Tools used for your workout at Studio ME.

There are moments in life—and moments in our city—when everything feels heavy.

What is happening in real life (especially if you live in Minneapolis) is real. Emotions are close to the surface. People are hurting, scared, angry, exhausted, or all of the above. And for many of us, the instinct is to put our heads down and push through. To keep showing up for work. For family. For our community. For everyone else.

That instinct comes from a good place. It’s rooted in care, responsibility and love.

But here’s the truth we don’t say out loud often enough: You cannot help others well if you are running on empty.

That’s where the oxygen mask analogy comes in.

Put Your Oxygen Mask on First (Yes, Even Now)

If you’ve ever been on an airplane, you’ve heard the line: “Put your oxygen mask on first before assisting others.” It sounds selfish at first—until you realize it’s the only way anyone survives.

When stress is high and uncertainty feels constant, your body reacts whether you want it to or not. Your nervous system shifts into survival mode. Breathing becomes shallow. Muscles stay tense. Sleep suffers. Emotions feel harder to regulate.

Ignoring those signals doesn’t make you stronger. It makes you depleted.

Taking care of your physical and mental health right now isn’t indulgent. It’s strategic. It’s responsible. And it’s often the most meaningful thing you can do for the people around you.

Exercise Isn’t About Aesthetics—It’s About Regulation

At Studio ME, we talk a lot about exercise as a tool—not a punishment, not a performance, and definitely not a way to “fix” yourself.

Movement is one of the most powerful ways we have to support mental health because it works with your nervous system.

When you move your body—whether that’s lifting weights, walking, stretching, or breathing with intention—you’re giving your brain important feedback:

You are safe.
You are capable.
You are still here.

Exercise helps regulate stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. It improves sleep quality. It boosts mood through neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. And maybe most importantly, it gives your mind a break from constant input.

For an hour—or even ten minutes—you get to be in your body instead of in your head.

That matters.

Mental Health Isn’t Just What You Think—It’s What You Feel in Your Body

We often treat mental health like it lives only in our thoughts. But mental health is deeply physical.

Chronic stress shows up as tight shoulders, clenched jaws, shallow breathing, headaches, fatigue, and pain. Over time, those physical signals make it harder to think clearly, respond calmly, or feel emotionally available to others.

Movement helps interrupt that cycle.

Not by forcing positivity or pretending things are fine—but by creating space. Space to breathe deeper. Space to release tension. Space to remember what it feels like to be grounded.

That grounding is what allows you to show up with more patience, more clarity, and more compassion—both for yourself and for others.

Caring for Yourself Is Not a Withdrawal From Community

There’s a myth that focusing on yourself during hard times is selfish. That if you take time to move, rest, or train, you’re somehow disengaging from what’s happening around you.

In reality, the opposite is true.

When you care for your body and mind, you increase your capacity to:

Listen without snapping
Support without burning out
Lead without reacting
Stay present instead of shutting down

Community doesn’t need martyrs.
It needs regulated, grounded humans who can stay in the room.

Putting your oxygen mask on first doesn’t mean ignoring the world. It means preparing yourself to stay engaged for the long haul.

What “Showing Up” Can Look Like Right Now

Let’s be clear: showing up for yourself does not require intensity.

Right now might not be the season for personal records, aggressive goals, or all-out workouts. And that’s okay.

Showing up might look like:

A walk outside instead of scrolling the news
Lifting lighter and moving slower
Spending five minutes on your breath between meetings
Coming to the gym even when your motivation is low
Sitting in a space with other people and not saying much at all

None of that is quitting. All of it is training.

You are training your nervous system to stay steady in an unsteady world.

Why Community + Movement Matter Together

There’s something uniquely powerful about moving alongside other people—especially during difficult times.

When you train in community, you’re reminded that:

You’re not the only one carrying weight
You don’t have to do everything alone
Support doesn’t always require words

At Studio ME, we see it every day. People walk in tense and leave a little lighter. Not because the world changed—but because their internal state did.

That shift matters. And it ripples outward.

When you feel more regulated, you communicate better. You make clearer decisions. You show more patience. You have more energy to give where it’s needed most.

This Is a Long Game

None of us are meant to sprint through moments like this.

Mental health, physical health, and community resilience are long games. They require consistency, compassion, and a willingness to take care of ourselves even when it feels hard—or unnecessary—or undeserved.

Especially then.

So if you’re feeling torn between caring for yourself and caring for others, hear this clearly:

Taking care of yourself is how you care for others.

Put your oxygen mask on first.
Breathe. Move. Ground yourself.
Then step back into the world with a little more capacity than you had before.

That’s not selfish.
That’s leadership.

You Can’t Pour From an Empty Cup: Why Exercise and Mental Health Start With You