It’s not often that you get to meet one of the most storied actresses of our time. It’s even less common that they’re as grounded and open as Zoe Saldaña. Well, I defied both of those odds when I sat down with Saldaña recently to discuss her approach to beauty and her new role as a Lancôme Longevity Ambassador.

​“They've really been consistent,” the actress says when I asked about her decision to partner with the luxury cosmetics brand. “They have worked with amazing ambassadors, and they've been loyal to them for years.” It’s that trustworthiness that originally drew her to the brand, but the product's efficacy ultimately helped her decide. “These formulas have been integrated into my routine so easily,” she says. “They really do work.” The formulas in question? Lancôme's Absolue Longevity MD line.

Designed to target biological—not chronological—aging (i.e., the age and condition of your skin, not just your age in years), the collection is crafted around the ingredient Mitopure. It supports cellular health and mitochondrial function, which help fortify skin firmness, hydration, and collagen production from the inside out. In short, the goal is to help skin look and act more youthful by targeting the cellular changes associated with aging.

​Skincare is only one part of Saldaña's wellness routine, which she says she depends on to keep herself from becoming “dysregulated and overwhelmed.” Ahead, she shares the rest of the products and practices that keep her fueled, present, and Doing Well.

"Lymphatic massages. You really have to stick with them, but you will see the results if you do. I also love extremely hot baths. I'll take sometimes up to three or four baths a day, and sometimes I add epsom salts. But you have to be careful because they can dehydrate you. Just chug two liters of water afterward."

"Frequency music. I’ve stopped listening to most podcasts because ingesting so many opinions can be overwhelming. When I’ve finished listening to the ones that I do like, I’ll turn on a frequency playlist, and it just taps into that frequency that you kind of operate from. I really think it works because sometimes, when I listen to song lyrics, if my mind is already working on something, it can become really distracting and dysregulating. It’s kind of like brain floss."

"Don’t pick up your phone. I’m trying really hard to stick to it, and I’ve really been successful so far. It’s so easy, when I get overwhelmed, to want to punch out and doom scroll. It kind of feels like that cigarette that you need to have a little quick fix that doesn't quite fix anything, you know?"

"The Absolue Longevity MD Intercept Face Cream. It has now become the only night cream that I use, and it’s phenomenal on the skin and leaves my face feeling so supple. I’m also a really big fan of perfumes. Frederic Malle is one of my favorite brands. Right now, I’m loving Rose and Cuir, but I used to be obsessed with Carnal Flower too. "

"A fabric scrunchie. I have them in every bag that I own. Every time I go to any pharmacy, I'll just pick up a bundle of them. I also love hand cream. I’m big on moisturizing."

"Resting is really important to me. Having the discipline to know when to say no and when to stop. You have to respect the hours that your body needs to reset. That, to me, is my idea of nurturing my mental health. As a mother, I know that everything that I put into my body will affect my temperament with my children. I am all about just honoring what will make me feel better tomorrow so that I can be better for them."

"Listen to yourself. Make peace and find beauty with what you see in the mirror. Work with it because what you are is enough. You will always be enough, and just tell the noise to shut up."

Shop Zoe Saldaña's Wellness Routine

Why Trust Marie Claire

For more than 30 years, Marie Claire has been an internationally recognized destination for news, fashion and beauty trends, investigative packages, and more. When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes personally recommended by a Marie Claire writer or editor, or by an expert we’ve spoken to firsthand.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

For Christy Turlington, wellness has never been a trend to chase or a routine to overhaul at the start of a new year. It's something steadier—woven into her life long before the word "wellness" became performative. She started practicing yoga at 18. She prioritizes sleep with the kind of reverence most people reserve for retail therapy. And when she has 10 minutes to spare, she doesn't scroll—she meditates.

This innate approach to Doing Well feels increasingly rare right now. In a landscape obsessed with novelty, Turlington's philosophy of wellness is rooted in practices that have endured for centuries: movement, breath, rest, nourishment. Turlington tells me that she doesn't think of wellness as a trend, but like a lifestyle.

It's also why her newly announced role as the Global Brand Ambassador for Lancôme feels entirely in step with her career. Turlington's long been selective about brand partnerships, choosing alignment over ubiquity. This one, she says, comes down to shared values and longevity. "My whole life and my whole exposure to what beauty is has really been with this iconic brand in mind," Turlington says. "It's meaningful when your life and your values intersect with something so lasting and timeless."

During our chat, Turlington reflects on the small rituals that keep her grounded—from the simplest staples in her routine to the non-negotiables she credits with sustaining her mental and physical health. Her answers are non-prescriptive, reminding me that there's no single right way to do wellness. In an industry built on what's next, her answers linger on what lasts.

I'm not typically on the media side, but if I had 10 minutes [for wellness], I’d probably do a short meditation.

Probably more of a treatment—like a facial—rather than a product. I was just in a hotel a few days ago, and if I have time, which is rare, just going somewhere to lie down and have someone pamper me feels good. I tend to prefer something more like a lymphatic massage.

Probably Chapstick.

It’s always a priority. I think it should be for all of us. And I feel like the conversation around mental health is more present than ever.

I don’t really think of wellness as a trend. Wellness has been part of my life for a really long time. I don’t think of it as, ‘Oh, this latest thing is going to do this.’ Acupressure, acupuncture, yoga, meditation—those are thousands of years old, and they still work best. I started practicing yoga when I was about 18—so many, many years ago.

Nutrition and health are pretty central to my life and have been for some time, maybe because of yoga. Sleep is the most important thing. It all goes hand in hand with good nutrition. I really believe in moving your body as much as you can. I love to run, I love yoga, I love to hike, and I love being outside. Movement and sleep are key.

That wellness and beauty are the same. Embracing wellness sooner is probably a good idea; it’s better in the long run.

Shop Christy's Favorite Lancôme Beauty Products

Why Trust Marie Claire

For more than 30 years, Marie Claire has been an internationally recognized destination for news, fashion and beauty trends, investigative packages, and more. When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes personally recommended by a Marie Claire writer or editor, or by an expert we’ve spoken to firsthand.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Aditi Shah thinks we should all get more sleep—and I'm inclined to agree, given the fact that I can’t even remember the last time I’ve had a good night’s rest. But her idea of adequate sleep isn't just making sure you get your full eight hours a night. During our 30-minute phone conversation, the 34-year-old Peloton yoga instructor detailed all the ways she's strengthened her commitment to being well-rested, including (but certainly not limited to) sleeping on an AI-powered mattress topper that regulates her body temperature overnight and avoiding screen time for at least an hour before officially turning in for the night.

As a person whose career relies on movement and physical activity, sleep is important, but it's obviously not the only feel-good practice she swears by. Shah is a huge advocate for therapy (mental and physical), she prioritizes gut health, hydration, and overall nutrition over any buzzy wellness trends, and she's incorporated meditation and other Ayurvedic practices into her daily routine as a way to connect with herself on a deeper level.

As we chatted, Shah gave me all of her candid thoughts about wellness, from why she's not a fan of juice cleanses to why therapy is one of the best investments in your health you can make. Keep reading to find out how she's Doing Well on a daily.

Well, I am a yoga and meditation teacher at Peloton, so I feel like this is my whole life. Things like Ayurveda—fennel seeds in water for better digestion, magnesium oil on the soles of your feet before bed, or meditation, which is part of what I do every day all the time—all of these things, I feel like, aren't always widely accepted. But I'll say so many of the practices I grew up with have been sort of redeemed in that they have now come around and become really popularized.

I grew up having to have turmeric and hot milk anytime I was sick, and I used to hate it, and now it's like a whole thing. I feel like sometimes our lived experiences have more wisdom than what we know, and a lot of the things that I do are kind of in that category.

So, I might be biased, but Peloton. I think Peloton has so many great options, and I think there's something to be said for consistently spending time with the same person, whether it's virtually or IRL. With Peloton meditations, I'm actually listening to my friends's voices, which is really helpful in reframing or refreshing my day because it feels like it's a person that I know that I trust, and that I know where their heart is at. And then I'm sort of listening to their meditation and their point of view in a way that I might not hear in our normal conversations. I feel very lucky to have that.

I'm a big meditation person and a big journaling person, so every Sunday, I create internal focuses or goals or what I'm thinking about: how I want to relate to myself, what I want to prioritize internally and externally—simple things. And sometimes that turns into a sort of mantra for the week, but the one that I would say I am more connected to that I do all the time is metta, which is actually a kind of meditation. It's a loving kindness meditation. In this practice, specifically, you repeat traditional phrases, but I really appreciate this because it's the kind of practice that allows you to have improvement and change over time. The consistency is going to help you change how you relate to yourself in the world.

The phrases that are repeated are, "May I be safe, may I be happy, may I be healthy, and may I live with ease." You can add specificity to it, but you take these phrases and direct them towards yourself first ("May I be safe"), and then to others ("May you be safe"), and then eventually, to all beings ("May we all be safe"). It sounds like it's focused a hundred percent on myself, but the practice of connecting to and caring for ourselves really helps us to create this inner reservoir.

First of all, I think that long-term investments in your health, like therapy and physical therapy, end up being expensive because I do them for years, but they're worth every penny because, at the end of the day, wellness or health or mental health is not a one-time, check-the-box thing. It's an ongoing practice. If I were to go into products that anybody could buy, it'd be all of the sleep things—I love a good night's sleep!

I have a Tempur-Pedic mattress that has sleep tracking in it. It moves up and down and it has all of the features that you could need to sleep. On top of that, I have an Eight Sleep pod cover—it's like a mattress topper and also a blanket that's temperature-controlled and has AI technology in it to adjust the temperature for you. When you're in REM sleep, you're not really in charge of your body, including temperature regulation. So a lot of people have things like night sweats, especially for women going through hormonal changes. Your body temperature sometimes fluctuates and your body isn't regulating your temperature. So the Eight Sleep does it for you so that you're in the temperature pattern that's going to allow you to get the best quality sleep, which I think is incredible and has genuinely helped me. And I also really love my Hatch alarm clock because it's like a light alarm clock.

I always try to take a walk after dinner. I try to get quality sleep. I meditate every day. I love hot water to help with digestion or hot water with fennel or hot water with lemon. And hydration. All these things are free things that are going to have so much impact on my health.

One of the products or devices that I think feels like a really good ritual to me and is not wildly expensive is dry brushing. It actually really helps to activate your lymphatic system. I feel like it actually kind of wakes up my skin and it's good for my skin, but you really just need one dry brush and you can use it for a long time.

I strongly believe that mental health is a long game and the best time to fix the roof is not when it's raining. So I really try to have some of these practices all of the time, even if I do feel well and I know it's really easy to drop off. It's a lot easier to hone into your practice when you feel good than when it feels really intense, so maintaining a meditation and journaling practice is a huge part of me prioritizing my mental health even when I'm feeling great.

My life is very, very busy, so going back to sleep is another way I prioritize myself. Definitely. I think good sleep lifts all the ships in your harbor. And practicing saying no. There is so much to do in New York, which is such a gift, but so is really being able to prioritize what matters to you.

I really try, especially on school nights, to end my day at a reasonable time. And it's really, really important to me to sort of have a nice wrap-up to the end of my day because it puts me in the right mindset. It's like having a ritual. I think these rituals help us to shift into whatever phase we're going to do, and when I'm done with my day, I'm going to shift into a restful phase. I have sort of the same routines: I love a hot cup of tea or fennel water because I'm a big gut health person too.

I try to get rid of screens at a certain point and read a book, which also really helps me disconnect. It's like a signal to my brain, like, "Okay, you're done with thinking about all of the job stuff," or whatever else is going on. I can just shift my mind to a different place.

Before I go to sleep, I always do three dimensional breaths—like big diaphragmatic breaths—and I think it helps to really shift my whole body and my nervous system into more of a state of "rest and digest" and out of the "active and doing stuff" part of life.

I remember when juice cleanses were a thing. Do you remember when it was like everywhere all the time? I think I tried it once for like a few days, I don't even remember, and it was so hard for me. I'm not an expert on the nutrition of a juice cleanse, but for me, I really need other things in my diet than what I was getting out of just a juice cleanse. I'm a person that's also movement-oriented. I'm going to work and moving in my body every day, and I'm not convinced that that's necessarily good for me to do if I'm not getting enough calories.

I think it's important that, instead of jumping onto a trend of taking certain supplements, to get your own blood testing done and see what you actually need to fill in any nutritional gaps. For example, there are certain supplements I need to take because I'm a vegetarian. I need to take a B complex. I take an iron supplement, because again, I don't eat meat. I also take a protein supplement. I really just like to make sure that I'm personalizing whatever I'm putting into my body to what's actually happening in my body.

Beyond that, it's kind of just the normal stuff: eating a variety of food, making sure I get adequate fiber, adequate hydration, natural but also potentially supplemental probiotic foods. I try to make sure that I finish eating a few hours before bed. I think that makes a really big difference, not only in the way that I sleep, but the way that I feel in the morning.

I always take a walk after dinner, and I think that's a nice way to wind down and it's good for your gut health and digestion. I also think one of the easiest things that anyone can do that I try to do is cooking at home more because you know exactly what's going into your food, and you can really prioritize getting ingredients in that maybe you're not getting other places in your diet.

In principle, I think it's a really great idea because, of course, our lifespans are increasing, so we should be thinking about how to make our years—especially our later years—healthy as well. But at the same time, the real keys to longevity are just starting by nailing the basics: nutrition, hydration, sleep, movement, strength and cardio, healthy relationships, mental health. I really think it's important for us to look at our metabolic health, our cardiovascular health, and our inflammation. I think because longevity is... trending, there are a lot of higher level interventions that people are paying attention to more than the basics, which to me feels kind of silly. There's no amount of red light therapy or intermittent fasting or cold plunging that's going to move the needle if you're not doing these things first.

My physical therapist has a funny way of explaining it: he says it's like jumping over a hundred dollar bill to pick up a dollar—you're missing where you could really make your money.

We live in a world where so much of the information that we get, or so much of the influence in our life, is from media and social media and people who we don't know from the inside out. When we see an influencer or somebody that seems aspirational, we don't really know what's going on behind the scenes. And I think it's really important to realize that what people look like or what they're saying on the internet is not a real reflection of their health or wellness or their mental state or anything like that, and that everybody is actually completely unique and nobody is going to have the same body or the same needs. So I would tell my younger self to just be really curious about what actually works for you. Pay attention, be curious, and know that real health starts from the inside out.

Why Trust Marie Claire

For more than 30 years, Marie Claire has been an internationally recognized destination for news, fashion and beauty trends, investigative packages, and more. When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes personally recommended by a Marie Claire writer or editor, or by an expert we’ve spoken to firsthand.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Whether or not you’re a gymnastics fan, there are a few names that have become legendary in the sport's history and American popular culture by extension. One of them is none other than Jordan Chiles. Chiles is a two-time Olympian, author of the best-selling book I’m That Girl, a UCLA student and athlete, and now, the founder of a mentorship organization. The résumé is stacked.

In August, Chiles announced the launch of her latest venture, Shero Athlete Collective. The platform aims to help young women athletes navigate everything from competition to brand deals, with the support of one of the greatest athletes of all time, Chiles herself. As impressive (and busy!) as she is, what people don’t see is the toll that such a hectic schedule and active lifestyle can take on a person’s well-being, a fact that Chiles reiterated during our recent sit-down.

“I’ve been in so many different time zones over the past few weeks, I barely know what time it is,” she jokes, as she snacks on chocolate-covered pretzels. While Chiles is a winner in a very literal sense of the word, she has also championed a wellness routine that keeps her clear-headed and energized for the hectic schedule she’s always navigating. Chiles is a one-woman masterclass in self-prioritization—something that I, and many others I know, struggle with.

Ahead, the gymnastics star shares everything from her refreshing approach to dieting to how she treats naps with a sacred reverence. While dropping some serious gems, Chiles also reveals the products that keep her wellness routine running like a well-oiled machine. Keep scrolling to see everything that makes up an Olympic gymnast’s wellness routine.

