With Election Day right around the corner, many Philadelphians have been bombarded with campaign propaganda, text messages asking for donations and what seems like endless attack ads on TV.
To help beat election fatigue, Metro has rounded up the best ways to get out of the house and out of your head. Here are some ways to destress in and around Philadelphia.
Love Your Park Fall Weekend
Love Your Park weekend is back in November with a full schedule of opportunities to get outdoors and make the green spaces around the city beautiful. Conveniently scheduled just a few days after Election Day (Nov. 8-10), the weekend will feature over 100 Philadelphia park clean-ups and volunteer meet-ups.
Philadelphians are encouraged to come out to their neighborhood park and lend a hand by raking leaves, mulching, planting trees and flower bulbs, cleaning litter, and more. Tools will be provided and park lovers of all ages are welcome, according to organizers. Love Your Park Fall Weekend is an ideal opportunity to spend some time outside and feel good about doing some hands-on volunteering in the city.
Formation Sauna + Spa
This Nordic style health center was the first of its kind to open in the city when it launched in 2021. Formation brings the style of sauna from the Pacific Northwest with Japanese and Korean influences and in the Midwest with Scandinavian influences to the City of Brotherly Love in a very relaxing and unique way. Formation’s sauna combines the heat with the cold, and it’s that contrast that’s key.
The temperature changes are really for your circulatory system, and it does something to create this bubble where your censors are shut down. Sauna/contrast bathing does give you that deep satisfaction and relaxation, and you eliminate all of that chaos. It puts you in a place where you are soothed and nourished on a sensory level, and, instead of exerting yourself to get to a healthy place, you do the opposite. It’s an infusion of wellness instead of an action of wellness. The treatment itself just requires a cooling shower, about 15 minutes in the sauna, sitting in a chair sipping tea or reading, and then it’s repeated through for two to three cycles.
Additional services offered at Formation include a therapeutic massage (which is said to be especially popular after the sauna) and meditative sound baths. Those who work at Formation, however, emphasize that this treatment should not be done once in a blue moon. To reap the true health and social benefits of a sauna, you must treat sauna sessions like yoga — practice multiple times per week or through weekly visits. Overall, the practice has a bevy of health benefits that reach past your circulatory system including reducing stress and anxiety, promoting muscle recovery, and immunity.
305 Brown Street, formationsauna.com
Wellness Walks at Morris Arboretum
Taking place Saturdays and Sundays from November 2024 to March 2025, Philadelphians can head to the scenic Morris Arboretum to participate in weekly Wellness Walks (10:30 to 11:30 a.m.) Led by an experienced volunteer guide, these brisk walks will stick to the paved paths and are free with admission.
While there, Philadelphians can also explore Morris’ fernery, tree canopy walk, fairy gardens, swan pond, historic structures and perhaps the most eye-catching display at the venue—the Garden Railway.
100 E. Northwestern Ave., morrisarboretum.org
Alchemy X
This new “all-in-one destination for fitness and wellness” recently opened in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and offers a full slate of healthy activities for both your body and your mind.
As a release notes, Alchemy X offers diverse classes like pilates, barre, resistance, sculpt, and yoga, suited for all fitness levels. Their holistic juice bar also provides fresh juices, cleanses, detox programs, and personalized nutrition plans. All in all, it has a little bit of everything for those looking to reduce stress.
1200 Constitution Ave., alchemyx.net
Pilates and Plunge at W Philadelphia
This 40-minute workout class taking place at the Center City hotel comes from a partnership with Coach Zha, and it blends a workout with an outdoor plunge in the venue’s heated pool. The pilates portion will take place at the WET Bar, followed by a group plunge in the outdoor pool on the 7th floor WET Deck. Classes will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays until Nov 27. Tickets ($40) can be purchased online at wphiladelphia.ipoolside.com.
1439 Chestnut St., marriott.com
