a pot filled with liquid ink that you dip the brush into....

As astrologer and author of Queer Cosmos Colin Bedell explains to mbg, “Each relationship of an aspect talks to a particular theme—some that feel a little bit more tension, which can provide some opportunity for growth, and then other aspects can have a little bit more ease, which may offer some complementing energy.” We can identify these aspects within our own charts, but on a daily basis, the planets in the sky are always forming aspects, affecting the energy of the day....

Gemini, for instance, is a mutable air sign, while Cancer is a cardinal water sign. Air signs aren’t known for being particularly emotional, while emotions are a telltale priority of water signs. “Gemini wouldn’t be described as emotional—maybe detached or looking at things from up above or from various angles—and moving fast and looking forward,” she explains. Cancer, on the other hand, likes to call on their collection of memories, diving into protected and specific emotional places in their mind, which can be difficult to translate to Gemini....

Mullein (Verbascum densiflorum) is a fuzzy-leafed, yellow-flowered plant used primarily for fighting coughs and relieving congestion (very good for whooping cough, bronchitis, etc). It is, however, also a potent painkiller, antiviral and anti-inflammatory. Most often, the flowers are used to soothe external pain and swelling (earaches, eczema, rashes, etc.) and the leaves are used for respiratory complaints. I find, however, that the leaves are suitable for pain relief as well....

However, continuously pulling out clumps of hair or finding thin patches should raise a red flag. In general, hair loss and hair shedding refer to different things and call for different treatments—here’s how to spot the difference. So while these terms may be used interchangeably in casual conversation, they’re actually referring to completely different things. Once you begin to lose substantially more hair throughout the day, you may be experiencing excessive shedding....

When the bacteria in the intestinal tract (i.e., your gut microbiota) lack in volume or diversity, or the wrong types of microorganisms start to flourish, it not only can affect your health, but it can also make healthy weight maintenance more difficult. A probiotic supplement that contains science-backed strains of good bacteria can help maintain or restore a healthy microbial balance to your digestive system.* These supplements deliver certain probiotic strains, such as those from genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, and when taken regularly, they lay down the good bugs you want in your gut, and over time, your health will thank you for it....

Yes, research shows there may be some benefits to drinking coffee. But I believe that the risks for women with active hormone issues—like PMS, PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, and difficulty becoming pregnant—not only outweigh any benefits but could also exacerbate these conditions. The female body is brilliantly designed to conserve as much energy from whatever we’re consuming so we can grow tiny humans in our uterus—amazing, right? Whether you are actively doing this or not, your body is built to retain fluids for much longer and to metabolize the chemicals contained much more slowly....

So for his latest book, The Blue Zones American Kitchen, Buettner wanted to celebrate the ingenuity of Indigenous people, highlighting their rich cultures and time-tested, plant-based recipes. Below, he shares some of their healthiest food staples: But the real kicker? They’re versatile—you can add beans to pretty much any tasty recipe. “Americans don’t know how to make beans taste good,” Buettner jokes, since other regions of the world (namely, Blue Zones) prepare beans in such delicious, creative ways....

The tears began to flow, and I poured out a story of everything being “a bit too much.” She sent me home for a week. My house move made me realize just how much stuff I had. Paper bags, trinkets, jewelry I never wore, and clothes that I didn’t love were all possessions holding me back from what I truly wanted. I had thought I was accumulating what I needed for when I eventually got married and had a house, but actually, it was emotional baggage that I was holding on to....

Here’s how to know if an open relationship is right for you. If you do want to preserve your current relationship, the next step is crucial.

Why: There are many culprits: soft drinks, sweetened waters, coffee drinks, energy drinks, fruit drinks, and even apple juice. In fact, apple juice can be a combination of apple flavoring and 100% sweetener derived from concentrated fructose from the apple, so it can be called 100% apple juice. One problem is that the size of these beverages can be deceiving; they also can be a way in which more sugar and calories can sneak into your diet without your knowledge....

Sheltering in place and the reality of the coronavirus have upended conventional notions of self-care. They’re challenging many of us with a health-related Catch-22. Experts recommend staying inside to minimize exposure to this virus, but weeks of staying inside without exercise, fresh air, or sunlight can physically and emotionally weaken us. A change of scenery, fresh air, or just moving a little can feel necessary and life-giving. So although it could potentially bring us into contact with door handles, elevator buttons, and other people, many of us have been opting for short walks or runs outside, hoping our hand sanitizer, properly used masks, and hyper-vigilance can adequately mitigate the risks....

To get the lowdown on finding joy astrology-style, we consulted mbg’s resident astrologists, the AstroTwins. According to them, you’ll want to look to Venus, the pleasure planet, and Jupiter, the prosperity planet. You can map your chart here, and read on to figure out what the findings mean for you—because who couldn’t use more joy, really? The beauty of many of these options is they’re very accessible—and really nothing monumental....

(And if you aren’t thinking about any of this, apologies for that dark glimpse inside my brain.) And I was right! Here, Morris walks through the way she’s approaching holiday shopping this year and shares some great tidbits that anyone could use along the way. “To me, the biggest thing is trying to figure out what the values are of the recipient and how I can buy into those values,” she tells mbg....

If you’re one of those people—and, well, there’s a pretty good chance you might be—it’s important to do what you can do to get more vitamin D in your life. Here’s what you need to know about this crucial vitamin—and how to get your levels up (and keep them up). That’s not all, either. The sunshine vitamin also supports the body’s response to inflammation, promotes cell growth, and is critical for immune function....

It’s natural to want some control over life, yet we have to take care not to form a negative, obsessive relationship with control. Our mental, emotional, and physical health suffer when we use our precious energy to over-manage issues that are ultimately meaningless or essentially out of our control. Despite the truth that even the most tightly controlled life can be filled with anthills and hurricanes, our minds work overtime to convince us that the key to a safe, happy life lies in having certainty....

“Think of your microfiber cloth as being a network of fibers that are not woven together most of the time,” Dimitri Deheyn, Ph.D., a marine biology researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography who has extensively studied microplastics, tells mbg. “They only stick together because they are entangled.” This makes these towels extra sensitive to wear and tear—and when their synthetic microfibers begin to shed, they emit microplastics into the surrounding environment....

The first two studies involved 429 American atheists and theists, and the second batch involved 4,193 atheists and theists from America and Sweden. Stahl notes in his research that being religious in the U.S. is more common than it is in Sweden, one of the most secular countries in the world. However, based on this research, it seems that the major difference is that theists are more apt to value “group cohesion,” or “binding moral foundations,” as Stahl calls it....