I don’t do anything super woo-woo, but lately, I’ve been making sure I put good things in my body and that my mental health is okay. Doing my skincare and hair care routines really brings out my wellness side. I’ve also become very serious about my naps. Even though I have three dogs, I don’t necessarily have human children, so I cherish the ability to take quick naps when I can because it really helps me regulate my nervous system, especially since I’m constantly traveling for work.

I love browsing Pinterest and scrolling aimlessly, but I also watch old videos of myself and my performances. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by my life and schedule, but for some reason, watching how far I’ve come puts things back into perspective for me. Yes, I’m a two-time Olympian, and I do all these things, but it reminds me of the little girl who wanted to be a great athlete and inspiration. Now, I get to do and be that. So I try to remind myself of how far I’ve truly come.

My morning mantra is the title of my book, ‘I'm That Girl.” It’s the motto I’ve adopted for myself for all of 2024, and it’s one of many affirmations I tell myself. Not every morning will feel the same, but when I need a reminder that I truly am That Girl, I look in the mirror and say things like ‘you're beautiful,’ ‘you're strong,’ ‘you're confident.’ These are words friends or family have said to me, so I try to keep them in mind always.

There are a few items that are priceless to me, so I consider them the most expensive in my routine. My Bible, for example, reminds me that God always has me and that his angels are always watching over me. There’s also my iPad because I love to color. But I’d say my most expensive item in terms of price is probably my designer bag collection. The most expensive one I’ve ever bought is my Chanel flap bag, so that’s likely my most costly.

My support system, including my family and my emotional support dog. They are the people who are always right there behind me and understand what I'm going through. They get how my life is, and that’s something I’m always so thankful for because I know those people will always be in my corner.

I’ve been prioritizing my mental health by really being able to focus on myself. I'm a very kind-hearted gift-giver type of girl. I've been like that my entire life. Now, at 24, I’m starting to realize that life is catching up with me, and I've done so much that it's time to focus on taking care of myself.

I disconnect myself from myself. I know that sounds weird, but I try to separate the Jordan who’s very focused from the one who’s hanging out with her friends. That one is different from the one who’s a dog mom, and that one is different from the one who competes. So really, I’ve been able to decompress by separating my worlds and just being present in the moment.

I’m not super big into wellness trends, but I will say I had to learn to appreciate therapists. I had a sports psychologist when I was younger, and I didn’t like it because I didn’t see the point of talking to someone about my life. However, as I’ve gotten older, therapy has become something that I really advocate for, whether people are involved in sports or not.

I’m not super picky about nutrition per se because my needs are completely different from those of the average person. I'm not a diet person, but I lean toward things that I naturally like and avoid ones I know cause me problems. I’m a big fruit girl, so I eat some kind of fruit almost every day. I also stay away from dairy and milk as much as I can. That process of balance and elimination, if needed, is what works best for me.

I always say it's your body, it's your mind—you choose what to do with it. Now, for me, I just follow the healthiest route. When it's my time, it's my time. I don’t think longevity is a bad thing per se, and I enjoy trying all the beauty products that are meant to help address signs of aging. That said, when it comes to putting things into your body to boost longevity, that’s where I become a little skeptical.

Focus on what your end goal is. I would tell my younger self to just focus on what is good for you and to surround yourself with people who are going to create the same world and space as you. Make sure you can look in the mirror and identify who you are. Identify that you're beautiful and give yourself these affirmations, because authenticity is the greatest thing anyone can have.

Why Trust Marie Claire

For more than 30 years, Marie Claire has been an internationally recognized destination for news, fashion and beauty trends, investigative packages, and more. When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes personally recommended by a Marie Claire writer or editor, or by an expert we’ve spoken to firsthand.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Fresh off an incredible 2025 tennis season and just a few days after her US Open run, Madison Keys popped onto my Zoom still buzzing with the kind of energy that carried her through the past year. Back in January, she snagged her first Grand Slam title in an edge-of-your-seat final against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka—a win that solidified her place among the sport's GOATs. But what struck me most—aside from how genuinely warm and relatable she is—is that for Keys, peak performance isn't only about long practice sessions or match day adrenaline. It's about tuning into her body and mind, even amid the chaos and intensity of tour season.

Keys is game to try almost any wellness practice once, but she's the first to admit consistency matters more than buzzy trends. She swears by acupuncture and meditation, keeps an LED light mask tucked in her carry-on, and refuses to travel without a sleep mask and a pocket-sized sound machine. Like every hot girl with a mysterious stomach saga, when gut health issues left her guessing, she turned to Thorne's personalized testing when nothing else was clicking—and says it changed everything.

As we caught up, Keys was candid about what works, what doesn't (spoiler: ice-cold showers are out), and why filling her own cup first is the opposite of selfish. Turns out, winning Grand Slams isn't the only thing Keys is serious about. Here's how she's Doing Well every day.

I do all of the things. I like the more conventional practices, like acupuncture. I love it and really believe in it. I’m also big on red light therapy—I have the hat, the face mask, the blanket. Honestly, there’s pretty much nothing I won’t try at least once. I really do believe in all of it. I don’t know if people would call it woo-woo, but I think sometimes they don’t realize how much it can help.

And I’d also say meditation is incredibly important. Just finding a few quiet, still moments—whether it’s guided or with music—has always been my go-to when I’m feeling overwhelmed. It’s the most grounding thing for me.

I guess it’s similar as to what I just said. I love a guided meditation, usually on Spotify or something like that. I travel so much, and there’s usually a lot of chaos going on. My job can be unpredictable—things get thrown at us all the time. Like, this year in Madrid there was that massive blackout in Europe. We had no power for an entire day, which was crazy. Once the power finally came back on and I got back to my room, I was just like, I need someone to guide me through this and help me reset.

I have one of those LED face masks, and I travel with it. I think they’re the greatest thing on the planet. I use mine every single day. I got off it for about a week just because I was being lazy, and I swear I saw a difference. I was like, “Put it back on!” You really have to use it daily, but when you do, the results are incredible. It’s all about consistency.

I’d say my silk eye mask because it always travels with me. Actually, I have it with me right now. Oh, and I also have this little Hatch sound machine—it’s super cute and only about $30 on Amazon. I’m pretty sure it's meant for toddlers, but I love it because it’s travel-sized. Having my sleep mask and sound machine, no matter where I am in the world, is my one consistent routine. It really helps me get comfortable and fall asleep.

By really taking time for myself and continuing to do the things that matter most to me, one of which is talking to my therapist. It’s easy to fall out of that habit when schedules get busy, and it can be hard to make time for the things we should prioritize. Sometimes we get in our own way and let other things take precedence over our well-being. For me, it’s about making the effort to carve out time every week to sit down and talk with [them].

I’m such a baby when it comes to the cold. I hate it so much. I’ll cold plunge if I have to, like after a really tough match when I know it’ll help with recovery. I’ll complain the whole time, but I’ll do it. But the whole trend of doing it every day or waking up to take an ice-cold shower first thing every morning? Absolutely not. Yeah, I will not do it.

A few years ago, I was having some gut health issues and felt like I was doing everything right—eating healthy, cutting out dairy, even trying to cut out gluten—but nothing made a big difference. I also realized I was trying too many things at once, so I couldn’t tell what was actually helping. I ended up doing the Thorne gut health test, and it was honestly the most helpful thing ever. You send it in, and they give you this detailed lab report along with suggested supplements and dietary adjustments. Two of the supplements they recommended—one called EnteroMend and another called Undecylenic Acid—completely changed how I felt.

Now, I can tell when I’m not consistent with them; if I slack off, my stomach starts bothering me again. As soon as I get back on track, I’m like, wow, consistency really is everything.

I’d tell my younger self that taking time for yourself and prioritizing your mental, physical, and overall wellness is never selfish. To truly show up for others, you have to be healthy and in a good place yourself. It’s so easy to keep putting more and more people ahead of you, but then it becomes harder to be there for them because you’re not coming from a full cup. I’d remind myself that it’s not just okay, but essential, to fill your own cup first before showing up for the people you love.

Why Trust Marie Claire

For more than 30 years, Marie Claire has been an internationally recognized destination for news, fashion and beauty trends, investigative packages, and more. When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes personally recommended by a Marie Claire writer or editor, or by an expert we’ve spoken to firsthand.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Retirement looks good on Diana Taurasi. When the undisputed GOAT—Taurasi is the all-time leading scorer, a three-time WNBA champion, and a six-time Olympic gold medalist to name just a few of her many record-breaking achievements—announced that she would not be returning to play for the Phoenix Mercury earlier this year, many wondered what her next move might be. How does someone who spent 20 seasons on a regimented schedule of games, travel, and training transition into the next phase of life? As it turns out, relishing in the slower pace has been nothing but pure bliss.

“I'm taking a step back from everything,” Taurasi says. “I'm really just enjoying being around my family, being around my kids and my wife all day, and tapping into friendships and different people that for the most part I’ve just been too busy to really give myself to. It’s been nice to take a step back and have less on my plate.”

The former pro basketball player is still picking up passion projects here and there. She recently partnered with pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Regeneron to share her experience of dealing with eczema. And later this month, she’ll be hosting a basketball camp with the Snow Valley Basketball Santa Barbara for young girls to sharpen their skills on the court. She believes a big part of wellness is the connectivity that basketball—and sports in general—brings with the people around you.

“That's the power of sports,” she says. “There is something amazing when a collective group of people can all push towards one way and one goal. Sometimes you get there and sometimes you don't. But the journey is definitely very important.”

Below, Taurasi further breaks down her wellness routine and how she’s taking care of her body, mind, and soul.

I did have a pretty strict routine with some yoga and Pilates, and I think with that came a lot of deep breathing and meditation that calmed me down before I went out there and really got into the game. So later in my career, I really used that to center myself before I got on the court, and to this day before every workout, if I go play golf or tennis, or I do a home workout, I set aside a good five to 10 minutes of just some really intentional stretching and breathing, and just think about why I'm doing it. That gives me just a little bit of motivation to do it.

There's a couple of artists that I really like, and I put them on and they kind of just put me in this really flowy and wellness state of mind. But [wellness] can come in different ways too. We always talk about the relaxed side, but there’s another side that you need; that edgy and getting ready for physical and motivational pump up.

I grew up in Los Angeles, so a lot of the early West Coast '90s rap was really something that I loved [to listen to]. It is funny [thinking about] the duality of being calm and being really intentional and focused to go out and play basketball. I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, and Alice In Chains. As I got older, my core of music stayed the same. But then I added Citizen Cope, David Gray, and all these different artists that really just make music so amazing.

I always start the day with a cup of coffee. [As a family] we have breakfast together, and I think just that cup of coffee gets me ready for the day, whatever it may be. It might be a day of taking the kids to soccer practice, a basketball practice. It might be a day of running errands or a day that I have nothing. And that cup of coffee really just grounds me and gets me ready for the day.

So the most expensive would probably be the physical trainer that I've used for the last 20 years here in Phoenix. This amazing PT, masseuse, just all things incorporated. She's worth every single penny. I've worked with her for probably 20 years of my WNBA career here in Phoenix. Just an amazing woman (and she's probably the most expensive [PT out there] too).

When it comes to working out and wellness, there is something to be said about showing up for someone else. I think that is the ultimate well-being [practice]: when you can share it with another human being and use that synergy to motivate each other to better each other. That's the one thing about basketball that has always brought to me and all the people connected to it.

A lacrosse ball. I get so much done with a lacrosse ball before I work out on my feet, hammies, IT band, etc. just to help with agility and stuff.

For as driven as I was in my 20 years of playing, I'm really just okay with not being that busy. I'm okay with not having that much on my plate. I'm okay with the simple things in life right now. Those things are keeping me happy. They're keeping me centered.

I've been trying to do it on both sides. I try to wake up, leave my phone down, and go and have my coffee and our good mornings at breakfast together, which I don't always stick to.

At night, to be honest, a little bit of therapy for me is to actually be on the phone and look at real estate. I love to look at real estate and follow it. I'm a Redfin proponent; I love it. I'm always on it. Then we always like to watch a vacation show or a travel show. That kind of unwinds me.

I've been a vegan for 10 years now. So I think that realization for me came a long time ago. It was something that can really impact my career pretty quickly, and what you eat impacts me the most (especially when you’re trying to be the best athlete you can be and stay in the best shape and for recovery [and] all those things). So I really took a deep interest in plant-based nutrition, and it's been amazing. Penny’s plant-based. Our kids have been plant-based. It really has really been interesting; we've learned a lot about food, different kinds of food, and different types of nutrition. That comes with also the wellbeing of animals and the earth. So it's kind of one of those things that's been all encompassing, and it has been a great journey.

Everything happens for a reason, and the way you react to it really shapes who you are in the long run. I would probably just tell my younger self to get more sleep. I think sleep would've taken care of a lot of things.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

As a loyal Food Network watcher, I’ve been keeping up with Ayesha Curry for years. I’m a proud owner of The Full Plate cookbook (highly recommend) and live for an Ayesha’s Home Kitchen re-run. But come 2023, the chef was reintroduced to me not from the comfort of my own couch-slash-kitchen, but in the Marie Claire office with the debut of her skincare line, Sweet July. The brand, which relies heavily on Caribbean superfruit extracts like papaya, passionfruit, and guava, is gearing up for my personal favorite launch yet: the Lip Treatment Collection, a trio of lip balms that taste delicious (I wouldn’t expect anything else) and feel luxurious.

However, sitting down with Curry to discuss the launch also came with a front-row seat to her five-star wellness routine. Her regimen includes a trio of gut-health supplements, tuning fork resets, and non-negotiable therapy. There’s the occasional red light session or a Disco Nap recharge, too. To get the full rundown, read ahead.

It’s not necessarily woo-woo, but I do love a good ice bath for my face. Nine out of 10 times, I forget, but that one percent where I remember? I notice that it de-puffs and my makeup goes on better. I’m a big vibe girl, so I like to set up my bathroom with some incense or a candle, have a diffuser going, and set the mood with some music. It makes the experience so much more enjoyable for me.

Honestly, I love a little bathroom break. I’m not afraid to say that I’m using my phone if I’m on the toilet. I don’t care what anybody says, I love a good five-minute Instagram scroll there. It does wonders for the soul. I was worried that my screen time was too high, so I checked it one day, and it was only 40 minutes. Let’s just hope I’m not spending 40-something minutes on the toilet every day. It’s honestly such a good reset for me because it’s the only place where the kids aren’t trying to peek in and scream my name.

I’m very spoiled right now because the baby just turned one. He’s very interactive, and he’s also a really great sleeper. He’s really my alarm clock. I have not had one day—knock on wood—where he’s not smiling or waiting to welcome me. That’s life’s best medicine right there. It’s impossible to start your day off badly when it starts like that. But he’s going to grow up and grow out of it, so in between babies, one mantra I have for myself is: you can do it, just get through it. It’s simple, but sometimes stuff sucks and you need to remind yourself that tomorrow will be different.

I bought this red light mask from JOVS. It was pretty expensive, but it works. I use the Sweet July Skin Sleep Serum, a little moisturizer, and pop the red light mask on, and I’m a new person.

Definitely my new Sweet July Skin lip treatment. It’s truly unlike any other lip treatment on the market. Everybody does something, but ours is great because it has this maxi lip peptide in it, which is like a superhero peptide. It coats, it hydrates, and it lasts a long time on the lips. It gives a good gloss, too. I made it with a metal tip that you’ll see on a lot of eye creams, but I really wanted to have that cooling sensation for the lips. I have a food background, so everything has to be a delicious, sensory experience. There are some crap flavors out there, but we worked really hard on getting these right. Right now, I’m gravitating towards guava jelly. I know it’s guava girl summer, but we’ve had this in development for two years!

One way that I’m always prioritizing my mental health is that I make therapy non-negotiable. Even if I’m feeling amazing and I’m on cloud nine, I’ll still make time to go. I find that routine keeps me zen.

I’ve tried those diet teas that make you poop—I won’t ever do that again. You end up gaining back twice the water weight.

