During this stay-at-home order my husband and I have been watching Star Wars. We’re watching all of the films, minus the The Ewok Adventure and Star Wars Christmas Special, in chronological order. I grew up watching the original series and, like most Star Wars appreciators, I have only seen the prequel films once because that’s all I could mentally manage.

It’s actually been enjoyable to chip away at the series. The story is actually really good and entertaining.

Now prepare yourself for all sorts of nerdy. And not my usual yoga nerdy…

Spoiler alert, Anakin Skywalker turns into Darth Vader in the prequel. He’s unable to detach himself from fear and anger which ultimately leads him from his path as a Jedi to becoming Vader. From the beginning Yoda was ambivalent about Anakin training to become a Jedi. Yoda sensed Anakin was unable to move past the death of his mother, the future death of his wife, and by giving into his grief and hate he’d turn into a Sith.

Yoda is making a point for all of us here.

Especially during these radically daunting times it’s easy to feel sad, anxious, and angry. And let me be real - it’s important that we allow ourselves to feel all of those things. We’re not robots. Or droids. But the longer we dwell and sit in those feelings the harder it is to climb out of them.

I have been in major grief mode these last few weeks. I’ve been grieving the job I had and the community I was apart of for over a decade. Never did I think my position there would end due to a pandemic. But it did.

The more I sit in my grief the worse I feel. I start to feel anger toward my former employer and our current circumstances. That anger gets me nowhere. It might lead me to sitting on my couch scrolling through social media platforms for hours which truly is nowhere.

Again, we’re humans and it’s important that we allow ourselves to experience all of our humanness. But there comes a point when the cycle needs to slow down, stop, and reverse its course.

For me, some days are good - some days are bad. And that’s just fine with me. On the bad days I allow myself to reflect upon why I’m feeling bad without judgement. I take the time to evaluate my patterns and consider how I can make the next day a little bit better.

As always movement often helps. It’s not a cureall, but in moments when you’re feeling down consider moving your body. Roll out your mat and do a yoga practice. Take a walk or run around your neighborhood while practicing social distancing. Put on your favorite music and dance around the house. There’s a good chance it’ll help. Even if it’s just a little bit.

And, if you’re looking for movie suggestions during this time, have you considered Star Wars? The prequel isn’t great - the CGI is overdone and the acting is not good - but the overall story and theme is good. Plus trying to recreate the lightsaber fights could be an excellent way to move your body.