Month: December 2025

Your smartphone, whether brand-new or a few years old, contains features designed to make your daily life easier. You just need to know what these features are called and where to look for them. Poking around in the settings menu might seem intimidating at first. But avoiding this necessary task actually leads to more frustration.

Technology does not need to feel like a puzzle. With a little guidance, you can easily discover the settings that simplify your phone experience. And who doesn’t want to make everyday tasks like reading small text or blocking spam much easier?

Silence Unknown Callers

One of the most powerful moves you can make with your phone is to silence unknown callers. We’ve all been there: sitting quietly at book club when your phone suddenly buzzes loudly with a spam call. At that moment, it feels like the phone is running the show. This feature works without blocking real people.

Here’s what to look for:

Go to your settings and look for “Silence Unknown Callers” or “Spam Protection.” Not only does this cut down on the annoyance factor, but from a safety perspective, you can’t fall for a scam if you don’t get the call in the first place. 

Filter Unknown Senders

You can manage promotional texts using Message Filters. You still receive all your messages, but promotional messages are moved out of your main inbox. This keeps your main text thread focused on friends, family, and other real conversations. Another benefit is that it cuts down on scroll time when you’re looking for a specific message from a loved one.

Filters put you in charge of how often you check the folder for promotional and transactional texts, eliminating those random interruptions. It can reduce the chance of accidentally tapping on a spam link. 

On iPhone, this setting is under Messages and is called Filter Unknown Senders. On Android, find it by opening Messages, tapping your profile icon or three dots, then going to Messages settings. Look for Spam Protection or Message Filtering.

Use Live Captions

Here’s another scenario we can all relate to. You’re in a noisy restaurant when your phone rings with an important call. You can be confident that you can take the call without straining to hear. Just turn on live captions for a quick fix. This feature shows captions for videos, calls, and voice messages. It works even when the other person isn’t using captions. Look for this setting under Accessibility; it is called “Live Captions” or “Captioning.”

Don’t Forget the Magnifier 

You probably already know about using the Magnifier, but here’s a quick reminder. You can turn your phone into a digital magnifying glass when you need to see a menu, a receipt, a pill bottle, or other small text. Look for this under Accessibility settings or in the control panel on iPhone.

Use Screen Reader

Here’s an even better tip. Don’t strain to read that tiny text; make your phone read it to you. Use the screen reader to read text aloud. This is great for emails, articles, recipes, and more. Look for this setting under Accessibility; then search for “Read Aloud,” “Speak Screen,” or “Screen Reader.”

Small Text on Individual Apps 

Did you know you can adjust settings for individual apps? Maybe your banking app has tiny text, or your email app is so cramped you can’t read anything. You can increase the font size for only those apps that need a boost. Look for Per-App Settings in Accessibility on iPhone. On Android, open Settings – Apps, select an app, and make your adjustments. Besides text, you can make a number of other adjustments to improve readability and more. 

Use One-Handed

One drawback to a larger phone is typing with one hand. With this adjustment, you can walk the dog or hold your coffee and still reach everything with your thumb. Turn on the One-Handed Keyboard. Look for this under the Display settings or Keyboard settings. You can turn it on for left- or right-handed, and a simple swipe turns it off. On many iPhones, you can also turn this on by long-pressing the emoji key on your keyboard.

For Your Empowered Experience

These simple customizations are for everyone, not just the techy types. Anyone can make these tiny adjustments that simplify your day. I believe the reason many of us only use a fraction of what our phones can do is that no one explains the useful parts clearly.

Now that you know what to look for, try adjusting one or two settings. You don’t need to tackle everything at once. Start small, enjoy the benefits, and you’ll feel empowered to keep learning more about your phone. You have the power to make your phone fit in with your daily needs. Spending a few minutes to customize your settings will pay off by making your day smoother and more productive. 

Reflection Questions: 

Which part of your phone still feels confusing or intimidating, and what do you wish someone would explain more clearly? Are you the “press every button and see what happens” type, or the “don’t touch anything, I might break it” type; and how has that worked out for you?

Loss is something every one of us carries. By the time we reach our 60s and beyond, we’ve often lived through many forms of loss. We’ve lost loved ones, relationships, roles, health, identity, routines, pets, familiar chapters of life and faced many transitions. While age brings us wisdom, it does not make grief any easier. What does change, however, is our capacity to meet it with tenderness, mindfulness, and support.