It’s funny—I don’t remember my mom or my grandma or anybody ever complaining, but maybe they were just afraid to. Something that’s been working for me lately is this probiotic called Superfood. I’m starting to see a shift. I also love Coconut Cult yogurt. I think it helps keep me regular. Then I’m on the sea moss thing. I can’t say it’s doing anything, but it’s part of the routine.

I’m into biohacking. I just started taking longevity gummies, but it’s only been, like, four days. I did splurge for Mother’s Day though and got myself something called a Bio Charger. It’s essentially a Tesla coil that generates varying levels of electricity and energy. You sit in front of it for 15 to 20 minutes, and it resets your body. It’s probably like an overly-priced tuning fork, but the intentionality behind it is really cool. I feel really energized after.

We also have a Shift Wave Chair that features a function called Disco Nap. It basically vibrates your body and gives you some breathing prompts. If you didn’t get a good sleep that night, it makes your body react like you did with just one, 10-minute session.

Wellness is a journey. A lot of it isn’t going to make sense, but you have to find what works for you. Wellness also doesn’t always have to be physical; it can be mental as well. I’d also tell my younger self that you have to be unapologetic about finding what works for you because there’s a lot of judgment in the world.

I have a tuning fork. It’s an old world metal device and you tap it on your palm and put it on your lymph nodes or trigger points to help the body reset. It helps your system process and digest food more effectively because it vibrates your organs in a specific way. Sometimes I’ll do it for my kids, and they get a kick out of it—they absolutely love it.

Why Trust Marie Claire

For more than 30 years, Marie Claire has been an internationally recognized destination for news, fashion and beauty trends, investigative packages, and more. When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes personally recommended by a Marie Claire writer or editor, or by an expert we’ve spoken to firsthand.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

When I finally log into my Zoom with Bryce Dallas Howard—late, thanks to classic tech issues—I expect awkwardness and scrambling. Instead, she smiles big, laughs, and says, "That gave me some extra time to apply my lip!" Her vibe? Down-to-earth, sharp, and quick-witted. Then I clock the product in her hand: the unmistakable bright purple, stacked compact from my newest beauty brand favorite. "Wait—is that Subtl Beauty?" I ask. We instantly bond over a shared "I'm obsessed" before she tells me she discovered it mid-flight, while overhearing the brand's founder in the seat in front of her (hi, Rachel!). "I DMed her as soon as we landed," she laughs. That's when I knew this wasn't going to be your standard celebrity profile.

Howard doesn't do small talk or scripted interviews. Chatting with her feels more like catching up with your smartest, most grounded friend—the one who, oh yeah, just directed a Disney+ documentary and is starring in an upcoming Prime Video action-comedy (it premieres June 12 on Amazon, mark your calendar). Between our conversation about Pets (the documentary that was inspired by her personal relationship with animals) and Deep Cover (think improv comedy meets undercover sting operations), it's clear she's been busy.

But when I ask how she manages to juggle everything and have a good relationship with wellness at the same time, it becomes clear that Howard's approach isn't about control or perfection. Instead, it's about joy and self-kindness. She's candid about emotional eating, talks openly about walking away from diet culture, and finds happiness in the things she values the most, big or small—like frequency devices, a skincare product she's been scraping from the same jar since 2017, and the cute animal videos she binges that send her into a dopamine spiral.

Howard isn't here with a wellness playbook—just real talk about listening to your body, ditching the guilt, and finding calm in the everyday. Oh, and, of course, she's got her lip on.

I’m a huge fan of frequency healing. When I’m stressed or feeling overwhelmed, I put on frequency sessions. It helps me drop out of the mental chatter and just be present. I wear these devices—I actually just ordered a new one. It’s a Trinity. My mom wears hers pretty much around the clock. My husband’s been having sinus issues, so we busted it out for him today. I just really believe in that stuff—frequencies, EMFs, radiation, all of it. It’s powerful. I’m very into it. Over the years, I’ve learned to pay attention to it whenever something pops up.

My mom used to get cold sores on her lips, and now she keeps it on the “cold sore” setting. She hasn’t had one in years. It’s this thing where you can use sound, vibration, or electromagnetic frequencies to help your body and mind reset and relax. It feels like this deep recalibration. I had my first experience with it a few years ago, and I was like, “Whoa, what is this?” It’s one of those things that sounds woo-woo but actually makes a huge difference in how I feel physically and mentally.

I usually reach for something that’s calm and doesn’t require much brain energy. It’s less about active learning and more about a pause. Usually, videos of pets. Online comedy. Laughter is the most powerful form of self-care for me.

When I’m feeling really overwhelmed, I like to take a break and watch videos of animals—pets doing silly, joyful things. It’s such a quick way to ground myself and bring a little lightness back into the moment. If I have just 10 minutes to reset, I’ll watch videos of animals being their goofy, authentic selves. There’s something about their pure joy and spontaneity that immediately shifts my mood.

That kind of lightheartedness is pure medicine for me. In our hectic lives, we often forget how much animals ground us. That’s exactly what I wanted to capture in my new documentary, Pets on Disney+—the deep, sometimes surprising, relationships that enrich our well-being. I basically made Pets as a place to house all those wonderful, funny videos that just make me laugh.

The Retrouvé Revitalizing Eye Concentrate. Okay, I’m going to admit something I probably shouldn’t...a bottle of this lasts forever. I’m still using one I got in 2017. And I did get another one—basically, I tend to pick one up every time I do a movie. So I got a new one in 2020. But I still have both—they just never seem to run out. You only need the tiniest dab. It’s so powerful.

Weleda Skin Food. I put it everywhere—especially around my mouth. I’ll let it sink in like a moisturizing mask. I use it daily; I have eczema, so I'll use it on my hands too, and it’s the only thing that helps.

By taking things one day at a time, and trying to stay playful. That also kind of ties in with [my new movie] Deep Cover. I play a comedy improv teacher in the movie. Improv helps you stay present, listen, and build on what’s already there. So instead of reaching or constructing something unrealistic, I’m trying to be grounded in the here and now. Laughter, playfulness, staying present, moment to moment. That’s what really helps.

I paint! I’m finishing up an online fine arts program at the Milan Art Institute—I’m in the portfolio phase right now. Even when I’m not working on portfolio pieces, I’ll do watercolor or something. It’s constant, I have all my [painting] supplies right here next to me.

Being a raw foodist. And it’s not a knock on veganism—I’d totally do that again. But I was a vegan raw foodist, and raw food was just one step too far. I did it for three and a half years, and when I stopped, it was a big deal because it became a real health issue, especially during pregnancy and after.

I saw four doctors, and each of them said, “You’re missing amino acids and essential nutrients. You need to eat some meat.” I was like, “No.” The last doctor said, “Bryce, I completely respect your choice, but you’re going to have to decide between your ethics and your future.”

It was really emotional starting to incorporate meat again—I felt like I was betraying my values. And it’s still something I struggle with: where’s this coming from, and what’s the real cost of this choice? Because the slaughterhouse industry is incredibly abusive. So yeah, the veganism I still value, but I took it too far with the raw foodism. Still, I’ve learned a lot from it and kept a lot of those tenets in my life.

Well…I could definitely improve. But there are two big things for me: First, I don’t diet or try to manipulate what I eat or how I move in order to control how I look. When I stopped doing that—when I stopped trying to fit into a certain size—my health totally turned around. I was finally listening to my body again. It became a collaboration instead of a dictatorship shaped by outside pressure. So not dieting has been huge. I don’t let my appearance dictate what goes into my body anymore.

The second thing is kind of on the other end of the spectrum—I have celiac, so I can’t eat gluten. And in the last few years, I developed a pretty severe allergy to eggs. I can still eat eggs if they’re baked into something, but if I have scrambled eggs? Whoa. I get just so, so sick. Then, about two years ago, I started to get a very similar reaction to coffee, so I had to give that up as well.

Now, more than ever, I am careful not to be restrictive in any way that isn’t medically necessary, because there are already so many foods I literally can’t have. But hot chocolate works great. Honestly, better [than coffee]. I need a shirt that says “Powered by Hot Chocolate.”

I’d talk about dieting. I’d say: if you knew with certainty that no matter what you did physically, or what you ate, it would have zero impact on your weight or size—how would you eat? How would you move? That kind of framing forces you to reconnect with what you actually enjoy and what actually feels good. It shifts your relationship with your body into something supportive and appreciative.

I really believe in the power of emotional eating. I think it’s beautiful. People demonize it, but to me, emotional eating can be a way to ground yourself, reconnect, even heal. When you can make food choices that reflect how you feel and you’re not judging yourself—that’s holistic wellness. I stopped dieting ten years ago, and healing that relationship has been miraculous for me.

I’ve raised my kids that way too, and they’re so much more in tune with their own needs than I ever was. I say ‘healthy’ with caution, but they have a grounded relationship with food. One of them doesn’t like meat and just naturally avoids it. The other one doesn’t like sugar. They crave salads. It’s wild.

Of course, there was a lot of brainwashing growing up—in the ’80s, ’90s, early 2000s—about how we should relate to food. What I’m saying might not work for everyone, but it works for me. I feel empowered not to change myself through things that don’t actually serve or support me.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Gabby Thomas doesn’t just want to add to her already impressive Olympic medal count. (Three gold, one silver, and one bronze ICYWW). The track and field champion has a much bigger goal: she wants to build a legacy.

“It really feels like everything is just coming together,” Thomas tells me over Zoom. “Of everything I’ve learned up to this point after Paris, I am definitely very proud of myself. But I’m also excited to continue my legacy and learn about myself because it’s just a process. In Paris, I saw what worked, what didn’t work, and there’s still room to grow.”

Part of that growth includes being more methodical in her training. To prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, she explains that it’s all about training smarter, not necessarily harder. “I’m focusing on my longevity, so I’m definitely prioritizing recovery and mental resilience just as much as my actual speed and strength,” she says.

When she’s not thinking about competing, she’s enjoying some major milestones that have happened as of late. In March, she announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend Spencer McManes. A meet-cute made for today’s digital-age dating era, McManes made the first move via an Instagram DM and sparked a romance for a lifetime. (Thomas’s pro-tip for sliding into those DMs: be funny (we love good banter) and, most importantly, be patient. “[Spencer] was in the DMs for about a year,” she adds). And most recently, she partnered with NOW Foods for its latest campaign “Be You, NOW.”

The campaign, which launched in May and also features Peloton instructor Emma Lovewell, celebrity yoga instructor Kristin McGee, and registered dietitian and nutritionist DJ Blatner, RD, is aimed at helping women celebrate their bodies and help them achieve their most optimal health with daily wellness tips and routine inspiration. “It’s about empowering women to feel their best every day, no matter they’re age; we’re celebrating women where they’re at and giving them inspiration to thrive and feel unstoppable,” Thomas says. “I think as an elite athlete, that definitely resonates. I need to balance and push myself to my limits, both physically and mentally. I do that [all] just by using the right mix of nutrients to support all aspects of my routine.”

But what else goes into her wellness routine? From using the power of visualization to making the most of her own personal hyperbaric chamber, she breaks down all the ways she takes care of her body and her mind for races and beyond.

Anytime I have anything coming up, I am visualizing everything very specifically so that by the time the race happens (or whatever big event I have coming up), I already know all the emotions that went into it [and] how I'm supposed to feel. [With] everything, I get really specific. So it helps me feel like I've already lived in the moment in a way. It's literally manifestation.

The only wellness media I actually use frequently now I think is when I go to sleep. In terms of recovery, I'll use soft sounds [or] white noise on Spotify. They have these amazing playlists with rain sounds.

A morning mantra that I give myself pretty frequently is, “How can I get 1 percent better?” It is very training specific, but I also do think it could apply to pretty much anything. It dials me back in if I have a super packed day or if I'm anxious. It's like, "Don't worry about all of that. What can I do? What can I focus on myself to just get a little bit better?”

My hyperbaric chamber. I am obsessed with it, and it is definitely the most expensive piece of my wellness routine. I'm just so big on recovery [and] feeling well rested. Obviously, you don't need [a] hyperbaric chamber for that, but I'm so invested in that part of my routine.

You can use it every day. I try to get into it at least one hour a day, which can be really challenging with my schedule, but that's a goal. If I am in competition or championship mode, it is definitely [used] the night before the competition, especially if we're doing rounds.

Probably my yoga mat. I use it every day for my stretching and meditation, and it just provides a stable and comforting platform for me to do that. I use the same one every day; it makes me happy.

So much of my sport is mental, and my performance is driven by my headspace. [I practice] meditation to calm my mind; refocusing and recentering for the training day is imperative. I spend 10 to 15 minutes each morning on breath work and mindful meditation.

Sleep is also huge in recharging the mindset. I don't get any less than seven hours a night, but I aim for at least eight. I love NOW’s Peaceful Sleep Essential Oil Blend. I use that along with my sleep sounds. And the last thing is my daily walks with [my dog] Rico; it’s what I look forward to every morning, especially the long ones on the trails.

I wish I could say that I'm totally off my phone before I go to bed, but I'm not. But I definitely turn off the blue light option on my phone. For me, winding down is really just about making sure that I am calm and relaxed. So I try not to work out too soon before bed; I always finish a workout hours before I actually wind down to go to sleep. Reading is a great option that I love to do; just reading anything will put me right to sleep. And I try to stay off the screens, and try not to do tv or the phone light. But obviously I'm not perfect.

I'm very cognizant of [nutrition and gut health]. A big part of my job, and my recovery to train well and to be fast and strong is to fuel my body properly. So I don't get really obsessive about exactly what I'm putting into my body. But I'm making sure that I'm getting the right mix of nutrients, specifically carbs and protein. One of the easiest ways to do that is to wake up in the morning [and] make a protein smoothie. I use the NOW Sports Chocolate Whey Protein. Then I might make another one before I go to bed just because I actually really like it.

For gut health, NOW has a L-Glutamine supplement that I'll also use to help strengthen the gut. And then the NOW’s Organic Chia Seeds. I just asked NOW for two boxes full of them—I love the chia seeds. They make me feel just so healthy and debloated. So I do that every morning just to help support digestion.

Think about wellness holistically and consider how we can thrive mentally, physically, and emotionally. As an elite sprinter, wellness encompasses all aspects of my performance: how I recover, how I fuel, how much I sleep, and how much I'm able to incorporate mindfulness and meditation into my day to day. It's just always about balancing being an athlete and also taking care of myself. How can I show up and perform at my best each day and just get a little bit better? Even if it's just like you made a good coffee that day and you're really excited about it, or if it's like you got an extra minute of meditation and got a little bit more mindful that day, a little goes a long way.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Amanda Nguyen’s name has been everywhere this week—rightfully so. She was part of the six-person, all-female Blue Origin crew that jetted into space for a 10-minute journey on April 14, 2025. But the bioastronautics research scientist (and sexual assault advocate, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and NGO founder, and Harvard graduate) spent months getting her body and mind in shape for incredibly intense G-force (the force of gravity and acceleration while flying, for inquiring minds.)

She focused on journaling and therapy. She ate the colors of the rainbow, something very easy given her Vietnamese roots. She set aside a good chunk of time for self-care and a feel-good beauty routine, which is stocked to the brim with e.l.f. Cosmetics (who doesn’t love a drugstore find?). But while Nguyen is dedicated to doing the wellness activities she knows work, she’s also open-minded about incorporating new practices. Mouth tape, the longevity movement, and red light therapy (she habit stacks it while she sleeps) have all crept into her do-good, feel-good approach to life.

Through a Zoom screen, Nguyen tells me how she works smarter, not harder when it comes to wellness—and why we should all take breathing tips from the Navy Seals.

I use the Navy Seals technique to ground myself. It's box breathing—hold in four, breathe four out, hold four, breathe in four—and it helped me while I was in front of those hot Senate Judiciary lights testifying in the UN, and it’s what I did when I was blasting off of Earth.

The truthful answer is that I would be on the phone with my therapist. My therapist has been with me longer than some of my relationships. I love her. She's a real one. I also love this bird noise song. If I go on another mission, I’d bring the sounds of Earth with me because I love the planet I live on.

