A cute low ponytail doesn’t require much precision or technique. Instead, focus on key products to protect your hair from hot tools and to tame flyaways. Sure – anybody can make a 2-second pony, but how do you truly make a low ponytail stand out? Details are everything here: front pieces a la Cher Horowitz; twists and crumples; and a smooth, shiny mane courtesy of a well-thought prep work. Bad hair day?...

Top 15 Ways to Achieve Healthy Hair 1. Incorporate nutrient-rich foods into your diet The easiest and fastest way to improve and maintain healthy hair is to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Hair is made up of protein (keratin, to be exact!), so a protein-rich diet can be beneficial in replenishing any lipids lost due to overstyling, bleach damage or other chemical processing. Vitamins (A, C and E) contain anti-aging properties that can help promote healthy hair....

One way to find a wise response is through understanding that difficult emotions like anger, fear, shame, and grief almost always involve a mix of conceptual and somatic (bodily felt) elements. The conceptual part involves the particulars of the situation that is giving rise to the emotions: its “storyline.” The somatic element is the way in which we experience the emotion in our bodies. If we are angry with someone, for example, there is the storyline of what they said or did that triggered our anger—That was unfair / What they said is wrong / They should know better!...

Man Bun and Beard Combos Scroll down to see several trendy ways you can wear a man bun and beard combo: 1. Wear it With Some Stubble What’s nice about the top knot style man buns is that they’re an easy go-to look for just about any occasion. Wear it neat for daytime or with a slightly disheveled finish for the night. 2. Wear it Low If you’re wearing the man bun and beard style every day of the week, try a new position with your bun to keep the look fresh....

If you work in an open office, you may need to be creative to find a quiet place to practice. Many people have told me that they’re best able to do this practice by leaving their office and finding an empty conference room, or even leaving the building to sit in their car during part of their lunch break. The “desk chair” part need not be taken literally. This meditation can be done anywhere you are able to sit quietly and practice—be it the staff room, a park bench, or even an airplane seat....

Here at Mindful, we’ve been chronicling Richard Davidson’s research on the neuroscience of meditation. If you want to get a sense of the scope of Davidson’s research and the breadth of meditation’s benefits, you might want to check out our infographic: “This Neuroscientist Proves How Well-Being Can Actually Change the Brain.” (Editor’s note: We had a lot of fun turning Davidson’s 87-page curriculum vitae into an at-a-glance view of his research areas....

For the new study, Grant and Rainville exposed 13 Zen masters and 13 comparable non-practitioners to equal degrees of painful heat while measuring their brain activity in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. The meditators reported feeling less pain than the control group. In fact, the meditating group reported feelings of pain at levels below what their neurological output from the fMRI indicated. In other words, their brains were receiving pain signals, but they weren’t translating them into actual feelings of pain....

1) A 7-minute mindfulness practice to shift out of “doing” mode Noticing self-perpetuating thought patterns is a core mindfulness skill. Take a moment to examine how it feels to disengage from a busy mind and shift into “being” mode with this practice from Zindel Segal, co-founder of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). 2) A 15-minute guided mindfulness meditation: Investigating difficulty Sometimes our experience is painful and difficult. And there may be little or nothing we can do about the arising of the pain or difficulty....

Speaking with Mindful back in June 2013, Ryan admitted that attaching his reputation to mindfulness might have a downside, but how seeing the science and support from other major organizations put things into perspective for him: “I probably should worry,” he admits, but adds that he has the backing of “the Marines, science, Google, and Phil Jackson—the coach who won the most NBA championships.” The congressman senses an “openness now that wasn’t there five years ago, because everybody feels overwhelming stress in their lives and they don’t know what to do about it....

They had recently arrived from the frontlines of the Syrian refugee crisis—Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and centers in Jordan—to take part in a contemplative-based resilience (CBR) training for aid workers. The responsibilities of aid workers in the Syrian crisis are extensive and challenging, including providing medical treatment to those injured, delivering food and shelter to displaced people and those in need, providing legal support, and ensuring that donor funds are spent responsibly and accounted for....

