Kerry Washington in Bathing Suit is "Going Green"

Kerry Washington is not just an actor; she is an activist. “Going green for #EarthDay! 💚 Buy some sustainable jewelry and help save the 🌱🌎!!! Today and tomorrow only, @auratenewyork is donating a % of proceeds to the Rainforest Alliance to help protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities,” she captioned her swimsuit snap yesterday. Do it! And: How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 6 ways Kerry Washington stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

1. She Does This First Thing in the Morning

“I’ve been really trying to practice the Oprah Winfrey ritual: I check in with gratitude and grace when I wake up. I can be in a little bit of a state of overwhelm and panic if I don’t start out being connected to grace and gratitude,” she told Glamour. "Other ways I reach out to others to express gratitude is to open doors for others, give compliments, say “hello” or “have a nice day,” give a warm hug, pay for a stranger’s meal or coffee, donate to a charity or send cards to loved ones for no particular reason. Other ways I connect to internal awareness is by surrounding myself with inspirational quotes, regular meditation, yoga, spending time in nature and journaling about how I want to feel and what I want to do in order to achieve those feelings," Dana Stewart is a licensed clinical social worker in Behavioral Health in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, writes in the Mayo Clinic.

2. She Uses Sunscreen

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Washington has a good tip if you have kids. “A lot of the research that we’ve seen shows that it’s important to put sunscreen on your kids, but as one of the most important things we can do as parents and moms is apply sunscreen to ourselves,” she says. “That’s the act that makes kids the sun protectors of themselves. They’re much less resistant to having the sunscreen when they see us put it on ourselves first, and more likely to do it for their whole life.”

3. She Does Yoga

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Washington shared video her doing Child's Pose, Happy Baby, Cat Cow, and other yoga poses. “The child's pose helps to stretch your back and muscles around your hips. In this pose, kneel and sit on your knees. Lean forward, keeping your buttocks on your heels, and rest your forehead on the floor. Move your arms so they're next to your legs, palms facing up. Inhale and exhale, slowly and deeply, for at least eight breaths,” says the Mayo Clinic.

4. She Likes Deep Tissue Massages

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“Massage is generally considered part of complementary and integrative medicine. It's increasingly being offered along with standard treatment for a wide range of medical conditions and situations,” reports the Mayo Clinic. “Studies of the benefits of massage demonstrate that it is an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain and muscle tension.”

5. She’s Done Pilates

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"I've never met anybody who's taken Pilates and doesn't understand their own body better afterward," she told Women’s Health. "As women, we live in this culture where it's like, 'You have to fix this.' Pilates has allowed me to be focused on my appearance and my health in ways that are not abusive or critical."

6. She’s Inspired by Trailblazers

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Washington admires “Jane Fonda, Cicely Tyson, and Diahann Carroll—those women are my lighthouses. Because their light was shining ahead, I knew where to go. They kept showing up for their art and values and that made me feel like I could bring all of myself to my work,” she told Glamour. “If society is telling us to look the other way, and you, as anybody from a disenfranchised community, are saying, 'My story matters,' that is an act of activism.”