I ask myself two brainy questions every morning: What is my place in the universe, and what am I going to do about it? By performing this historic flight, I was able to shine a light on the communities that I represent, both as the first Vietnamese Southeast Asian woman in space and as a survivor of violence. We can heal, and our dreams can still come true.

Definitely my red light panel. This is actually my lazy girl hack to working smarter, not harder: I sleep with it. So when I wake up, it’s just like, BOOM. Or, if I’m just scrolling through TikTok, it’s there and a whole double situation because I have a red light mask as well for travel. I want to be consistent with my skin health.

All of my e.l.f. Cosmetics. I love the Satin Lips and the Holy Hydration Coconut Mist. I always bring it on the plane with me, and it helps me look awake when I land. Skin is wellness—it’s literally an organ.

I am spending a lot of time journaling, and I’ve also been revisiting all the places that have changed me in my journey. I went back to Harvard, I went back to the seat I testified in—it was the same seat as all of the justices. I went to the United Nations. I even went back to the hospital, and I wanted to. It's part of exposure therapy, which is the idea that we can go and release the places that hold this charge for us, allowing us to heal. I honor all those parts of me to thank those that survived. I feel like I'm getting choked up even thinking about it. Wellness for me is about healing and joy.

I’m literally eyes shut and on do not disturb. I meditate and I journal, too. It’s a brain dump, you know? To be able to write whatever is on my mind and then sort it through to prepare for the next day has always been helpful.

Well, I tried mouth tape. Every time I woke up it was off. I was hearing about these benefits, but perhaps my subconscious hadn’t gotten around to reading the studies yet because it certainly felt different.

I eat the colors of the rainbow. I'm very lucky that Vietnamese food, which is the food I grew up with, my heritage, is very diverse.

My hot take is that it's real. That’s what science is about: health is wealth. So many people have asked me, Amanda, what's the next thing you're gonna do once you're back on Earth? I just want to sleep. I want to be a girl hiking in the woods. I want to experience this Earth. I want to have fun. I want to be joyful.

The biggest message that I want to tell all the younger parts of me is that you will make it through. You will have your dreams accomplished. You will win your rights. You will find justice. You matter. That's what I'd tell her.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

When I think of a professional athlete, I imagine an intense demeanor—shaped by strict routines and hyper-focus. But when Taylor Townsend popped up on my Zoom screen, we quickly (and unexpectedly) slipped into an honest, down-to-earth chat that made me realize wellness routines don't have to be overcomplicated. It felt less like an interview and more like catching up with a friend—one who just so happens to be one of the most electric forces in professional tennis.

Instead of rattling off a checklist of buzzy biohacking techniques or flexing about her latest $18 green juice (though I'm never above a pricey treat here and there), Townsend talks about wellness in a way that feels lived-in and uncurated. To her, it's about tuning in to your body and mind—grounded in life's simplest, realest moments. Whether she's soaking outdoors on a hike, smudging off bad energy inside a hotel room, or just taking time to be fully present with her son, every ritual is rooted in intention.

Townsend's perspective is refreshingly human: she's not pretending to have it all figured out, but she is figuring out what works for her. Below, she shares why she's no longer chasing someone else's idea of who she should be—and how that shift allows her to live, as Townsend puts it, for her purpose.

When I travel, I always bring sage and Palo Santo with me. I’ll use Palo Santo in my hotel room—especially if I’m not feeling right or if I’m having trouble sleeping. I’ll do a little cleanse around myself, the door, the bed, all of it. That’s probably one of those practices people might consider “woo-woo,” but I really believe in energy. Sometimes, you just pick things up—energy exchanges happen—and it can affect you. And because I travel so much, week to week, place to place, hotel to hotel, it definitely impacts my sleep and just how I feel internally.

I use a meditation app called FitMind—I love it, it’s great. And the other one is called Welltory. It reads your HRV using your phone camera and tells you how your body’s doing. Is it as accurate as a Fitbit or an Oura Ring? Probably not. But I’m a granny when it comes to tech—a granny by choice. I like it here.

I'm pretty earthy. [I start by grounding my day] in my bathroom, I’ve got a mix of natural and traditional products. I really got into all of this when I got pregnant and became super aware of what I was putting on and in my body. I wouldn’t say I was sensitive to products, but I wanted to avoid harsh chemicals. That’s when I started leaning into natural deodorants and cleaner skincare options.

My vitamins.

I’d say shea butter. I use it on my face to moisturize, especially after I’ve been in the sun. It’s not expensive, but it works—it really hydrates and protects. If I’m sunburned, it usually goes away by the next day. I like to put it on at night since it’s pretty thick and let it soak in while I sleep. It’s definitely a low-lift beauty secret, but it makes a big difference. I mean, it’s great for the whole body, but lately, I’ve been going heavy with it on my face.

Also, my everything-shower-slash-pregame-day ritual. I do it before every match, and if I’m at a two-week tournament, I do it halfway through, too. I go head to toe—wash my hair, do a face mask, exfoliate, shave my whole body. I use the Gillette Venus Pubic Hair & Skin Razor ($16.99), especially with the short dresses and skirts I wear. It doesn’t irritate my skin, and with how much I travel, I love having an endless supply.

My mental health focus is self-love, honestly. During this downtime, I’ve really been trying to pour into myself—figuring out what that looks like and what that means. I’m so busy, and there are so many distractions, so I don’t do things just for me a lot of the time. I’ve been trying to focus on self-love, even if that means doing nothing—just being kind to myself. And when I do things, I want them to be things I actually enjoy and that bring me joy. Not just running around doing stuff because I have to, but being more intentional about it.

I love being in nature and hiking. I love to reset outdoors, and I love water too. Just being in nature grounds me and makes me feel super calm. I also really love just chilling with my son. I really value those precious moments. Yesterday, he wasn’t feeling well and asked, “Can we cuddle?” I didn’t really feel like it because I was tired and had a headache, but I said yes. He was lying on my chest, and I got into the rocking chair, just holding him. At first, I caught myself on my phone and thought, Put that down. So I did, and I just looked at him—really took it in. I love those kinds of moments. They ground me.

I'm always going down rabbit holes—I love Instagram and TikTok—so I'm constantly seeing all these different wellness themes. I’m really into holistic medicine and healing, so I’m always exploring that space. One thing I do swear by, though, is sea moss. I take the capsules—I feel like it really helps with all the traveling I do.

A lot of people are actually mineral deficient, and that shows up in different ways. For me, it’s important because I expend a lot of energy—I sweat a lot, I’m constantly on the go—so it’s hard to replenish everything I’m losing. I feel a difference with sea moss, so I’ve just stuck with it.

I’d tell my younger self: create your own version of wellness. Don’t let anyone else define it. When I was younger, I built my standard around what other people said was 'fit' or 'healthy,' and I lost sight of what it meant. I didn’t really reclaim that until after I had my son—and even now, I’m still working on it. But I’m way more equipped now. When you stop chasing the shell of what everyone else wants you to be and define wellness for yourself, you’re finally living in your purpose. And it’ll save you a lot of stress later on.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

When I hopped on Zoom with Karlie Kloss, I candidly didn’t think we would have much in common. She started her career as a Victoria’s Secret model, and I’m, well, five-foot-two. She’s a girl in STEM, having founded Kode with Klossy circa 2015 to get young girls interested in tech. And, while I can rattle off the best lipsticks at the drop of a hat, please don’t quiz me on HTML.

But it turns out the very-down-to-earth multi-hyphenate and yours truly do have one thing in common: We are both big on wellness. We love a solid 10 hours of rest, a good Eat, Pray, Love-style retreat, and are on side-by-side gut health journies. Kloss was nice enough to clue me into her go-to $50 probiotic (it’s already made a huge difference in my day-to-day digestion), and dropped some sage sleep advice.

She has a very attainable “set it and forget it” approach to mind and body care. With two children, a magazine to run (Kloss acquired Life and i-D earlier this year), and an ongoing partnership with Estee Lauder, easy-to-incorporate habits take precedence in her daily life. Here, Kloss shares the ins and outs of her very approachable wellness routine.

It’s not exactly a trend as of late, but the juice craze. Especially through the years in New York, it’s a trend that comes and goes. But, that was never going to work for me. I like real, proper food. I’m all for a smoothie though; I can get on board with that.

I love transcendental meditation. I wouldn’t even call it woo-woo; it’s just something I do very consistently and find really helpful when I’m trying to be present in my body and mind.

My ideal day starts by going to bed really early—like nine o’clock—the night before. Then I’d wake up around seven the next day, so I’d get a solid 10 hours. I start my morning with vitamins and a coffee. I’d squeeze in a workout and have a smoothie afterwards with the delicious fresh fruit, almond milk, and protein powder. Then, I’d spend the day with my adorable kiddos—I have a three-year-old and a one-year-old. After that, I think actually having no agenda is my dream day. I always try and do that on Saturdays. It’s a day for my family, so I try and put up those boundaries. I try not to work or travel.

The most calming thing I can do is just sit and put all my vitamins in their box. It was a $10 find on Amazon, so it’s definitely a great little hack. I keep a travel kit of vitamin D, my Memoractiv, and this really great probiotic. I use Thorne, and it actually has a delicious pomegranate berry flavor that’s really good for overall digestion. I was sick early this year and on a couple of rounds of antibiotics, so I’ve been super conscious about making sure I’m getting those nutrients and taking better care of myself.

If I’m going to splurge, I want to go away somewhere—like a retreat. I’ve actually been looking into doing something like that with my sisters or some of my best friends later this year.

I am a very busy working mom. I'm constantly on the go, so I don’t overthink anything. Life gets so busy day-to-day, between having two kids and running my own businesses and non-profit.

My general outlook is to do my research before committing. I like to do my diligence and assess the best products. I always talk to my nutritionist. I try and do research upfront and then make a plan, set it, and forget it.

I'm a big fan of popping my headphones in and doing five minutes of Headspace or Calm, whether it's before I go on set or if I'm trying to fall asleep on an airplane or walking on stage to give a big presentation.

I really try to be consistent with a massage and a facial. I try and squeeze one in every other week. I have my people. In New York, I love Tracie Martyn—she’s the best. Then, in Miami there’s this place called Gee Beauty. It’s my favorite place to go, and I feel really pampered. That’s my maintenance to take care of my body and skin.

Life is a little chaotic. It can be a little overwhelming with young kids and everything else I’m juggling. I try not to forget about myself. Honestly, even taking 30 minutes to put out all my vitamins is an investment in my self-care.

As much as possible, it’s important to minimize stress and find balance in life. Even if you have a stressful job, it’s about figuring out how to create time and space in your life for what brings you joy—whether that’s being around loved ones or something else. Any kind of antidote.

With my kids and with my husband. It doesn’t matter where I am.

Any sort of deprivation of calories, carbs, or sugar. At 31-years-old, I’m definitely at this point in my life where I’m fully embracing everything in moderation. I want to just live a life that is full of love and joy and spending my time doing things that are inspiring and challenging.

Sleep more!

There’s no right way to "do" wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Lily Aldridge is throughly enjoying the heatwave in London, where she and her children are following her husband Caleb Followill on tour with his band Kings of Leon. "We're spending the summer touring with him and having fun and seeing the sights and showing the kids all the different places in the world," Aldridge explains. After seeing shows in the U.K., the supermodel and her family are headed to Ireland, Germany, France and Poland, before heading back stateside just in time for a Kings of Leon’s concert in Austin, Texas in August.

Professionally, Aldridge is just as busy. She recently hosted a shopping event with denim brand Paige to mark CMA Fest in Nashville, shot a campaign for Gap x ​​Dôen with her sister Ruby Aldridge, and starred on a special 60th anniversary cover for Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, alongside a bunch of other industry greats. She’s also partnered with the buzzy athleisure brand Beyond Yoga, a perfect fit for the fitness fanatic in her.

Though Aldridge leads an undeniably glamorous existence, the simple things in life matter most to her, like spending time with her two kids, getting microcurrent treatments, and turning self-care into an art form. Here, the model explains the practices that help her feel her best from the inside out.

I'm very into the idea of cold plunges, and I've done many cold showers, but I've never actually done, like, an ice bath. I just haven't gotten there yet. But it's something I'm working towards.

I try not to think anything is woo woo. I want to try everything and explore all options. The wellness world is always evolving and changing and I'm game for all of it. I also think meditation is such a lifelong practice, and so effective and wonderful for the mind, body, and spirit. I do all kinds of different meditation but I love a really simple guided meditation. I like yoga nidra, where you lie down and it kind of goes through your whole body, and by the end of it, I just feel like a new person.

There's not really anything I can't get into except, like I said, I haven't done the full ice bath, but I've done cryotherapy. I've done cold plunges and all that kind of stuff. But it really is hard for me to just go into a full-blown ice bath.

I'm all about waking up at 5 a.m. It's something that I've been doing for the last few years. In the mornings I will journal, make myself a cup of tea and just get ready for the day. I find the days where I don't have that, I don't feel as ready for the day. I do find that working out, whether it's the morning, night, evening, at any time I can fit it in, really sets me up to have a great day.

I'm not naturally an early riser. It was a practice that I had to get used to. And then obviously having kids, you start naturally waking up earlier anyways. Then I wanted to wake up before everybody else woke up, so I had that time for myself in the morning. It was a discipline at first where I had to set the alarm, get up, roll out. But then eventually you're waking up and your body is just used to it.

Something I'm trying to do is not touch my phone, because I do think if you touch your phone first thing in the morning, it actually does wake up your brain. But I've purposely tried to not do that to try to teach myself to wake up more naturally.

I'm all about home self-care. I do these things called Artist Dates. I read this amazing book called The Artist’s Way and it really changed my life and led me in a new direction of creativity. I started these self-care moments during COVID when I couldn't really go out and do a bunch of things. I became really into my dates, whether it's taking a hot shower or making a beautiful, intentional bubble bath where you put on your favorite album, put the candles on, put a mask on, and just have that moment for yourself. I recently I listened to Kacey Musgraves' new album and it was very intentional to put the album on during a bath. It was just such a beautiful experience. I messaged her after and was like, "I had the most amazing time listening to your album. It was beautiful!"

I love good facials. I think it's such a treat. I get to visit wonderful people around the world. Afterwards, I just feel really refreshed, glowing, beautiful. I love having nice, clean skin, so that's one thing I really like to treat myself with. A few of my favorites are Shani Darden in L.A., and Joanna Czech in New York. I also love the salon Complexion in Nashville.

I try to do a facial once a month, wherever it is in the world. It's something that I notice if I am able to do it regularly. Also another great facialist that I love to go to is Fabricio Armand in New York. I also love hydrafacials, which you can get at lots of spas around the world. It's really good at deep cleaning all your pores, which I think is so nice. And then, there's amazing tools now, like I love microcurrents and treatments that give you instant sculpting for a red carpet moment. I'm open to all of it.

I think it's all about treating myself both physically and mentally, and doing things that make me feel good. I love working with Beyond Yoga because I'm challenging myself to all these different kinds of workouts. I love that the brand is so multidimensional with what they do for workouts. I love Pilates. I love yoga. I love Ballet Beautiful!

I always said I hated running and I was like, "Do I hate running?" They have this amazing PowerBeyond™ line that's like more for harder physical workouts. So I've been doing that up and down my drive. I've been doing sprints all summer and feeling really strong and proud of myself. So my wellness vibe is just being open to everything, working on myself, not just for looks, but for how I feel about myself, my mental wellness, my physical wellness, and my strength.

My sisters. They're the people I talk to the most. We all give each other advice and are there for each other.

I have so many wellness apps on my phone. I really am one of those people that’s constantly trying to better myself and evolve and grow. I want to do it all. But, I really love Headspace. It's a great resource for meditation and I think that's one of the best things you can do for yourself.

I'm all about just being at home, journaling, reminding myself of all the things that I'm grateful for, taking time and just being present. I think all of those things are so important.

My current state of mind is that I am water and I just go with the flow. That has been my mantra.

It's ever-evolving. I think mental health is so important, and I think it's all about just growing as a human, evolving, doing my best to be a good person and continue challenging myself, not being like, "Oh, I can't do this. Oh, that's too hard for me." Really empowering myself and challenging myself.

