Gwyneth Paltrow thinks she popularized yoga

Ummmm... no. No Images? [Click here]( IMPORTANT NEWS Gwyneth Paltrow thinks she's the reason yoga went mainstream Did Gwyneth Paltrow popularize yoga? Did she invent it? Do we have GP and Goop to thank for spandex and oms and Earl Grey tea and inner peace? Is she the person we should thank for a centuries-old practice that was introduced to the United States decades before she was even born? Of course. Of course we should. Here's what's going on [In an interview with WSJ magazine](, GP told a story about going to a yoga class with a friend. In her words: "... the 22-year-old girl behind the counter was like, 'Have you ever done yoga before?' And literally I turned to my friend, and I was like, '[She has] this job because I've done yoga before.'" She also said when she started doing yoga, "people were like, 'What is yoga? She's a witch. She's a freak.'" When she started Goop, they said, "What do you mean food can affect your health, you [expletive] psycho?" So, yes. Paltrow invented the concept of healthy eating too. To be fair, GP is alarmingly influential It's true Paltrow built a business on offering recommendations and giving things her seal of approval, and she certainly has something to do with the rise of Goop-y wellness things like, say, jade eggs. But yoga? Probably not. Gwyneth didn't start being Gwyneth until around 1998, but millions (seriously—millions) of people have been buying yoga books and watching yoga shows in the U.S. since at least the 1960s. And that's not even taking into account the millions of Indian people who have been practicing yoga for thousands of years. As for its intro to the Western world, we have [a man named Swami Vivekananda]( to thank for bringing yoga to the U.S. In 1893. Sorry, GP. ([E! News,]( [Fortune]() Try this Next time you're powering through a HIIT workout, try taking a downward dog stretch in between every few moves. You'll get a full-body stretch and keep your muscles loose (important for preventing injuries!). It's also a great way to catch your breath without completely stopping what you're doing. [Greatist]( SPONSORED One cracker to rule them all We like to think of ourselves as snack connoisseurs, so trust us when we say that [Simple Mills]( makes the ultimate cracker. It tastes good. It's made with powerful, purposeful ingredients like sprouted seeds. It's gluten-free. And it's strong enough to hold the biggest chunk of cheese you can carve off without arousing suspicion. And that's not all Simple Mills can do Simple Mills does the world an enormous favor by also offering almond flour crackers, baking mixes, cookies, frostings, and more—all made at the same level of perfection. If you wanna try them, use [this treasure map](—er, store locator—to find Simple Mills near you, then use [this coupon]( by December 30 to get $1 off any product. [GET $1 OFF SIMPLE MILLS]( STAY SAFE OUT THERE Your neti pot is (probably) not going to kill you So theoretically, yes, your neti pot can cause a brain-eating amoeba to lodge in your brain and kill you. It probably won't—though [it happened to a woman]( this year, this kind of infection is still super rare. There's also a simple way to guarantee it doesn't happen to you: Use saline or sterilized water in your neti pot instead of tap water. If you're going to sterilize your own water, a basic, store-bought filter won't cut it. You can boil it or run it through a heavy-duty filter ([look for the labels]( "NSF 53" or "NSF 58") or, in some cases, disinfect it with chlorine bleach. ([PopSci]() EDITOR'S PICK Instead of one pick for you this week, we have 202 Don't get overwhelmed—this is good news! We know you're not done holiday shopping yet (please don't make us feel like we're the only ones), and we know you probably still need some ideas. [Here are a whole bunch of them](. 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[SEE THE LISTS]( HERE'S THE REST Is willpower overrated? 💪 [Vox]( A map so you can hear what the world would sound like without humans 🌲 [The Verge]( Tips for dealing with gym and food guilt over the holidays 🍰 [Reddit]( The case for treating employees like professional athletes 🏈 [Entrepreneur]( All the ways teens are healthier when their school starts later in the day 📚 [Science Daily]( As the climate changes, is it going to get riskier to eat raw oysters? 🌊 [NPR]( Eating before bed doesn't have to be that bad for you 🍿 [Tonic]( Well Now is Greatist's roundup of all the health stories you were too busy to read this week. [Sign up]( to make sure you keep getting it. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( © Greatist 2018 Greatist, Inc. 30 Vandam St., Floor 3, New York, NY 10013 [Forward]( [Unsubscribe](