The world is currently very scary and weird. Were all acutely aware that exercise can help us get out of a mental funk during the coronavirus pandemic, but sometimes nothing sounds worse than a home workout.

But know this: However much or little you are moving, you are doing just fine. There is no guidebook for coping with this endless bombardment of headlines, bad news, sluggishness and disruption in your routine. You are no less worthy if youre not exercising.

So how can you reap the mental benefit of exercise when you just cant fathom working up a sweat? There is one move you can do that requires very little effort stretching.

Stretching not even yoga, just stretching can be a really simple and successful way to move your body and incrementally improve your mood (plus your body aches) while isolating at home.

Stretching can keep you balanced, Kelvin Gary, a fitness expert and founder and head coach at Body Space Fitness , told HuffPost, adding that being inside all day and having to look at a computer screen can negatively affect your physical and mental health.

Stretching, he said, can help you keep better posture and alignment in your spine. It helps you feel physically better, which, in turn, keeps you from getting into a degraded mental space.

Your mind and your body are intimately connected; theres evidence that while the brain is in charge of telling the body how and when to move, the bodys movements can affect the way the brain thinks and feels.

You can definitely hold emotional stress in your [muscle] tissues, said Karena Wu, a board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedic physical therapy who practices at ActiveCare Physical Therapy .