I'm definitely happiest when I'm with my kids, watching them, and just being a proud mama.

I'm sure there's a trillion stories about me trying to do funny wellness things and not doing a very good job of it, but I had a story recently that I thought was really cool. I was at a spa, or like a hotel, and they had a hot and cold plunge. I went there and I was like, "Oh, I'm gonna take an hour and do this for myself." And I got in the hot tub and then I got in the cold plunge, hot tub, cold plunge. Then this mom and her teenage daughter got there. They were in the hot tub and I got in the cold plunge and the daughter was like, "Oh, I'm gonna do it," and she jumped in and the mom was like, "I can't do it." And me and her daughter were like, "You can do it!" We cheered her on and she did it and then we all jumped back in the hot tub and she just thanked me after and was like, "Wow, I would never have done that if you guys hadn't cheered me on." I just thought it was a really beautiful moment of, "We can all do things we didn't think we could and how nice it is to support and cheerlead each other on."

I'm a pretty positive person and I think that if you get advice that's not great, just to follow your instincts and your gut. You have to know what's right for you because what's right for other people might not always be right for you and that is okay.

I would tell my younger self that wellness isn't about what you look like. It's about how you feel and doing things that make you feel good. I've always told my kids, I'm like, "It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside. It's about how you feel on the inside." I've always believed that beauty comes from the inside.

Dana Elaine Owens, better known as Queen Latifah, has always had her hands full. A well-known rapper, singer, and actress, she began her career in the late '80s and hasn't stopped, having earned a Grammy, Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, two NAACP Awards, and a SAG Award. However, the chronically busy superstar confesses that during her busy tenure, she's learned that the key to success is knowing when to balance work with rest.

"Sometimes, the best choice is taking a break and getting away from everyone, and just relaxing and enjoying myself and the way my mind thinks and my hobbies," she says. "Other times, of course, it's about creating something new that millions of people will see."

The 54 year old also uses her years of experience to guide her in finding that balance. For that reason, she says she's not afraid of aging—and even embraces it. Just this year, she was honored as a member of the QVC 50, a collection of 50 inspiring women over the age of 50 who embody the idea that they're in their "age of possibility"—a slogan that characterized 2024's QVC Summit, which was attended by the likes of Billie Jean King, Carla Hall, and Naomi Watts. When I spoke to the Newark, New Jersey native at the summit, she talked about her love for the term, explaining "Age of possibility means that everything is possible. Anything you put your mind to is still possible. It means I can continue to be as creative and free-thinking as I want to be, and that I can do whatever I want to do, even if that means deciding not to do so many things."

Ahead, the superstar details how she walks the tightrope between feeling active and overwhelmed. Plus, she advises on what to do when you've spread yourself too thin.

I'm always trying new things, letting people in a little bit, letting people know who I am. Of course, I don't have the nerves of 15-year-old me, and I have a lot more life experience than back then. But now I'm really just bringing my life experience to all the things that I've always wanted to do.

I like nature. For me, it's just getting in nature and looking up at the sky.

It's really about trying to be communicative, to protect yourself, and to not build a wall around yourself, but to really get to know your feelings and your cues. You know what I mean? Even though you just want to shower and go to bed, self-care might just be soaking in a nice warm, bath and taking care of yourself for a minute. Or it's dancing in your room to whatever song you didn't get to play all day around your kid, or it's watching whatever the heck you want—whatever mindless TV or, for me, sci-fi or whatever it is that I want to watch. Or it's sitting in the backyard and listening to nothing; sitting on the porch and listening to the sounds of the outdoors, of crickets, and whatever sounds of nature that are happening that night. Or it's just looking up in the sky and decompressing.

Music is a quick pick-me-up. I'll play my favorite song, or any song. It could be one of my favorite rock songs. It could be a ratchet, filthy song that you can't play around anybody. It could be a gospel song, to swing in a whole different direction. Music is the quickest wellness hack for me. I can play any song. It just clears the space in my mind and takes me somewhere emotional if I'm feeling numb. Because people forget you can be numb, too. You get in the habit of numbing your feelings. Sometimes you want to feel, and as an actor, you have to feel. For example, when I have a crying scene, am I able to cry? If I can't, I'm cutting my emotions off.

I really just want to call all my girls—especially those of us who are 50 years old and up—and get back into our rhythm of talking to each other again. We haven't had a girl's trip to Vegas in a year, so I want to link with my sisters, who know me and I know them, and we can just be ourselves and just boost each other up. We can give each other that strength that we need to remember our sexy, fly, creative selves who are capable of so much sh*t. And we can't forget that.

I live for the thrill of things. I like to be in a place where I feel a little bit scared because it makes me feel alive and I'm also learning something. I'm learning something about me, and I'm learning something about what I'm made of, and I'm learning something about something else that I've never experienced before.

My father always told me that replying "no" is as strong as saying "yes." It is very challenging to set those boundaries and hold the line with them, so I try to hit the middle with that, but I remember that a no is as strong as a yes. Sometimes, you also have to say yes to things that you may have wanted to say no to for whatever reason, but letting go and going for it is fun.

It might just be some sound healing or something I can turn on and listen to. It could be a yoga class—something that's helping me to breathe.

I feel it's a year of yes for me, because I feel really strong this year. Despite what's happening in the world and even with our elections and these new laws, I feel very hopeful, because I talked to my grandmother who's about to be 96 years old and who has seen a lot, and she's like, "Hey, you got to take the bitter with the sweet in life–and just when one door closes, another one opens." And I believe her. So I'm not going to let whatever's happening politically right now dissuade me from being hopeful about the future, being strong in my spot, and feeling like I can speak whenever I have something to say.

If I have an opinion, I have an opinion. Or if I don't need to say anything, I don't need to say anything. I mean, I'm definitely going to speak at the ballot box, but in the meantime, I listen to what people have to say, because the problem is we haven't been listening to each other often, so everybody's just dug their heels in. But you're talking to someone who's lived her life in shades of gray—I don't feel comfortable being on one side or the other. It feels like a box to me. And I think that allows me to be around people with different opinions and hear where they're coming from.

Gratitude makes me get out of my own mind and think about someone else. Being grateful or being of service to someone else. Doing something for someone else for a second, something nice. It's easy. It's can just be complimenting someone or doing something small to make someone else's life easier. It gets you out of your own head a little bit, making someone else's day.

Music is always an escape for me. Music is my home. My home planet, I think.

Always saying "yes!" Saying "yes" is important, but I've said "yes" many times throughout my life to my own detriment, to the point where I had literally cellular burnout from working too hard and doing too many things and not stopping to acknowledge my feelings. I was just getting to a point where I would have to step away and disappear. And my mom was the only person who knew.

Years ago, I made it my mission to take a month off every summer, because I realized I was not functioning the way I should. I needed help. I was going through challenges and I couldn't work and do everything I needed to do to fix myself and work on myself. I needed to be taken care of in a different way.

I'd also say there's nothing wrong with asking for help. We need help sometimes. We are conditioned to think we don't, but that's not real. Especially being a caregiver of my mom at one point, I realized that was not something that just one person could do. I realized, "We need to all become a part of this. We need to share schedules. I need professionals to talk to me and explain how this goes." Sometimes, it was that someone else needed to work so I could just be a daughter that day. Because going through those challenges and being fairly helpless in the sense that I couldn't cure my mother was traumatizing.

Sometimes, you've got to just say, "This is doing me in. I can't carry this. I'm falling and I need some help getting back up." So that's what I did, and that's what I do. Sometimes, I just have to get away and get into a space where I can find my authentic self again and find tools to help me cope for when the times are tough and I can't step away.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Devoted Jennifer Aniston fans don't just love the actress for her role on Friends; they also can't get enough of her beauty and wellness tips. Of course, there's her haircare routine (long live "the Rachel" haircut), her workout regimen, and her viral salad. But in the age of commodified wellness and mental health infographics, I've become increasingly curious about Aniston's ability to stay centered amidst such a busy, public-facing career.

As it turns out, her secret is to unplug. "I've tried to stay off Instagram, honestly, as much as I can," she shares, citing the detrimental effect social media can have on the psyche, famous or not. "It also probably keeps me out of what's currently trending."

Ahead, Aniston shares more lifestyle tips, from her self-compassionate workout routine to her realistic approach to finding balance—and why, sometimes, a margarita on the beach is just what the doctor ordered.

This is probably going to sound weird, but a forty-day silent retreat. That's something that I've heard about and thought, "Ooh, that'd be really nice to do that." But then you try to imagine yourself being silent for an hour and that just seems impossible. How do they do it for 40 days? I admire it.

I would probably have to say the 40-day silent retreat. I signed up for it and I backed out all in the same two minutes.

Workout-wise, I've done everything—kickboxing, regular boxing, high-intensity workouts—there are so many different forms. Everything is kind of a trend, but I realized over the years that some of those are really tough on your body over time. So now I do low-impact.

Oh, well, that would be a workout with Dani Coleman. If I could just have Dani every day, first thing when I wake up in the morning, well, there's nothing better. I always have challenges with sleep myself, so if I'm coming in a little underslept, she just knows how to adjust. She inspires me to move my body and her Pvolve workouts are so much easier on the body because they're functional fitness. It's not banging your body. It gets your heart rate up, it works out your muscles, it keeps you functioning throughout your days. And that's ultimately where I've found myself. My body does better with this.

I found her through an injury. It's really frustrating if you can't move your body. That's what keeps my endorphins going; keeps my blood and my brain operating. So when this was introduced to me, I could work out and preserve my body so that it could heal, as opposed to having to just sort of sit for a month until I was all healed.

My wellness philosophy is 80/20. You have to live your life, enjoy yourself, but also stick to your goals. Eat healthy, work out, sleep, drink, water, all that stuff, and then you can truly enjoy a little of whatever you choose to be your 20 percent of fun.

I have a really great therapist that I trust. She's not on an app or anything, but she's just a great person that I connect with every week about keeping sane, especially these days when everything is so insane.

I can't believe there is still a stigma around mental health. I mean, who doesn't need someone to check in with? Also, I have an incredible group of girlfriends. We check in once a week, always. But I think it's always really good to talk stuff through with someone who's not inside of your circle or inside of your world, who can have a little bit more of an objective viewpoint on things.

I don't turn to a wellness app or a fitness app. I try to have that in person. Listen, if it comes to shopping, I'm an app's target. Instagram sees me coming miles away. It's like, "Here she comes. Let's get up the sleep pillow. Let's get up the cute workout clothes. Let's get up the cute sweatpants." I mean, half of what I'm wearing is Instagram purchases. But when it comes to a wellness situation, I usually stick to that in-person.

I usually go to a girlfriend's house or have them come over. Or I get outside, plant my feet in the grass, take some deep breaths, and meditate.

When I'm with my friends, we're just being present and talking about what's going on.

Generally speaking, I'm a pretty happy human. I mean, I do get sad. Listen, the world is challenging obviously right now, and I think for all human beings, if you have a pulse and you have a heart, you're hurting a little bit right now.

Stay out of the news as much as you can. Keep screen time limited. It works for me, at least. And am I out of the loop on certain things? I am. But if there's something I have to know, someone will tell me. I just know that right now, I don't think that we as human beings are designed to take in as much information as often as we do now. I mean, I can't imagine being a teenager in this day and age, or being the parent of a teenager in this day and age.

On a beach. Anywhere with beautiful sand, a gorgeous, clean ocean, and a margarita. I always love Mexico because it's right there for me. Also the Caribbean if we're going to dream big, with that white, beautiful water where you can see all the way down to the bottom—because I also don't like surprises in the ocean.

I would probably say keep it up. I was into wellness. I went to a performing arts school, so it was mandatory to take a dance class. I just loved moving my body. So I found myself getting into aerobics, roller skating, rollerblading. Early on, I discovered that moving my body really worked for me, and I liked the benefits of it at a pretty young age, but that was also just because I went to that school. I probably wouldn't have gotten the bug otherwise, I would imagine.

I remember I would take jazz class at this place called Steps on Broadway. My girlfriends and I would go and we'd take jazz class and then sweat and have a really great workout. Then, we'd go have pizza, because that's what you could do when you were a teenager. I didn't quite get the fitness-nutrition connection at that point.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Khristianne Uy, better known as Chef K, is a celebrated private chef best known for her longtime professional relationship with the Kardashians. As one can imagine, her job requires long days (16 hours is standard), creativity, and a deep dedication to nutrition. Finding balance is a constant challenge and lengthy wellness rituals don't make the cut. Instead, she integrates easy, centering habits.

"I like to start off the day with three good flowing things," she exclusively shares with Mare Claire. "One for the body, one for the mind, and one for spirit. So, I make sure that I take all the vitamins and chug my water, and I think about what I'm grateful for. I think: What's fortifying my day? What am I going to be grateful for today? It's so important to hold that little space for ourselves."

Her gratitude is grounded in her life experience. Born and raised in the Philippines, she's acutely aware of daily habits, like turning on the tap and getting clean water, that easily get taken for granted. "It's hard to process a different reality from what I've grown up with, culturally," she shares. "[Back home} you don't know what you'll get when you pour water. It's like a roulette. That batch of tap water could make you sick for weeks. But here [in Los Angeles], it's always clean water."

An appreciation for every aspect of life gives Chef K an impressive sense of balance. Ahead, she describes the mental and physical secrets to keeping her level-headed—no matter what the day throws at her.

I'm pretty old school. I don't really go by trends unless I've experienced it myself or I've known someone who's gone through it. Only because, as a chef too, wellness and diet are most important to me. Remember the Atkins diet? That was the biggest wave and then, a few years later, everyone had high cholesterol or blood pressure. So it's a tricky thing. Don't get me wrong, part of me still thinks, "Oh, what is that? Let me try it." I'm exposed to so many things, especially with the family that I work for, that it's fun to try it. But am I invested in it? Do I have time for it? No.

I have a scepter. It's a super seven scepter and I just hold it in my pocket because I feel like my exposure to different entities in the world can really suck up my energy. Maybe it's a placebo effect and maybe not, but it keeps my fate going, in a sense. I'm also Catholic, so I'm like, "Should I hold this? Should I not?" But crystals are number one for me—I have them all over my house.

I've seen a lot of these Gen Z-ers say they can't go through their day without drawing an angel card. They're like, "Oh, I can't make a decision." They're much too dependent on that, which worries me, because it's like, "Dude, have a backbone a little bit."

Powders. Khloé had a collagen powder, and I had to figure out ways to use it. How do I warm up? Even with matcha, do I warm up a quarter cup of water to dilute this before I put it? There's too many steps.

I wake up, let the dogs out, make sure that they're all out. Then, after I take my vitamins the first thing I grab is this liquid collagen. It has saved my hair, my nails, and my acid reflux. I make myself a matcha.

I make sure I'm good with my liquids because chefs forget to eat a lot of the time. Sometimes, it's the 10th or 12th hour of working nonstop, and I'm like, "Why am I so dizzy?" The Spoiled Child collagen keeps me full, which makes sense because in the Philippines, we used to wake up and drink soup my mom made with beef knuckles. Now, we call it bone broth. That's been part of my routine my whole life. I have no time to heat up soup and drink gelatinous broth, so this is a great solution.

I never live the same day twice. We can't plan for mishaps, but on the days that I follow a self-care regimen and show up for myself, I feel good. I feel so bad when I don't wash my face, for instance. It's just a little act of care that I show to myself. Water is number one for me, too.

When you look at my Instagram, it's all dogs. Everything is dog, puppy, puppy, puppy, it's a Maltese world, poodle world, blah blah blah. All over the world, that's what I watch. I feel like dogs are just angels and they're really there to show you love. And that spikes up all my inspiration.

Collagen would be my high-brow splurge. I have tried many collagens that were just not working out before I discovered the one I use. Skincare and haircare are number one: I'm 42 and I'm real Asian, and what I mean that is my hair is so straight that it splits in half. I used to look like The Grudge. I've been really insecure about how thin my hair is and how fine it is. I gave collagen five weeks to work and I am telling you, it made a difference. Plus with my skin, being 42—and I do smoke cigarettes, though I don't drink—and getting only two or three hours of sleep as a chef, I want to look good. There is pressure with being around the clients that I have. I can't just look bad.

