This may seem counter-intuitive to an article on having a healthy sex life, but consider this: if 2/3s of teenagers are engaging in sex, that means 1/3 are not. Also, abstinence does not mean not feeling sexual: it means not having sex. If this is the choice you and your partner have made, then do not be ashamed of it. Neither should you be ashamed to have sexual urges with your partnerit would be unnatural not to. There are some things you can do to help calm those urges, and still share the kinds of intimacies that people in love share: If his (or her) wandering hands land where you don't want them, don't just try to block the move with your body language: move them away with your own hands, and say "No, I'm not ready for that." They should get the idea immediately, and respect you enough to stop that approach. It's completely natural to feel desire, but it's not required that you act on that. If you find yourself suddenly overwhelmed with passion, but are committed to remaining chaste for now, simply back off a bit and say something like "wow, that's hot, but I'm not ready to go further right now. Let's go watch a movie." If your partner doesn't understand, or is insistent, don't be surprised: they may not be quite as ready to stop as you are, and might be a little confused and flustered. However, if they remain insistent, or demanding, or even attempt emotional blackmail such as "If you loved me you would keep going," send them home to cool down, and re-think if you want to be in that situation with them again. Surprisingly, abstinence actually has a higher failure rate than condoms in preventing STDs and pregnancy. This doesn't mean you can get pregnant from kissing, of course. What this means is that a large number of abstaining teens lose their resolve and have some form of sex in the heat of the moment, often without protection. Educate yourself about pregnancy and STDs. Understanding these risks can help you stick to your plan, or run out and buy a condom if you change your minds.

Summary: Refrain from having sex. Enjoy the make-out session but keep your limits firmly in place. Break off the make-out session if it gets too hot for either of you to handle. Understand the risks.

Do this exercise right when you first wake up, to clear breathing passages and relieve muscle stiffness, or use it throughout the day any time you need to relieve tension in your back. In addition to relieving muscle tension and stiffness, this technique helps improve mental clarity and boosts your energy your energy. Perform this exercise while standing upright. Bend forward at the waist with your knees slightly bent, and let your arms hang down toward the floor. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, while straightening up to a standing position. Roll your body up slowly, rolling your neck back last until you are facing the ceiling. Only lean your head back as far as is comfortable for you. Once you are standing upright, hold your breath for a count of three. Exhale slowly through your mouth and slowly bend forward again. Repeat this motion several times. Practice this exercise any time you feel your energy wane throughout the day, to help you focus on work or activities. This technique reduces agitation, anxiety, and anger, and helps to improve mental clarity. Do this exercise while sitting comfortably on the floor or in a chair, with your spine erect and your shoulders relaxed. Lower your chin slightly, and roll your tongue lengthwise to form a sort of "straw," with the tip projecting slightly from your mouth. (The ability to roll your tongue is a genetic trait. If you don't roll your tongue, you can press the tip of your tongue against your top front teeth instead.) Inhale through your mouth as you gently lift your chin toward the ceiling. Close your mouth and slowly return your head to a forward position, as you exhale through your nose. Repeat this movement 8 to 10 times. This exercise encourages deep relaxation by balancing the left and right halves of your brain, calming your nervous system. This technique produces an almost instantaneous feeling of stress relief and lowers your blood pressure and standing pulse rate. It also helps improve concentration and increase energy. For this exercise you should sit in bed with your legs crossed or with propped up with pillows at the small of your back. Place one finger against each side of your nose. Press your right nostril closed and inhale slowly through the left, for a count of four. Pinch both nostrils closed and hold your breath for a count of four. Release your right nostril and exhale through your right nostril, again for a count of four. Repeat several times, switching sides each time to breathe in through one nostril and out through the other. This traditional yoga exercise oxygenates the blood rapidly, leaving you feeling alert and invigorated. Sit comfortably with your legs crossed and rest your hands on your knees palms facing up if you need to receive energy, or palms facing down if you want to ground yourself. Breathe in through your nostrils as deeply as possible, while expanding your lungs as wide out to the sides as is comfortable for your body. Release the breath completely out through your nose, allowing the body to shrink inward with your navel gently drawing toward your spine. This is a loud breath that may clear your nostrils, so you might need a tissue. Repeat for several minutes at a steady pace that is comfortable for you.

Summary: Try morning breathing. Try cooling your breath. Try alternating nostrils. Try the bellows breath.

At Starbucks, they use two tablespoons, or 10 grams (0.35oz), of ground coffee for each six ounces of water. A member of Starbucks' Coffee Education Team says that "Too few coffee grounds result in over-extracted or bitter coffee. Too many grounds result in under-extracted coffee that does not achieve the full flavor of the blend." This step implies that you are, in fact, grinding your coffee. If you want to make your brew taste just like Starbucks, don't buy pre-ground coffee. Grind it yourself just before brewing for optimum freshness. Depending on your brew method (see part 2) you will need a different level of coarseness for your brew. Pour-over brewing requires a fine grind (like granulated sugar), traditional drip coffee is best with a medium grind (like sea salt) and coffee presses require a coarse grind. Over-extracted coffee tends to taste considerably worse than coarser, under-extracted coffee, so when in doubt go for an under-extracted (coarse) grind. To make it taste like Starbucks coffee, you might want to use the blends available for purchase at Starbucks franchises. This may seem like a silly point. Water is just water, right? Wrong. To make Starbucks-quality coffee, always use fresh water, filtered of impurities. Additionally, be sure to heat the water to "just off boil," i.e. between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit (90 to 96 degrees celsius). As alluded to in Step 3, it's important to use fresh coffee. This means grinding it yourself immediately prior to brewing, but also keeping your beans in an airtight container. Be sure not to keep your coffee in refrigerator or freezer, even in airtight containers. Another Starbucks' coffee educator says these two appliances are ""not the friend, but rather the enemy of good coffee." This is because while being stored in refrigerators and freezers, moisture develops which damages the flavor.
Summary: Use the right proportion of coffee to water. Choose a good grind method. Use quality water. Use fresh coffee.