In this kind of discussion, things always start with awareness: how to we let people know what’s happening, what the risks are, and what needs to be done to prevent them? Logically, you need to be aware first—then comes caring. From caring, comes acting. But a new report points to just how hard that first step is. Psychologists at Duke University and Waterloo University conducted a series of studies looking at how open people are to information about serious challenges, from the economy to the environment....

Have you always wanted to throw a murder mystery game party for a group of friends? Or maybe you’ve thrown one and you know what it’s like: HOURS of preparation, printing, reading, coordinating… Get ready for a totally tubular, completely rad, and super simple 80’s prom night with a KILLER twist! Put down the scissors, don’t stress about the ink in your printer, and experience the BEST new way to throw this one-of-a-kind group party!...

That may seem like a silly question, since by all expert accounts the mind is just what the brain does. The mind is the output—in thoughts, emotions, memories, and desires—of the electrical and chemical activity of the 100 trillion or so synapses in the human brain. So the question is akin to asking which you value more: the cool air that your air conditioner puts out or the unit itself....

2) Your Mindful Garden Your Mindful Garden was recently introduced by CBeebies, a BBC children’s network. The app-based game has nurturing activities like mindful breathing, movement, and noticing emotions. Bonus: It’s narrated by award-winning actor (and mental health advocate) Stephen Fry. 3) FitMind FitMind is a vigorous meditation trainer delivered via iPhone. It teaches the science behind the practice, tracks your progress, and provides numerous levels and daily challenges to keep you mindfully engaged....

Although a small study group, it represents some of the first efforts to train teachers in mindfulness techniques and to examine the effects of this training in the classroom. Richie Davidson, the study’s senior author and CIHM founder and chair, explains the new research in this video. In a recent post, our education blogger Tish Jennings discusses five things that need to happen to bring mindfulness into education.

The human tone within the hospital was extraordinary. Among patients, their caregivers, and the staff, there was no observable friction at any time. People were very courteous and caring towards one another. In two years now, I have never heard a voice raised in anger within this hospital. In place of the sullen and uncommunicative atmosphere that one sometimes finds in hospital waiting rooms elsewhere, here were patients and caregivers talking with interest and care with one another, listening to each other’s stories about their illness, vacating their seats gladly to accommodate other people in bulky wheelchairs, complimenting one another on their clothing, and in general treating one another as valuable and worthy of attention and compassion....

Just because a product is affordable doesn’t mean that the company won’t put the time in to make sure they’re creating the best products in the safest ways possible. We are beyond excited that everyone’s favorite family-friendly hair solution, Dove, has officially become cruelty-free! Dove has been one of our go-to Holy Grail brands and now we can say for certain that they are a part of the push to end animal testing....

Overgrown Hair: Experts Weigh In Justine Marjan, TRESemmé Global Stylist “Embrace new ways of styling your hair with a longer mane. Try new styling products, hair accessories, or braids, for example. Avoid getting too scissor-happy as the chances of things going wrong are high! Take this time for hair TLC. Do hair masks regularly, practice proper brushing techniques, sleep on silk pillowcases and make sure you’re getting the vitamins and minerals you need to support healthy hair growth....

I went on the hunt for the perfect shampoo and conditioner duo that would keep my hair healthy and highly moisturized. After some trial and error, I can happily report that I have found the duo I will be using all fall and winter long! Keep reading to see which products I am loving and learn why you should give them a try: This Cold Weather Hair Care Duo Keeps Your Locks Hydrated While I was hunting for my new cold weather hair care, I knew that I wanted it to be affordable and convenient, so I went to my local drugstore....

Everyone deserves a little TLC every now and then, so why not spoil your spouse a bit with a massage? What makes this extra special is it’s totally out of the blue and NOTHING is expected in return. SO, intercept your spouse when they get home from work or after the kids go down and give them a quick massage. They will be in heaven and won’t know what came over you {Oh Yeah Baby}!...