I'm a Libra at heart, so it's all about balance and that nothing is so linear, and I think that's a beauty of human nature. Everyone's just so unique and different. So for me, with my lifestyle, I don't have a lifestyle. With my occupational life, it's all about energy. When I am stepping into a huge event, I need to make sure that I'm fully there, because I feel like the food is always affected by it. So it starts off with the mirror and just feeling good.

It's always mom. She gives really, really good advice, about handling life. Even when I lost my father, there was this strength that I found in her that kept me going. That was her best friend for 47 years—gone. So I was more worried about her, but she kept it strong. I've learned a lot from her. A lot. Humility is number one. She would always say, "Don't forget to always look back and remind yourself where you've come from or else you'll completely lose it in this big, big, big, big world."

My steps app. I try to be active, so I make sure that my steps are in. And it's crazy, because sometimes in a kitchen, which is only like 400 or 600 square feet kitchen, I'll do 28,000 steps. And I'm like, No wonder I have cabin fever.

When I know that it's going to be an intense day, I jump in the pool. Sometimes, when I've had a long day, you'll see a trail of clothes. The pool is a good cold plunge. Also holding my puppies.

I'm Catholic at heart, so I have this little shrine by my nightstand. I say a prayer. Prayer is my way of checking in on myself. It's for my mental clarity, to know the spirit support is there.

Have you ever had a conversation with somebody, and it has nothing to do with you, but they're on a rant and you just don't know what to say? I take on so much energy throughout the day. As a private chef, you soak up all these energies that your body's not used to, like divorces, rehabs, all that stuff, and you witness it in the kitchen. Those are their most intimate moments, and how do you process that? You need to be strong for yourself.

My therapist advises me to do this one thing: When you're home, you need to not be Chef K. She says, "When you pull up to your garage, when you park your car, open up your glove compartment and take your chef's coat off and tuck it in there." So, when you enter your house, you're Khristianne. You keep the two separated.

When I'm with my puppies. I have five puppies. Also, where mom is. Having one parent now really changed my perception in life. I have one and I'd better take great care of her.

I was told the wrong position for my quartz crystal, so it was facing the wrong side of the house. When you enter, it should be southwest and it's supposed to be grabbing the energy, supposedly, from there. But instead, I was told, "Oh, put it on the floor in the center of your living room or your room." I did that and I felt like I drank a Red Bull.

There are a lot of skincare trends that people are promoting that I just don't do. My mom advises that Asian skincare is the best, and she used to get me papaya soap to scrub my face. We didn't believe in additives. I remember even deodorant looked like a rock. Now, I think a lot of things have been over-complicated and people are really missing the point. There are all of these products for big problem-solving, but it's like, what are we solving here? We're actually creating more problems.

Be preventative, before it's too late. When I give my team, most of whom are a decade or two decades younger than me, advice, they look at me like I'm an alien sometimes. But I'm like, "In 10 years, you're going to be like, 'Yeah, chef, you were right.'"

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

When I met Emmy Award-winning celebrity chef Carla Hall, she was participating in a summit for the QVC 50, a selective group of 50 women over 50 who approach life enthusiastically. Hall, in my experience, expresses a particular passion for self-care, going out of her way to remain healthy, strong, and flexible, even if that means multitasking while she's on the go.

"I do 30-second intervals of balancing exercises when I'm brushing my teeth because as you get older, it's all about being stable and sturdy," the former Top Chef and Top Chef: All Stars contestant explains. "I work on balance and stretching, and I do this routinely. I'm going to do it right here." Hall then rose from her seat and bent to touch her toes, her face effortlessly grazing her knees. I marveled aloud at how flexible she was—significantly more so than me.

Hall is the picture of good health, with a bounce in her step that she owes to regular workouts and a nutritious diet. She even advised me on my own wellness journey: When I mentioned that I was experiencing shin splints after going on runs, she asked, "What is your gait like? How are you running?" Once again, she rose from her chair and demonstrated both correct and incorrect running gaits, explaining in detail how best to land to minimize my risk of injury.

Everyone can benefit from Hall's wellness wisdom, whether in terms of mental health, nutrition, or, in my case, fitness. Here's hoping that, through the practices she describes ahead, we can all catch some measure of her infectious energy and exceptional joie de vivre.

Oh, my God, there's so many things that I do. I'm all about wellness. But, this is a wellness trend that may be when you're in high altitude: I've never had oxygen.

I do meditation. I do chants. I am a proponent of Enneagram and astrology and following it to see where your pitfalls may be. I have marked my calendar with special dates because I'm like, "Okay, this date I should rest. This date, I should think about starting something new." I also do tarot cards—I'm taking a tarot class. I think all of that is great for mental health, because you feel like you're in control of whatever tools you can use to help center you.

I tried kegels, but I don't know if the issue is that it's not working or that I'm not interested in keeping up with it. Intermittent fasting and stuff like that doesn't seem to work for me because most of my energy is in the morning, so I need to eat. Otherwise, I feel less mental clarity. Maybe it's because I didn't do it long enough. My husband's body works that way, but mine doesn't.

I also did microneedling once. I felt like I had so many scabs on my face, I couldn't do it again.

I think movement. I did 23andMe and had my panel done, and it said I carry the gene for late-onset Alzheimer's. My grandmother had Alzheimer's and my mother has early dementia. One of the things that I was told was that if you exercise three to five times a week and get your heart rate up, that it will cut that number down by 83 percent because of the oxygen it gives to the brain. So I walk; I work out with light weights. We have a Peloton and we have a Tonal at home. If I'm in a hotel, traveling, and I'm not going to go to the gym, I put in an audiobook and I just walk for 20 minutes up and down the steps.

My husband teaches yoga and meditation, and he does sunbathing. So for me, a low-brow thing to do is just to go outside, take your shoes off, and let your feet touch the ground. I learned about nature walks years ago and how you can allow the earth to ground you. It costs nothing. Go to a park, take your shoes off, and be grounded.

I love massages. I love facials. I've been getting facials since I was 24 years old. And it makes all the difference in the world, especially because I'm wearing makeup constantly, so I just can't clean the pores out. When people are like, "Oh, you look really great," I think: I chose to look great. I've been getting facials since I was in my mid-twenties. And I never go to bed with my makeup on—ever, ever, ever, ever.

My wellness vibe is definitely proactive. I don't wait for somebody to tell me something; I don't want to wait for something to go wrong. I eat well, I move, I meditate for mental health—I'm already thinking about my whole body. For example, I eat out a lot, so, when I'm at home, I eat very simple food. A lot of people are like, "Oh, what are you cooking? It must be fatty, sugary, and salty." But actually, no. It's pretty boring and plain at home. I mean, it's tasty, but it's nothing wild.

I belong to a spiritual group, the Athena Warriors Sisters, so I've been meditating and making declarations for four years. I used to have somebody that I would speak to all the time, and now I have a nurse practitioner that I go to. We always give the power to a doctor, and I decided this year that I wanted to have somebody who knew more about menopause. I can call her at any time. I can say, "This is what my body's doing," and she gives me articles to read. She's very proactive.

I also go to a place called Nava in the DC area, and I get my blood drawn quarterly, every four months. I talk to the doctors there about how I'm feeling and my nutrition.

Even though we have the Tonal and Peloton machines, because I travel so much, I do the on-the-go workouts, too. You can do exercises wherever you are. Because it is guided, you feel like you are being held accountable. And every time that I see in the app that I've worked out this many times or for that many weeks in a row, it makes me feel good.

The other app I have is MyFitnessPal. When I work out, I wear the polar heart monitor, that automatically tracks to MyFitnessPal. And then I can also put my meals in so I can see if I'm getting my micronutrients. I'm not concerned about calories necessarily, but you need calcium, you need fiber, you need protein. I'm on baking shows and know that I will be eating sugar, so I need to ensure that I'm getting fiber before I eat those desserts because I don't want my sugar to spike. Even carbohydrates—you need carbohydrates. I want to make sure that I have enough fiber. And as you get older, you are more prone to your A1C numbers. I do watch those numbers, I watch my cholesterol, and I make sure that is balanced with carbs. I'm not carb-phobic. I'm also definitely thinking about protein: Most older women only eat 63 percent of the protein that they actually need.

I get facials, I get massages, I get IV drips regularly. I get the NAD drip, which is long, and I get the multivitamins when I travel.

I want to live until I'm 104, specifically because my great-grandmother passed away at 103, and I want to beat her. I think because I have that mindset, I take care of my temple. With my eye on that prize, I have been doing everything I could to take care of myself.

I gave myself permission to not work out for six months so that I could enjoy the couch time, and it was really great mentally. I didn't feel guilty. Now that I'm back on the workout routine, I enjoy the process of feeling the strength in my body. And as I get older, the stronger I feel, the sexier I feel. That's sort of my journey. It's just wanting to be sexy as I turn 60. It's my sex-ty journey.

I feel happiest when I am collaborating with people and it's a healthy, nurturing environment. When you look around and everyone is enjoying their part of whatever is happening, it's really beautiful.

My husband always says that I'm so gullible when somebody says that something works. I do brain scans because Alzheimer's runs in my family, so if you give me anything dealing with the brain, I'm in. I do this test at Nava called WAVi, and my husband and I got it. I'm very competitive, so I was like, "I'm ready. I'm sitting. I'm ready. I'm ready to play. I love games." And the lady said, "You can relax," but I was like, "But I want to win. I want to beat the score." She was like, "You're so stressed out," and I said, "I know, but I want to win." She's like, "This is not really about winning."

I did very well, by the way. And I told my husband, "I want you to take it because I want to see if I beat you." He took it, and I did beat him.

Never eat carbs. I mean, it's just not true. Your body needs carbs. It's a balance. Or to just get the salad. I don't know where that came from. So many women think the default is to do a salad. It's not really feeding your body. Everybody's like, "Oh, let me get a salad," and you have all that dressing and all those other things, but you don't have protein.

Use oil cleaners! When I was 18 or 19, in college, and my skin was always breaking out—mainly because I didn't understand how to take care of my kind of skin. I had combination skin or oily skin, and no one said that all this astringent stuff was really drying out my skin and making it worse. I went through that until I was 24. When somebody gave me oil to clean my skin, I was like, "No, but my skin is oily. Why give me oil?" It's counterintuitive. I should have taken the oil.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

In 2007, Selena Gomez booked her first big role: She played Alex Russo on Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place. Since then, Mandy Teefey's life has been “a little crazy,” the Rare Beauty founder's mom shares exclusively with Marie Claire. "It's been an interesting ride the whole time. Even during the hard times, I feel so grateful that we get to experience opportunities that otherwise we wouldn't have access to."

Teefey didn’t always have such a grounded perspective on life's ups and downs. It wasn’t until she worked alongside Gomez as executive producer on the hit Netflix series 13 Reasons Why that she realized she needed to "practice what I preach" when it came to mental health. Following season one's release, she enrolled herself in a 30-day mental health facility.

"I thought I was fine because I would get a massage once a week," Teefey says. "But when you have to sit in years and years and years of stuff—it teaches you how to communicate with your body. It was the best 30 days ever."

From that point forward, Teefey intentionally integrated wellness practices—journaling, glamping, and daily meditation—into her life. She's even launched a passion project of a business: Wondermind, a mental health platform.

Teefey would love to write a memoir in the future, but until she hones in on a concrete message, she's gracious enough to share her wellness wisdom with Marie Claire.

I still don't fully understand it, but sleep syncing. It's a technique that aligns with your circadian rhythm, so your body starts telling you what time you should go to sleep. That's impossible for me—to sleep at 1 p.m if that's what my body says—but I'm dying to try it. I just learned about it two weeks ago and I want to dig into it a little deeper.

I like massages. I know it's not revolutionary or anything, but I used to get them twice a week and now I get them once a week. I don't think that's super woo woo, but I don't know that I do anything super woo woo. I do the tough pressure, sports massages. I go to Burke Williams.

There are also a lot of massage facilities here in L.A. where they'll say you're getting a foot massage for $25 and then all of a sudden you're on a bed and they're walking on top of you. I don't know what kind of massage that is, but I went into one of those places and I just kind of went with it.

Goat yoga—where you do yoga and they put goats on you. I actually tried it, and I think the goat sensed all my anxiety because he wanted nothing to do with me. I got rejected.

I wake up around four in the morning, and I don't even need an alarm anymore. I get up and do my facial routine, then have a cup of coffee and I either write or read. Sometimes I do both. I do some stretches and I meditate for 15 minutes, then it's usually time for my little one to get up for school. She does some stretches sometimes with me and then I plan out my day, prioritize everything that needs to be done, and answer emails that need my attention. If I do not start my day like that, I can feel it the whole day. The morning time is just so peaceful and a great time to center myself.

Packing cubes. Emma [Wright, Teefey’s chief of staff] and I discovered these through our travels—I am obsessed. You can put together your outfits and write the day on it. Then put it right back in there when you come back. Usually, when we're traveling, I have several different meetings or events, so everything is there and its not chaotic. You do the chaos at home while you're packing, then you look at the suitcase, and it's harmony.

Journaling. I've kept a list—I have clocked in at least 237 unique journals, meaning not a double of any brand. I buy anything that has to do with journaling, like the washi tape and the stickers. I could do it for hours, maybe even days. I can't draw, so I use stickers, and I do mixed media and cut things out of newspapers. I guess it's scrapbooking. Even my work journal is decorated. I love everything that has color in it.

I have every type of journal and I call them different bits of my brain because one of them is for commonplacing—for me to make sure I learn something once today. I have the time-blocking one that I just got that I'm obsessed with, and I have a creative planner where I can sketch out any ideas and flesh them out. Then I have my work journal with all the notes and anything I need to do. My favorite one is a leadership journal, so I can become better each day at being a leader.

I think it's just a chill kind of vibe. My husband—I've become so good at it—he goes, "You freak me out because you don't worry about anything." That's not true. I'm just exuding that I'm calm and chill. I put all my worries into my journals. Brain dumping everything on my mind to calm me down.

My 10-year-old daughter, Gracie, has the best advice—they're young, they're not tainted, and they see things in black and white. She is [that person for] Selena and her friends, too. They all ask her, "This guy is doing this," and she's like, "Well, just don't text him back." Gracie is a very special one, and I just love her to death.

They're all learning in school how to meditate. When she was really little, we were walking through a maze for Halloween. All of a sudden, I turned around and she was criss-cross applesauce meditating. I go, "What are you doing?" She says, "I'm really afraid right now. So I'm gonna meditate." We sat there while she meditated through it.

I don't really associate the phone with wellness. I use it for documenting things, but I don't use my phone when I'm meditating. I try to keep an electronic device for functionality purposes. This isn't a wellness app by any means, but Co-Star is definitely something I check every day. It is hilarious. I love it when they're mean to me, it's the funniest thing ever. They're like, "Don't even do you today."

When I need a big reset, I go glamping by myself—I go to one outside of Santa Barbara and it's the greatest feeling to be in nature and away from everything that may be stressing you out. You get just so much clarity. Typically, I go four to five times a year.

Right now, I'm rejuvenated and ready to go. It's good. I feel calm. If I spoke with you yesterday, I would've been totally different. I think that's why it's important to process your feelings, so you're not holding things longer than you should.

It's definitely finding time. I really am trying to get to where my mindset is more aware of what I'm doing in the space that I'm in and trying to get a more centered mindset. I am trying to get re-centered.

At my house, with my kiddos, in my bed, with my journal, and a movie.

When I was trying to bullet journal. It just put me in a stressed-out frenzy. I have ADHD, I get hyper-focused, and sometimes I will take something that's supposed to calm me down and then I'll be stressed about it.

I remember when I first started bullet journaling, I bought everything that it said to buy and I was watching all the videos on YouTube. I think two weeks went by before I even noticed that I hadn’t spoken to anybody. Brian, my husband, goes, "Isn't this supposed to make your life easier?" My entry into it was a little challenging, but I've got it down now.

