The Bold Italic Election Day Self-Care Takeover

We have partnered with The Bold Italic, to present an Election Day Self-Care Takeover, with a takeover on their Instagram Live. There will be four sessions with local practitioners to help you cope with the chaos in healthy and mindful ways. Since we can’t gather in person, this is a great chance to gather virtually with others in the Bay Area to share in the experience of Election Day, and try to calm down together.

We kept each session short, only about 20–30 minutes, so you can fit them into your day easily. Take a look at the line-up below, put it on your calendar, and invite your friends.

Here’s the line-up:

8 a.m. PT: Progressive muscle relaxation, intention setting, and journaling to face the chaos with psychiatrist Milena Perkins (25 minutes)

Courtesy of Milena Perkins

Perkins will lead a mindfulness activity, starting with progressive muscle relaxation. She will then guide you in a schedule/goal-setting technique known as behavioral activation — to help you fill the day in a manner that will help you take care of yourself emotionally and physically (i.e., setting a goal for a socially distanced walk with a friend). To close this important morning in history, Perkins will encourage you to join her in a mindful journaling exercise, focusing on the ways we describe and find peace even during times of stress.

Perkins is a psychiatrist living and working in San Francisco with her husband, Vic, their pup, Baguette, and cat, Chai. She completed her adult psychiatric training in New York at Zucker Hillside Hospital and her child psychiatry training at Stanford. She’s a Bay Area native who recently moved back from New York two years ago, where she spent her twenties pursuing a career in mental health and feeding her passion for all things design. Instagram

10 a.m. PT: Live music and mindfulness with Resonance, performed by Tauwoo and Nkechi (30 minutes)

Photo by Jen Woo

12 p.m. PT: No-pressure mindful drawing with Stephanie Intelisano (30 minutes)

Courtesy of Stephanie Intelisano

In this guided, no-pressure drawing exercise, Intelisano will share some of her favorite drawing exercises that help her open up, turn off her mind, and push the possibilities of current ideas further.

Intelisano is a mold-maker and ceramicist living and working in Oakland. For the past seven years, Intelisano has worked as an engineer and maintained a rigorous studio practice in the evenings and weekends. In early 2018, she decided to leave engineering behind to pursue mold making and ceramics full time. She hopes that her pieces are incorporated into the daily rituals that make your day the brightest. Instagram | Website

2 p.m. PT: Acupressure and meditation with Anna Lee (20 minutes)

Photo by Samantha Tyler

Lee will start with a simple meditation to activate the heart meridian. She’ll then show acupressure points for anxiety and stress (Buddha’s triangle) as well as some lung/respiratory points and conclude with seasonal self-care tips (that are also ideal for Covid-19).

Lee is a California licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, and facialist. She received a master of science in traditional Chinese medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicines and applied science degrees in both medical aesthetics and clinical massage from Saint Paul College. She has since retired from massage therapy (and from teaching yoga) to fully dedicate her skills to aesthetics, acupuncture, and herbal medicine. She is the founder of Mee Ra Rituals, fusing East Asian medicine and Western science in her natural skin care line. Instagram | Website