This week has been rough: like a punch in the stomach. My workplace had major layoffs, and even though I’m still here, it’s been heartbreaking to watch so many talented colleagues be let go. The uncertainty of how to pick up the pieces and move forward from this traumatic event has been a lot. And while I can’t fix any of it, I do know what helps: I can go to ballet class. I can dance in my office. I can get on my Pilates reformer. I can move.
Ballet has always been something I love, but when life gets hard, it becomes more than just a hobby. It’s my reset button. My way of coping and expressing emotion. My proof that, even when things feel out of control, I still have agency over my own body, my own movement, my own small corner of the world.
Ballet Forces Me to Be Present
When stress hits, my brain goes into overdrive. I analyze, overanalyze, worry about things I can’t change, and spiral into the depths of “what ifs.” But ballet? Ballet doesn’t give me the space to do that.
From the second class starts, I have to be fully there. There’s no room to stress about anything else when I’m trying to hold my turnout, keep my shoulders down, and remember a combination all at once. Ballet demands my full attention, and honestly, that’s a relief. I’m very much someone with an overactive brain that is always worrying about the future and all of the things on my ever-growing to-do list.
For the duration of the class, I get to escape the mental noise. The music, the movement, the level of focus required: it all pulls me out of my head and into my body. And when class is over, I feel lighter. Not because my problems are gone, but because I’ve had a break from carrying them.
There is also comfort in the structure of a ballet class: Ballet is predictable in the best way. No matter what’s happening in my life, class always follows the same order: pliés, tendus, dégagés, and so on. That familiarity is comforting. When everything else feels unsteady, ballet feels safe and like I’m at home.
Pilates: Movement That Heals
Pilates hasn’t always been something I love, in fact I used to hate it as a teenager when we’d do mat Pilates class with no music in our leotard and tights before ballet class. However, since discovering Reformer Pilates at age 28, it has become something I rely on to keep my body happy. Stress doesn’t just mess with your mind; it gets stuck in your body too. I feel it in my tight shoulders, my stiff back, my locked-up hips. Pilates helps me strengthen and lengthen my body to release that tension.
The slow, controlled movements can feel like a reset button for all of the tension I carry. Stretching out my muscles, breathing deeply, and engaging my core can physically release some of the tension I’ve been carrying and at the same time build strength. That balance of stretching and strengthening is exactly what I need right now.
A Reminder That I Am More Than My Job
When you work in a corporate environment, it’s easy to feel like your job title defines you. And when layoffs happen, that illusion shatters fast. Watching so many talented people be let go makes you realize how little control you actually have over your career.
Ballet and Pilates remind me that I am so much more than my job. They remind me that I am a dancer, a mover, a person with passions that exist beyond a paycheck. No company decision can take that away from me.
Finding Joy, Even in Hard Times
Right now, things feel heavy. But in movement, I still find moments of joy: landing a solid pirouette, feeling powerful in a jump, being able to do things I wasn’t able to do during my last injury. Those moments matter. They remind me that even when life feels overwhelming, I have already overcome so much and can handle this setback too.
So I keep showing up. I keep dancing. I keep moving. Because in the midst of uncertainty, this is something I can count on. And right now, that’s exactly what I need.
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If you’re going through a hard time, whether it’s work stress, personal struggles, or just life being life,I hope you have something that anchors you. And if you don’t? Maybe give movement a try. You might be surprised at how much it helps.