To be honest, all the wellness stuff that I've incorporated and done was all self-taught. I figured it all out. I don't talk a lot about my wellness practices to my friends because, you know, my friends’ wellness is a night out with some martinis. I have a tendency of just kind of reading wellness advice and then decide if it would be an interesting journey.

To do it! Oh, my gosh, I was a handful. I would definitely tell myself to learn a lot about who I am before I give myself away to other people and to really appreciate who loves me. Don't seek out love from people who don't deserve it or want it, and just don't find your validation in other people.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Through her chic online content and her popular beauty brand, Phlur, Chriselle Lim has helped countless people reach their wellness goals, crafting award-winning products meant to elicit a sense of happiness and well-being. But what most people don't know is that her business is grounded in her own wellness journey—and that, as with most wellness aficionados, Lim's road to well-being was sparked by need.

"I got into scent because I was going through my divorce, and I just couldn't find a way to visualize myself being happy again," she confesses. "I used scents a lot to get me out of my head and put me in a place of happiness, because I think certain scents and notes bring out certain moods. [Scent] was a really big part of my wellness healing journey."

Soon, Lim began to craft Phlur, grounding the brand's most popular scents in her own needs—needs that she quickly discovered were widespread, if not universal.

Now, Lim uses her products for the aromatherapy she's long sworn by, and performs nightly massages with the brand's body oil. However, when pressed for the scents that work best for her own meditations, she demurs, insisting that Phlur's fragrances smell differently on bodies and that the wide array of scents the brand offers is meant to suit a variety of tastes. And this, she concludes, is right in line with her overall wellness ethos.

"Wellness is not one-size-fits-all," she says. "You have to find what works for you, and it might not work for everyone, and that's okay. You just have to focus on your own lane and what makes you feel good, and shut everyone else out."

But how, exactly, does a successful content creator manage to drown out all the noise? Ahead, she shares her tips and mental health secrets, including anecdotes about wellness attempts gone wrong.

I think I know exactly what works for me and I don't really buy into trends, especially when it comes to dieting and especially TikTok trends, because I don't think it's a one-size-fits-all category. So unfortunately, I don't really have any trends that I'm dying to try in the wellness category.

I don't know if it would be hippie or woo-woo, but I enjoy the practice of meditation every morning. And in the evening, I have a very strict no-phone policy, and I really try to take time away from any social devices after my kids go to bed (when I have them, because I co-parent), which is 8 p.m.. Meditation really allows me to just get my head straight for the day. Also supplements! I am a big believer in supplements.

I tried the wellness trends of yoga and all of that, and it just doesn't do it for me. And it does for some people—I understand the benefits of it. But for me, what really works for my personality and my mentality, is to be in extreme conditions, like a HIIT workout. It allows me to get out of my head.

My morning routine is quite mundane. I'm a mom of two girls, one nine-year-old and one five-year-old. I have to get them out of the house, fed, dressed—all of that by 7:30 a.m. at the latest. I'm up by 6 a.m., and usually, I start off with just a quick eyes-closed, in-my-head meditation. I just sit still in my bed. And then from there, it's just go, go, go, go, go. Because I'm so busy in the morning with the kids, I don't have time to actually look at my phone or even be connected, so I don't look at my phone until after I drop them off, which is around 8 a.m. So, the first two hours of just being awake from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., it is strangely meditative—just to be in my element and routine without being distracted. My morning routine isn't very glamorous and it's not ideal, in the sense that I would love to start off the day with a nice workout, but I usually work out right after I drop off the kids.

My nighttime routine is very important to me because I am a night owl. As a creative, I love being up all night and thinking of creative ideas, but I know that that's not the best thing I can do for myself for the next day. And as a business woman, it's something that I try not to do because I'm exhausted if I go to sleep past midnight. So, in the evenings, it's really important for me to follow a ritual, because my brain automatically starts working and getting really creative, and I could literally stay up until three or four in the morning working, getting creative, and getting my ideas.

Once my kids are down, I look at my phone just one more time to make sure that I covered everything—that I sent my team everything that they needed and got my posts pre-planned and ready for the next day. After that, I put my phone away and I start off with this thing called Magnesi-Om, by Moon Juice, and I use that with a hot cup of water. It really calms me down—it's like a relaxation and sleep powder. It just allows me to start turning off, turning the world off.

On TikTok Shop, I bought this neck stretcher where you just hang your neck backwards. It really opens up your neck, because we're always crouched down and we have that hump on our necks. I usually do that, and it really just opens up my soul and my neck area, and it just allows me to breathe. I just do that for 10-15 minutes, sometimes with a face mask on, and that's how I just start getting really, really tired. I do pretty much every night, and [the neck stretcher] is super affordable. I got it mainly because of my posture, because I realized my posture was really bad, but I also realized that when I did that, it released a lot of stress and tension. Sometimes I do my LED face mask while I have the neck thing on. I look absolutely nuts, but it really works.

I do recommend investing in a good red light therapy LED mask, especially for skin. I'm about to enter my 40s next year, and I don't have time to go to a facial to lay under an LED light, so it's nice just having one at home and doing it yourself. I like the Therabody LED mask, because it also has a little vibrational massage for your head. It's really, really nice. When you invest in an LED mask, you should also look at the voltage to see how strong and effective it is.

Then, a time splurge for me is a local place that has cryotherapy and a sauna. I like to go back and forth, because I think the best way to get your heart rate and your blood flow going. I sit in the sauna for 40 minutes, then go into the cryo chamber, go back to the sauna for another 20 minutes, and then go to the cryo chamber again—just back and forth. It is so, so effective. There's nothing that makes you more energized, at least for me. I always tell myself, 'in my next house, I am going to build out a sauna and a cold plunge pool.' I'm not there yet, but hopefully one day.

I'm an intense person, so I like intensity. Sometimes it's a HIIT workout, or I'm sprinting—going 11 on the treadmill and then going back down to one, back and forth. Or it's a cold plunge to extreme sauna. I feel like I am in my best mental state when I'm put in extreme conditions. And I know that that might not be for everyone, but it really clears my head.

I've been through a really hard time these past few years, going through my divorce and such, and I think during that time I relied a lot on my mom and my therapist. I am a huge believer in therapy. So, when I was going through my hard times, even though it was a time commitment and also quite expensive, I would talk to my therapist two to three times a week. That really helped me a lot to get me out of my funk and my situation.

I tried the wellness apps and they've never really lasted for me, to be honest. I get the actual wellness apps when it comes to working out because sometimes I'm like, 'Oh, I wish I had an app, especially when I'm traveling, to give me a quick workout where I could just look at my phone.' But that's also what YouTube is for, right? I don't know, I haven't really adopted the apps to be honest, because I know what works for me. If anything, I use the Peloton app, because I am already a member with my treadmill. When I do travel and work out, and I need just a mat workout, they also have that, so sometimes I use that, but that's probably the extent of my app use.

Because I am so directly connected to my phone for work, I associate anything that has to do with my phone with work. And during times of wellness, whether it be meditation or working out, it's me-time. I try to not be on my phone during those times.

The first thing I do, is I get off of social media. Because my line of work ties so much with my social posts, being disconnected is a way for me to connect with myself. So I always take a social media break when I need to reset, whether it be for a few days or a week, because I have the luxury where my team can handle postings, especially if I have responsibilities with brand partnerships. After I take some time away from social, I will probably sleep. I love sleep, I just don't get enough of it, and I think sleeping really helps me recover my body.

Then, after I get that energy from sleep, I go for a workout. Working out is one of those things, as everyone knows, that gets you out of your head. I never ever, ever, ever have regretted working out. Even though I don't always want to do it, I know that 1,000 percent, after that workout, I'll feel 10 times better. My workout of choice is cardio—I don't love it, but I know that that is the most effective way for me to get out of my head, whether I go for a run, go on my Peloton or on any treadmill, or just walk around outside. I think a lot of people get overwhelmed thinking, "Oh, I have to have an hour a day to work out." But it could be simply 10 minutes. It's just getting into the habit of going somewhere, doing something for your body, and moving your body.

I have a great understanding of just the cycle of life now. I just understand that nothing is forever. You have to adopt that mentality of "this too shall pass," whether it be the good things or whether it be the bad things, so you don't really get attached or hold onto things so tightly.

I think it's easy to understand that when you're going through a hard time and being like, "Okay, this too shall pass and I'm not going to be in this position forever." But also with the good things, I realize that good things will come and go as well. So I've been practicing this non-attachment theory a lot, and I think it's a very healthy way to live, because you don't get too high on the highs and you don't get too low on the lows. You're just cruising in the middle, which, I think, is a great place to be.

Just being present, which is really hard in a fast-paced, ever-growing, ever-changing, ever-evolving industry, where you want to continue to do more and achieve more and have more. I think it's important to have goals, but it's also important to be okay with everything that you have and feel that if nothing else happens, that's totally fine, too. That's a wellness mentality that I've had to practice in the past few years and that I still practice because I think it's really easy to be like, "Oh, once I have this, then I'll be satisfied." Or, "Once I have that, I'll feel like a success. I'll feel like I finally reached my goal." That's okay to have, but don't obsess to the point where you can't be present and feel thankful for everything that's around you.

It goes back to the non-attachment theory, but every day when I wake up, I'm just like, "God, I am so grateful to wake up. I'm grateful that I get to make lunch for my kids." It's the little things you have to be grateful for. I think that's hard to do when you see on the internet that so many people having so many things and are achieving so much. It's easy to be in a comparison cycle, but I think that's why it's important to shut off social media and just see what's in front of you and be grateful for what you have. Be present.

I've become a routine girl and I don't always get to do my routine often because I travel so much. So I do feel the most at peace and at ease when I'm at home, because I get to go back to my daily routine. But also, it allows me to just be present with my kids. When I'm present and I'm not thinking about where I need to be or where I need to go and what I need to do, that's when I feel the happiest. And when I'm with my kids I try not to think about anything else and to just be with them, play with them, and hang out with them, because I do co-parent, so I'm not with them all the time. I'm with them 50 percent of the time, so I know that my time with them is limited.

I tried those juice cleanses before, where you do three days of juicing. I thought I was going to die. It was not for me. I was the meanest person on Earth. And this might be TMI, and I think this is the whole point of juicing, but you have to be stuck to the toilet—but I wasn't. The first day that I did it, I was out and about, and I was in meetings, and I had the worst day because I had to keep running to the bathroom and I couldn't do anything. Plus, you only lose water weight. Some people think differently and say that it resets your stomach and all of that, but for me, it was not worth it. I'd rather just eat really healthy and clean.

Oh, I also tried a colon cleanse. The coffee-colon thing. Oh my God! I will never do that ever again in my life. It was so disgusting and I don't even know how and why I got convinced to do that. They put a tube up your butt and they literally clean out your colon. It's like a coffee water thing, and it cleanses you out and it... I don't know. You watch yourself—not watch yourself, but watch on the monitor—and watch the cleanse coming through you. It was disgusting. It was terrifying. Of course, you feel very light afterwards, but you're going to eat again eventually, and it's the same cycle, so I don't know.

It's always these trends of different workouts or diets. I've tried so many different things and none of them made me feel good. You just have to forget about what everyone says and focus on what works for you. It doesn't have to be trending. It could be something as simple as drinking hot water in the morning.

I'm not necessarily a morning person, and I am so busy in the morning, and everyone's like, "You have to get your workout in before your kids are up." And I tried that. At one point I was waking up at 5 a.m. to work out, but I ended up getting so tired by 1 p.m., so I was like, "Okay, this didn't really work out for me." Because I have the luxury of running my own business, I can work out after I drop off the kids or sometimes midday. I know that's not the reality for a lot of people, but that works for me. It's about understanding your body and not having to force-feed it to fit someone else's program.

Be happy now, because you'll never be satisfied if you always want more. I grew up in a community where I looked very different. I was one of the only Asian girls in my community, so I always wanted to look like the other girls. I would dye my hair, wear makeup, and buy all these fancy clothes because I felt like I would fit in and that would make me feel better. And it temporarily made me feel better, but then I realized that I needed more and more. And soon, I went down this rabbit hole of finding out that it's never-ending. Once you have more, you'll want more, so just be happy with what you have now.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Roughly around the same that Shailene Woodley rose to fame for her role as Amy Juergens in The Secret Life of an American Teenager, she was candid about her homemade natural toothpaste, aluminum-free deodorant, and bone broth. Circa 2008, those were considered woo-woo practices. Now? They’re “mainstream.” As Woodley’s career grew, so did her connection to her body, mind, and soul.

The actress’s IMDB page reads like a list of what to binge: The Descendants, the Divergent series, The Fault in Our Stars, and Big Little Lies. The latter earned her a Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy nomination. Simultaneously, Woodley was honing in on Ayurveda practices and studying herbalism off-screen. Her connection to nature isn’t lip service. The Snowden star doubles as an environmental activist, serving as a Greenpeace Ocean Ambassador and a member of Conservation International’s Leadership Council.

Through a Zoom screen, Woodley tells me about her holistic approach to everyday life—and why I should start talking to plants.

I feel quite allergic to wellness trends. Anytime you try to commodify something good for you, it defeats the purpose of it being good for you. To me, wellness is just a lifestyle. A friend of mine once said: I don't understand this idea of going on vacation. You go on vacation to catch up on sleep, relax, connect with your lover, and de-stress. It’s such an American mindset. Why don't we curate a lifestyle where those things can be a part of our everyday lives? That's sort of how I see wellness trends.

Ten years ago, the word “woo woo” made sense. Now, the lines are so blurred that I don’t know what it means anymore. I used to think of wellness as something outside of myself. Something that I think other people might think is weird is that I actually find just being a really direct, honest, truthful person to be one of the best things you can do for yourself and for the people around you. There's no confusion. There's clarity to what you’re thinking and what you feel. We're so hyper-aware of the world around us, and yet, we often don't have true clarity in our Western cultures.

I'm a big believer in manifestation and intuition. I'll put a question or quandary out into the universe, and somehow, the answer will find its way. I believe that's how energy works.

It involves abhyanga. I learned about it through Ayurveda. It's the practice of rubbing oil all over your body. You start with your head, and then you move down toward your heart, from your feet up towards your heart, and your arms up to your towards your heart. It's something that I do every day. What I don’t do every day—because it’s a mess—is oil my whole head. I make my oils at this point. My grandma’s a naturopath, and I studied herbalism in my teens and early 20s, so I grew up around alternative practices. If I don’t have time to make my own, I’ll use Surya’s Cooling Oil or Calming Body Oil, depending on the time of year.

The idea that you have to have this smoothie from this place, you have to have these Lululemon pants, and you have to go to this class—it's all these ideas of having to be something other than what we are. The thing that's not talked about a lot in wellness, because you can't really make money off of it, is just truly sitting down, connecting with yourself and figuring out what wellness means to you. For some people, that means praying to a God. For some people it's meditating. For some people it's driving really fast in a car, on a deserted road, blasting music, and smoking a cigarette out the window. We all have different ways to connect with ourselves. The most important thing we can do is connect with ourselves—without judgment.

Buying the Surya oil. It's expensive, but it's worth it. Having that one product elevates my entire connection to my body, my connection to self-love, and my connection to acceptance of what my body looks like without clothes on. All of the things that we struggle with so much as women living in a world of comparison and competition stem from false ideas of what beauty looks like.

My connection to wellness has always been rooted in nature. When studying herbalism, I remember one of my teachers telling me to pick a plant and sit next to it. Instead of researching what that plant can do, I was supposed to sit next to it and see if it would intuitively start speaking to me. That was the first time that I thought about the idea of intuitively picking up on the world around me instead of constantly staring at the phone trying to digest information. The first plant that I did that with was stinging nettle. Still, to this day, when I travel, I don't travel with just clothes. Half my suitcases is filled with oils and dried plants, and a millage of random tchotchkes.

I'm pretty dialed in, but Martha Soffer [founder of Surya] is my go-to person when I don't have answers myself. When I was younger, I looked to many herbalists like Rosemary Gladstar or Susan Weed. I also did a lot of women's circles and women's festivals or gatherings all over the world. Usually, I was one of the younger ones. You'd camp or you would stay in cabins together and exchange information. You’d see a bunch of women running around naked and suddenly, you wouldn't feel as insecure about your own body because you saw everybody's bodies and you realized we all looked different.

