Lifestyle

It has been a long 2 years of enduring a global pandemic that has upended almost every aspect of our lives, As we continue to adapt to numerous changes due to COVID, we’re also staring down 2022, and it’s approaching fast. The new year is often a time for new beginnings, and if you’re wanting to make a fresh start just like us, thankfully there are a number of things within our control that can help us ease into January with a positive outlook. Our friends at Proflowers have put together a cute flower-power infused infographic to help layout some ways to start fresh in 2022. Here are 3 of our faves: 🌺 Reflect on Growth: Grab a journal and reflect on the past year - the good, the bad, the ugly. How can you aim to grow more in 2022? 🌸Weed out Negative Thoughts: Practice meditation to clear your mind and eliminate any negativity. As mental health has become more important than ever during the pandemic, being intentional and mindful about what we focus on can be a great way to evade negative thoughts. 🌼Set New Goals, Reach New Heights: Challenge yourself and set monthly goals like daily exercise or budgeting. While it's important to have the big-picture goals in mind or mapped out, personal growth means being intentional about what we focus on daily. Head to the link in our bio to see more tips on starting fresh! . . . #startover #freshstart #newyear #newgoals #holidays #mindset #mindfulness #WCW #positivity #meditation #growth #instagood #best

It's no secret that female athletes face numerous barriers in sports, inc. unequal pay, coverage, lack of recognition to predatory behavior. From the very public USWNT court battle for equal pay to the US women's gymnastics team speaking out about sexual assault, it's clear cultural change is needed. When it comes to lack of recognition for female athletic accomplishment, there is no exception for women ski racers, but that certainly hasn’t stopped America’s best women skiers from proving the critics wrong. The women in the sport are now out-earning the men and making huge names for themselves. Unlike women’s soccer, ski racing guarantees equal minimum prize money for men and women. @mikaelashiffrin is an American two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and World Cup alpine skier. She is also a three-time World Cup champion. At 24, she has become one of the most famous female athletes in the world. She joined the U.S. Ski Team at 16, and has been using her platform to speak out about the importance of equality, while also inspiring young girls watching her on the slopes. This week Mikaela and other women will be competing in the HomeLight Killington Cup, the only U.S. stop for women on the World Cup circuit. Running from Nov 27-28, the race is an opportunity for the best female athletes in the sport to compete before the Beijing Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, the event is rarely covered in the media, but we had the chance to feature some of the inspiring women competing this year: Sierra Ryder skied for Bates College in Maine’s division 1 NCAA ski team, says: "If I’ve taken anything with me from ski racing, it’s learning how to pick myself up after disappointment or failure and quickly refocus on my goals.” Perry Schaffner who skied for St. Olaf in Minnesota’s Division 3 USCSA ski team, says: "Ski racing has taught me to have a strong work ethic in all aspects of my life. Nobody can make you better but yourself." As for Mikaela Shiffrin, her motto is: "Always be faster than the boys!” Read more by clicking the link in our bio. ⛷ . . . #killingtoncup #mikaelashiffrin #femaleathlete #sports #downhillskiing #alpineskiing #equalpay #genderequality #women

Artists @ajeetmusic, @sukhmanimusic, and @aislingurwin_harp come together to create a captivating display of unity & empowerment in their new track “Ash + Bone” out now. Made by women for women, this track encourages females to embrace their inner wildness, and in doing so, to feel free, alive, and powerful. Putting together an all female production team is an inherently difficult task. It is no secret that the music industry is male-dominated in every sector. A recent study found that between 2019 to 2020, female singers decreased from 22.5% to 20.2%, female songwriters decreased from 14.4% to 12.9%, and female producers declined from 5% to just 2%. Having experienced the oppressive barriers to women in music first hand, producer and artist Ajeet took it upon herself to make a powerful statement answering to the unfairness she has dealt with throughout her career. She came up with the idea for “Ash + Bone,” and created a masterpiece with a critical message in collaboration with an unshakable team of remarkable females. “To collaborate with two other female artists, having my opinions and skill as a producer recognized and respected, and all by a female label head who is conscious of the imbalances we are all far too used to experiencing. I’d love for a group of women making music to be a common occurrence,” said Ajeet. Aisling Urwin, a harper & songwriter from Ireland says: “It is crazy that we are still at a stage where women are not taken as seriously and that we are still in this place of inequality." Born into a Punjabi immigrant family in the UK, Sukhmani grew up in Leeds where she was surrounded by the sounds of her Punjabi Sikh family, the Afro Caribbean community, and the city’s thriving music scene. As one of the world’s few female tabla prodigies, she says Ash+Bone being an all-female production is "a step in the right direction of making such things the norm, and not the anomaly.” Listen to the captivating track and learn more about the artists by clicking the link in our bio! 🎶 . . . #music #ashandbone #sukhmani #ajeet #aislingmurphy #femaleartist #genderequality #producer #empowerment #musicindustry #instagood

Most of us have seen, if not heard of the ‘Pillow Face Botox Filter’ on Instagram. It’s caused public uproar and raised questions around unnatural looks that social media users often see on their feeds, full of unrealistic beauty standards and edited photos. While the pillow face filter was created to exaggerate cosmetic surgery, what’s shocking is 90% of young women still feel the need to edit their images before posting online. The 2019 annual report from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) found that plastic surgery trends continue to be influenced by social media. The overall number of facial plastic surgery procedures in 2019 increased by 6 percent, with nonsurgical procedures up 13 percent from 2018. If these numbers continue to rise, we need to see some major cultural changes, as this is an issue that affects all aspects of body image. In light of this, @vice.reversa has launched a reverse Instagram filter called “Filter vs Reality” to challenge these beauty expectations on social media and encourage women to post unedited photos to embrace their natural skin. “Inspired by celebrities who share pictures of themselves dressed au natural, we’ve created the ‘reverse Instagram filter’ to encourage women to feel comfortable in their own skin and enjoy taking selfies without feeling the pressure to edit and enhance their photos using cosmetic social media filters,” said Jen Neilson, skincare expert from Vice Reversa. If you want to be part of the push to promote healthy, natural beauty, check out the Vice Reversa bare-faced beauty “Filter vs Reality” created by @fayedickinsonx: 📲Open Instagram and search for Vice Reversa’s page 📲Above the grid, click on the 3 stars to view their filters 📲Tap the ‘reverse instagram filter’ to preview 📲Tap ‘Try it’ and take a photo of your natural skin 📲Post the photo using the hashtag, #barefacedbeauty Head to the link in our bio to learn more. . . . #vicereversa #beauty #natural #instagram #socialmedia #filter #selfie #selflove #instagood #woman #pink