It’s never fun to discover a planet is going retrograde, especially during the holidays. (Consider yourself on notice to avoid that toxic ex, even if they send the sweetest, sexiest text when you’ve had three cups of brandied eggnog.) Retrogrades make us work harder, dig deeper and look into those agonizing shadows we’d rather avoid. But there’s a purpose to these “review periods,” too! If you’re willing to do the inner work, you’ll emerge with a clear vision of what’s right for you—and what steps you should take to make it a reality....

Eating a healthy diet and exercising can keep blood sugar in check, and monitoring your beverage intake can make a difference too. While there is no magic drink that will lower your blood sugar, certain ones can help stabilize blood sugar and prevent spikes. Research published in Nutrients found that while habitual water drinking after waking up and before bedtime did not flush out blood sugar, it did help protect kidney function1....

“The intention is to repeatedly bring yourself, or your partner, to the brink of an orgasm—continually building the intense sensations so that when you finally decide to climax, you will be rewarded with a mind-blowingly powerful orgasm,” relationship therapist Megan Harrison tells mindbodygreen. Practiced through masturbation, edging also gives you a greater understanding of your body and what it likes. It provides you with increased control over your own pleasure, helping you determine when and how it happens....

Basically, it’s a lack of positive mental well-being without a diagnosable mental illness or a major depressive episode, for instance. With the rise of mental health challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the term is receiving a resurgence of attention. As associate professor of human development and self-compassion expert Kristin Neff, Ph.D., tells mbg, languishing is similar to burnout in that it can contribute to feelings of numbness, lack of motivation, and exhaustion....

A spiritual practice called “soul retrieval” aims to bring back those lost parts of ourselves. Here’s how it works, plus signs you might be in need of soul healing. As therapist De-Andrea Blaylock-Johnson, LCSW, tells mbg, this usually happens as a result of trauma that leaves someone feeling detached, fragmented, or seemingly separate from their body. In soul retrieval, a person is typically guided by an experienced shaman through the process of bringing the lost soul back....

Eloping has almost become an umbrella term, as it could still describe a “runaway” situation between two lovers who want to get married, but it can also be a small destination wedding, a courthouse wedding, or even a spur-of-the-moment wedding. People who elope typically have 20 guests or fewer at their wedding ceremony, if they have any at all, compared to the traditional wedding that may have anywhere from 100 to 300+ guests....

Instead, the argument tends to spiral out of control with neither of you listening to the other, and it usually gets ugly. But when someone close to us starts responding to us from that place of fear, of wounded ego, it often activates our own fear responses. When that happens, both parties cease to act or interact rationally, and the conversation turns into something emotional and unproductive. Your first challenge is just to be aware of these thoughts, take a deep breath, and remind yourself that you can’t change someone else’s beliefs....