Move with Grief

Yoga, in its gentlest and most accessible forms, can be a powerful companion in times of loss. Not a cure, not a remedy, and not a way to “move on,” but a way to move with grief. Gentle yoga is a way to stay connected to yourself when sorrow feels overwhelming. It offers a way to create steady ground when the heart, and everything else, feels unsteady.

For nearly a decade, I’ve taught a program called Yoga for Living with Loss, a compassionate approach that blends breath, mindful movement, meditation, and reflection to support people through all stages of grief. What I’ve learned is that grief lives not only in our minds and memories, but in our bodies. Shoulders contract. The breath becomes shallow. Sleep shifts. We tense around our pain, hoping it will soften if we hold still enough.

The body carries what the heart struggles to express.

Yoga offers a way to tend to the physical, emotional, and energetic layers of loss with gentleness and care. You do not need to be flexible, strong, athletic, or experienced. You just need to be willing to meet yourself where you are. Meeting our grief takes courage, curiosity, and a lot of self-compassion.

Breath as a Lifeline

The breath is often the first place grief shows itself. It becomes tight, held, or uneven. Simple breath practices can signal safety to the nervous system and help us feel a little more anchored.

One of the most supportive techniques is Three-Part Breath. First, sit comfortably with your feet grounded and your back supported, or lie down.

1. Place one hand on your belly, one on your chest.
2. Inhale slowly to expand your belly, ribcage, then upper chest, front-to-back and side-to-side.
3. Exhale gently to release the chest, bring your ribs together and lower your belly to your spine.

A few rounds of this can soften tension and create space around emotional heaviness. Just by being aware of your breath, immediately releases some of the tension. Since you can only have one thought in your mind at a time, focusing on the inhale and exhale gives your mind a break from the grief thoughts.

Movement That Meets You Where You Are

Gentle yoga poses help loosen the places where grief settles: legs, chest, shoulders, hips, and jaw. The goal is not to stretch deeply but to move with deep kindness. Most gentle yoga poses can be modified to meet particular needs. Two simple poses you can try are:

Shoulder Rolls

Lift your shoulders toward your ears, roll them back, then down. Slow, circular movements can relieve the tightness that grief creates around the heart.

Seated Forward Fold

Sit in a chair, feet grounded. Hinge forward gently, letting your arms drape your legs. This shape encourages the body to release stress and can feel quietly comforted.

Whenever you place your hands on your lap or thighs, place your palms down to initiate calm. Once you are calm, place your palms up to receive the tranquility if only for a few moments.

Meditation to Hold the Heart

Stillness can feel intimidating when we’re grieving, but short, guided moments of presence can offer a safe container for the emotions that arise. Even one minute of sitting, breathing, and acknowledging “this is hard, and I’m not alone” can shift the nervous system toward calm.

I often teach a simple mantra meditation:

“Inhale: I soften. I breathe in what I need.

Exhale: I release. I let go of what I don’t want to hold.”

It does’t make grief disappear, but it makes space for breath and compassion.

Inviting Reflection with Care

Journaling is another cornerstone of Yoga for Living with Loss. Freely writing our feelings with no expectations, no judgments, no rules can give us a voice that does not fix or analyze the grief. A few gentle prompts:

• “What do I need today?”
• “Where does grief feel present in my body?”
• “What small moment brought me comfort this week?”

Reflection is a way of walking alongside our grief rather than being consumed by it.

A Path of Presence, Not Perfection

If there is one truth I want to leave you with, it is that grief does not have a timeline. You are allowed to feel, to rest, to remember, to return to our lives at our own pace. Yoga simply offers tools to support the journey, breath that steadies, movement that comforts, awareness that nurtures, and practices that remind you that you don’t have to navigate loss alone.

Yoga for Living with Loss is not about pushing past grief, resisting the feelings of grief, or diminishing your authentic feelings. It is about finding moments of ease inside it, honoring your heart, and staying gently connected to yourself as you heal.

In my own experience of grief, I found that Yoga could help me navigate my despair. I am not going crazy, I am grieving. This epiphany lead me to create classes, workshops, and now my newly published Yoga for Living with Loss, Navigating Our Losses Without Getting Lost. This 200-page guide offers in-depth understanding of how grief impacts our bodies and how we practice various tools to find balance in our unbalanced world.

Let’s Talk:

What do you do to make living with grief easier? Whether it’s breathing, journaling, or walking in nature, whatever works for you, please share it with our Sixty and Me sisters.

