A full-body stretching workout to help you feel at least 7% better

Where to even begin?

I’m writing this the morning after election day and frankly feeling very numb. I think it’s partly a reaction to 2016, which was so emotional and shocking and unbearable (in addition to the general horrors of living in a world where that man was chosen to lead our country, I was also the manager of a team of brilliant, progressive young women editors and writers at Refinery29 and had to somehow not let us all completely drown in despair — pizza and a ton of writing helped, btw; I was also pregnant with my first child and had to grapple with the world I was bringing him into). So yeah, detachment has felt like the right coping mechanism this time around.

I hope you’re taking care. It’s ok and understandable to feel scared, angry, sad, hopeless, and all the other things. But when you’re ready, I really, really recommend turning that anger and despair into action. You don’t have to (and cannot) fix everything, and you also don’t have to invent a new way to fix anything — great and meaningful work is being done all over the place to help protect our rights and provide support to people who need it. My best advice is to pick a cause or two you care about, find groups that are doing great stuff, and join them! I loved this from

Bess Kalb

:

This is the time to join your school board. To volunteer as a guardian at your nearest abortion clinic. To fight the shuttering of a community garden. To fight book bans and censorship in libraries. To get to work at your local food pantry. To volunteer at local LGBTQ organizations. To organize donations for migrant families in your nearest city. To read about down-ballot progressive candidates and volunteer for their campaigns. To BECOME a down-ballot progressive candidate.

I’ve personally put a great deal (though not all) of my activist energy behind abortion access. If that’s your passion, too, feel free to join me at the next Pilates for Abortion Funds next Tuesday, Nov. 19. More info about that project here and below:

A fun opportunity for those interested in movement and reproductive rights

Anyway, again: Let yourself feel your feelings. But don’t let the despair and numbness take over fully. Do something, preferably in community with other people. I promise you it’ll help.

On to the Workout of the Week. I recorded this one what feels like 75 years ago, on Halloween, and didn’t know what the world would look like when the video came out, but had a feeling that many of us might have a stress- and emotional-hangover, and a lot of pent-up tension to let loose, regardless. So I’m offering something a little different this week: It’s a 23-ish-minute stretching and mobility session, designed to help you take gentle care of your body, reset your nervous system, and hopefully feel a little better.

If you were craving a tougher workout-workout, I totally get it. Please feel free to check out a WOW from the archives — a few below:

The workout where we get really cozy with lunges (it's fun, I swear!)

The workout where we let our bellies be as big and round as they want to be

Workout of the Week: Almost-October Edition

I apologize in advance that my vibes at the beginning of the video are so chipper! Again, it was Halloween, I had some optimism left, and unlike my usual solo setup I had a friend joining me as my “studio audience” for the workout. But maybe you could use a smile today.

I’m skipping the extensive written-and-gif version today because this sequence literally involves like 15 different movements and I think my computer would explode if I tried to generate all those gifs, but I’ll provide a list of the movements below in case you just want a handy written reference.

Here we go.