Lisa Barlow’s Season 6 Reunion Look

Click Here for More Stock / And Here for More

Bronwyn Newport’s Season 6 Reunion Look

Angie Katsanevas’ Season 6 Reunion Look

Meredith Marks’ Season 6 Reunion Look

Mary Cosby’s Season 6 Reunion Look

Whitney Rose’s Season 6 Reunion Look

Heather Gay’s Season 6 Reunion Look

Britani Batemans’ Season 6 Reunion Look

Photo + Info: Bravo TV

Originally posted at: Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 6 Reunion Looks

I’ve been having the same conversation with women lately – clients, friends, cousins, neighbors. It usually starts quietly, almost as a confession:

“Why do I feel less visible now? I thought I’d be more confident at this age… not less.”

Many women recognize that feeling: you enter your 50s, 60s, 70s with a lifetime of experience, wisdom, resilience – and yet the world still seems to reserve its spotlight for women half your age.

It’s not because something is wrong with you.

It’s because society has spent decades sending women the same message:

Youth equals beauty. Youth equals relevance. Youth equals value.

And even as we outgrow those messages intellectually and in the public square, they linger emotionally.

The Culture That Shaped So Many Women’s Self-Image

Many women grew up watching the same story unfold in public life:

• Young women got the lead roles.
• Older women got the “background” ones – if they were represented at all.
• Fashion rarely reflected real, aging bodies.
• Workplaces labeled aging men as “experienced” and aging women as “past their prime.”
• Entire industries grew rich by convincing women that aging was something to fix, hide, or reverse.

The result?

A quiet, persistent erosion of self-image – even among the most accomplished women.

Not because they lacked confidence. But because the culture lacked imagination.

Thankfully, That Story Is Starting to Shift

In recent years, I’ve noticed something encouraging.

There are more roles written for older women, not around them.

Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Olivia Colman, and the late Diane Keaton – women who aren’t pretending to be younger versions of themselves. They’re portraying powerful, complicated characters who reflect the reality of aging without apology.

We’re seeing silver-haired news anchors, mature models, and magazines like the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), The Magazine, New Beauty and Woman’s World showcasing women doing extraordinary things in their 60s, 70s, and beyond. I also see these accomplished women in my everyday life – in my coaching practice, and among friends, colleagues and relatives.

Representation matters.

Not for vanity – but for belonging.

For visibility.

For women finally seeing themselves reflected back with dignity.

The Hard Mindset Question: Accept Aging or Resist It?

Someone recently asked me which mindset is healthier:

Should older women embrace aging and acknowledge their limitations?

Or, fight aging with everything – surgery, supplements, and all the rest?

Here’s my take, as honestly as I can say it:

Neither extreme works. One path feels like giving up. The other feels like pretending.

And both come from the same place: A fear of becoming invisible.

There’s a Third Way – And It’s the Most Powerful

What I see helping women the most isn’t denial or resignation. It’s authenticity.

Aging with honesty. Showing up fully. Leaning into your strength, your uniqueness, your earned wisdom. Refusing to shrink – even when the culture tells you to.

This isn’t “accepting limitations.” It’s reclaiming your agency.

It’s choosing:

• Presence over invisibility
• Expression over hiding
• Confidence over comparison
• Purpose over apology

Aging doesn’t make women irrelevant. It makes women real – and real is powerful.

The Bottom Line

Older women are not fading. They’re becoming more multidimensional, more discerning, more grounded, more themselves.

The world may still be catching up. But you don’t have to wait for permission. In a youth-obsessed culture, the most radical act is this:

Choosing to show up exactly as you are – and knowing that “as you are” is more than enough.

Upon Reflection:

What does your aging experience look like? Are you fighting to stay young? Or have you accepted your wise years? Or is there an in-between road you’ve chosen?

Style Stealers

!function(d,s,id){
var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? ‘http’ : ‘https’;
if(!d.getElementById(id)) {
e = d.createElement(s);
e.id = id;
e.src = p + ‘://widgets.rewardstyle.com/js/shopthepost.js’;
d.body.appendChild(e);
}
if(typeof window.__stp === ‘object’) if(d.readyState === ‘complete’) {
window.__stp.init();
}
}(document, ‘script’, ‘shopthepost-script’);

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Originally posted at: Kathy Hilton’s Jeans for Kyle Richards’