I dig water. When I'm in a relationship, one of the first things I tell the person I'm dating is that if I’m ever in a bad mood, I just need you to run me a bath and light a candle—I'll come out such a kind person. If I'm feeling stressed out, I'll sit in the bath. If I don't have a bath, I'll take a long shower. If I can't take a long shower, even sitting with a cup of tea will ground me.

Happiness isn't my constant. I can find joy anywhere, though. I'm the person who can find joy sleeping on the ground in the middle of nowhere. I can find joy in a room full of people or by myself. There's really no situation I can't find joy in. The thing that takes away my happiness is when I'm trying to be in control of a situation that I actually have no control over.

I’m not trying to please people or sugarcoat anything. I’m not trying to worry about what someone else will think about me if I say or do or am something different than what they want me to be.

I'm happiest when I make choices that align with who I am. In the past, I’ve made choices or spent time around certain individuals who have very different values than I have or tend towards narcissism. That's when my nervous system gets totally dysregulated.

Basti therapy. Look it up.

I'm a huge supporter of therapy. I think therapy is wonderful, and it's completely changed my life. Both my parents are therapists, and I appreciate the modality. Yet, I think there is a danger at the moment in our Western societies of being over-therapized and using words and terms against one another instead of having true conflict resolution.

I just feel like everyone's offended today, to be honest. I think that that has bled into the wellness world. There's this double-edged sword of if you don't look a certain way if you don't do a certain thing, if you don't have this certain product or practice, then you are not enlightened or you're not evolved. I think that that's a really sad way to approach wellness because it's very isolating and it's actually the antithesis of what wellness is. We're all just searching for how do we get back to being human beings again instead of these sorts of puppets of stress and anxiety and low self-esteem and low self-worth.

I don't say this in a pretentious way at all, but when I was 15 or 20, I was talking about things and people looked at me like I was an insane person. I would talk about bone broth or medicinal mushrooms, my own natural toothpaste, or natural deodorant. I received the funniest labels in the world for what I said, and now it's so mainstream. I would just tell my younger self not to stress and to follow your heart.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Vanessa Hudgens is high on life. The High School Musical alum co-hosted the Oscars red carpet pre-show with Julianne Hough, and took that opportunity to reveal her pregnancy to the world, debuting her bump in a dramatic fitted black gown by Vera Wang. For the newly married Hudgens—who said "I do" to husband Cole Tucker in December—feeling happy, fit and well has always been a priority, and it’s fair to say it will only get stronger in the coming months.

The 35-year-old is also prioritizing the health of her unborn child. In fact, Caliwater, the cactus water brand she launched with her friend Oliver Trevena in 2020, recently launched a new line of kids’ drink pouches aptly called Caliwater Kids. "Our friends realized that their kids were taking all of the Caliwater before they could get to it," Hudgens tells Marie Claire.

When she’s not making sure she (and the kids in her life) stay hydrated under the California sun or promoting her new movie, French Girl, Hudgens considers herself a witch. She loves nothing more than experimenting with herbs and stones or meditating amid wildflowers. She’s also a fitness fanatic and can often be found at SoulCycle or Solidcore or simply out on a walk with her toy poodle mix, Darla.

On a phone call from Arizona two days before her pregnancy announcement, Hudgens expands on her "whimsical" approach to wellness.

When it comes to wellness, I've given almost everything a go, and the things that I haven't, I'm just not really the biggest fan of. For instance, I understand the perks of doing ice baths, but I would rather not do it and I'm OK with that. My mental health is great and I don't need to do it. But power to the people who do.

Meditation and manifestation go hand in hand for me. Doing both is a really great way just to decompress, recenter and refocus. For me it's kind of ritualistic. I do consider myself a witch and I love working with the moon and with herbs and with stones and, you know, everything has a meaning and an energy and the more you learn about what everything has to offer, the more you can use its energy to bring forth the things you want in your life. I love the idea of [meditating] every day, but that's just not practical. I might try to do it at least once a week, like a good deep meditation. But when it comes to manifesting and meditating and having a whole ritual together, that normally happens once a month.

Ice baths would probably be one of them. IVs, I just—I cannot, I can't get into it. I hate the feeling of the drip going into my arm. Like, I understand how good it is for you but it just really icks me out.

Honestly, just a walk outside—whether that's a hike or taking Darla on a walk. It always grounds me and makes me just really present, which I feel like is the whole point of wellness. Working with flowers, whether that's putting together arrangements or admiring wildflowers or sitting and meditating with wildflowers, that sets my spirit ablaze. I just love it. I feel so connected with nature when I'm surrounded by flowers. Baths, I take a lot of baths. I feel like that's another really great way to decompress. I had a healer once tell me—water is obviously an amazing healer, but especially for me, it's something that I need in order to balance me out. Ever since then I have been taking so many baths and swimming—there's a reason why I love going on vacation somewhere tropical and swimming in the ocean. It's just, I don't know, so connecting.

I love essential oils so much, whether it's jasmine or lavender in the evening—or a little citrus is like a mood elevator. I just love essential oils. I feel like they're a really great way to pick yourself up and bring yourself into the present. I think that the more you can activate your senses, the more it brings you into the present.

A good lymphatic massage, I feel. I think that we have all been victims of retaining water and there's nothing better than getting a lymphatic massage and just kind of flushing out the unnecessary retention that we have. It just makes me feel lighter.

Laid-back, free-spirited, and… whimsical.

Honestly, myself most of the time—because I feel like we are all gifted with intuition and inner wisdom, and the more that we can silence our mind and tap into that, the more we can become acquainted with ourselves, but also tap into that wisdom. I feel like we're given everything that we need. It’s just being able to silence the mind, to be able to listen to it.

I've got all my fitness ones. I've got Mindbody. I’ve got SoulCycle. Corepower Yoga. AllTrails, which is such a necessity. I have The Sculpt Society. I've got Solidcore.

I'll go on a walk, bring my phone, put on a song, let it play in my back pocket and just, like, breathe, and try to take in the details of everything around me.

I'm trying to get the right word. I feel… in wonderment.

I'm just innately a very happy person. I feel like I've also been very fortunate to listen to my inner intuition and genuinely do the things that make me happy. And I think that life is about perspective and what you focus your energy and attention on is where you are going to bring yourself to. I like looking at the positives and the beauty and the magic of life. And therefore that's where life takes me. I think that I was born with a real sense of wonderment.

Surrounded by flowers. Being in nature. Being at home, being with the people I love, or being at a festival.

That you have to be super regimented in your ways. I feel like that leaves no room for freedom and life to happen.

Just to play with it and see what fits.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Tamron Hall may be one of the most organized people on the planet. In addition to hosting a successful talk show, which has won two Daytime Emmy Awards and counting, she's written two novels. The latest, entitled Watch Where They Hide, was just released this week, and draws from Hall's lengthy career in journalism. Amidst her eventful professional life, Hall is also a devoted partner and mother. A master at time management, she stresses that when it comes to staying on top of both her health and career, balance—and a healthy dose of spontaneity—is key.

"Perspective is big for me right now," she says. "There are ways of relaxing that you will need at different times. A hot bath may work on a Thursday, but you may need something more another day. I think a lot of times, people think, 'Okay, if I drink matcha every day for six weeks, suddenly, voilà, my body will feel great. I will be able to run a marathon.' It doesn't work like that. It takes adjusting."

Like many parents, she found that one of the greatest adjustments to her routine, wellness and otherwise, was having a child. Her son Moses, who is now four, made her shift her priorities. She stresses, however, that she hasn't had to sacrifice her career or an ounce of her sense of self to become a mother.

"I'm always very clear that my womanhood and my motherhood are not the same," she maintains. "I've been a woman, I've identified as a woman since day one of this journey, but motherhood is only four years in, so I still have a lot of friends who aren't Moms, just like I have a lot of new friends who are. Just finding the joy in both my womanhood and my motherhood has been just such a great place to exist right now."

Below, Hall sheds light on that ongoing journey to wellness, diving deep into everything from transcendental meditation to a hilariously failed bikini wax.

Matcha. I don't want to try it, but I'm tempted. I don't, but I do. I'm pulled in. My executive producer, Quiana Burns, is team matcha everything. And there is a place not very far from where I live that specializes in matcha drinks. I've not tried anything, but I am tempted. I think I need to get on board. I think a taste factor might play a role.

I do transcendental meditation. I think there are some people who might find that a little intimidating, because it requires two sessions, about 20 minutes each day. And I think in general meditation is something that people believe they can't do because the first time you ever tried it or thought about it, you sat down and then your mind started to go through your grocery list and all the other distractions that enter the mind. It can leave someone feeling that they're not capable of slowing their mind down. And with transcendental meditation, it's quite the opposite. You are taught to accept the noise that's going to come in. This style of meditation does not set the goal of complete and utter silence, especially as you start out.

Fifteen years ago on New Year's Eve, my friend who was living in New York at the time said, 'Let's do something different.' I was living a very chaotic life, and not in a negative way, but work was just really extreme. I felt that I was moving at this really intense pace. I was looking for a way to find balance and I found it with transcendental meditation.

I am not team green. My son is four years old, and I'm really trying to get him to eat something past zucchini bread, but I identify greatly with a child who is not ready to completely launch in with the green. I was late to the party as well.

Green is the color of life. It's vibrant. It's the color that inspires us to walk outside, but for some reason when it's time to actually ingest the green, I'm a little slow to the party.

I don't have a daily wellness routine because I have such a tight day. I have a very—I don't like to say it's orderly, but I understand why people describe it that way—routine. My father was in the military, and he said to me, 'You should pick out everything on Sunday night that you're going to wear for the entire week, down to your underwear.' And the theory behind that that is it's one less thing to occupy your mind during the weekday.

For me, taking things off the table that are easy layouts helps me be a productive person. I wake up at the same time every morning. I have my same cup of coffee. I've laid out with my stylist all of the things that we're wearing for the week ahead. I lay out all of my son's clothes and his meals are mapped out—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—a week ahead. And that allows me to have this structured, productive life. That said, I say all of that to make the point that I don't like regimen, because I do still need that freedom to know that I can allow for the unexpected and spontaneous in my day. You need that extra spice and light of life.

I mask my face every day. Going back to the idea of a routine, that’s something that I’ve done every day since I was in my 20s. It was a tip given to me by a wonderful woman who owned one of the only Black- and female-owned day spas at the time, in Chicago. It was called Bettye O, and she had quite a following when I was a young reporter in Chicago. And she said, 'I don’t care what you do, but mask every day. When people tell you how young you look when you’re in your 50s, you’ll thank me.' She said, 'It doesn’t matter what the mask costs, as long as it’s hydrating,' and I started masking. That little beat that I take for myself takes me back to how valuable good advice is. So every time I put on a mask, I laugh and think that that’s why good advice is good to hold onto. And I happen to use an eminence mask that has eucalyptus, so that’s a very refreshing and calming beat to my day.

Good champagne. It’s wonderful way to get into a hot bath with a lot of bubbles and a glass of champagne, making myself feel like I’m in an episode of a soap opera from the '80s—I don't know, but a nice bottle of champagne is my splurge.

We also take great family vacations. Last year, we were in Umbria, Italy in this sort of castle in the middle of a wooded area in Umbria. We do really great family reset vacations every summer that, considering the way I grew up—not from an affluent family, but a wonderfully loving family—are probably splurges. But I feel that we’ve earned them.

Evolving. Before my son, my friends would call me the queen of the nap. I worked morning TV my entire career. So up until now, my wake-up time was around 4:30 in the morning. And then I'd come home and do a quick workout, take a nap, and have a reset for what the second part of my day had in store. That could be something as simple as having dinner with friends, attending an event, or hosting an event. Now that I have a four-year-old, the life of the napper that I once was no longer exists.

But to go to the core of the question, I think my wellness is like the Kendrick Lamar song—It's a Don't Kill My Vibe wellness routine, meaning that rather than priority, I view life through a lens of perspective.

I happen to have a phenomenal job where we focus on interviews with amazing women—some who live their lives in the spotlight and others who don’t—who all come to my talk show dropping gems. Halle Berry just re-posted an interview we did two years ago about caring what other people think. Sabrina Elba was just on my show, and she talked about her life and her desire to make sure that people see her as an empowered woman versus a woman who is married to a very famous man. At the same time, I just got off the phone with my mother a few seconds ago, and we were having a very intimate conversation about health and life and wellness.

I find advice from many places. Marie Claire, for instance—I’m sure I have issues that are tucked away that are from the '80s! I really find wisdom from so many sources. I think my show has been able to withstand and beat the odds and remain because we really tap into: Where do you find your inspiration? Where’s the great conversation? Where is that wisdom? And I find it in so many places.

Voice memo is my weapon. That’s how I wrote my novel. I mastered the art of waking myself up when I'm sleeping. That’s probably not healthy, but if you’re a writer, you know that those ideas creep into your head while you sleep. It’s almost a dream-like process, but you’re semi-conscious and when you wake up and you’ve forgotten that idea, and you're like, 'Oh gosh, I had a dream. I’ve made this mental note while I was asleep and now I don’t remember it.' As a writer, I now make myself wake up. I get my phone and hit the voice memo, and some days I wake up to three or four things that I’ve said into my phone that I didn't remember. And that’s how I wrote a lot of my novel, Watch Where They Hide. I've kept a written diary since the third grade, and now even that little app is a little bit of an audio diary for me. It's being able to have something on hand to create and also to reflect.

I love to cook. I'll go online and think about something I want to prepare, and order [the ingredients] and decide I’m going to get my slowcooker or whatever it is. I cook a wide variety of things, and for me that is a form of escape that also lends itself to something productive, so I’m allowed to escape into this recipe but also create this beautiful meal.

I also enjoy my time with my friends, and I say all the time that I could have the best restaurant reservation in the world but just sitting down with a glass of wine on the sofa with my friends, laughing and talking, is medicinal for me. I live a very noisy life—I have an earpiece in my ear for hours a day and I’m on Zoom calls, like the rest of us. That can be a noise pollution level that we don’t recognize, even if you live in a rural area—noise pollution doesn’t necessarily mean the honk of a horn or the noise of a city. So, I try to tamp down the noise pollution and replace it with pleasant conversations with friends and family. That, to me, is a big reset.

Betting on yourself is the advice that I would give to anyone, including my younger self. I've been able to now see the great benefit of authenticity and the great desire, I think we all have, to find what makes us special; what makes us unique. Our next chapters in all of our lives, I think, are the best chapters.

My call of action to myself is to stay light. Of course, I take many, many things seriously all day long, but there's something beautiful about imagining yourself walking and existing in an effortless manner. Think about when you see someone who's very fashionable and you say, 'Gosh, she looks so effortless.' Even though that person may have planned that outfit 10 days prior, there's something that we all gravitate to when it comes to feeling the lightness of not effort-ing so much.

I am my happiest when my son has snuck into my room, and I wake up and I just rub his skin and smell his hair and can't believe that this is a part of my journey. I was a late-to-the-party mom, as I like to say. It wasn't something that I thought was going to happen. I hoped it would happen, and I get why so many young women have come to me and say, 'I'm inspired by the fact that you had a child late in life.'

I tried to wax myself years ago, but I could not bring myself to pull the wax. I called my cousin and she counted me down on FaceTime, like, 'Three, two, one, pull.' And I couldn't pull. 10 minutes in, I couldn't pull, and the wax was getting harder and harder. It was not good. My hand just could not go. I'm shivering right now.

When I was 45, someone said to me, ‘Never tell your age,’ and I believe that’s terrible advice. I think the idea was that my value would increase if people thought I was younger, and that that would somehow turn into a better career and better opportunities. I’m sure in their mind, they processed that as career wellness advice—that you’ll stay in the game longer and you’ll be more valuable if you don’t tell your age. And I think that’s bad advice.

I would go back to 27 years old. I would say stay out later. Dance as late as possible. Don't close the club, but leave a little bit before it closes, but go to the party. Go to the party. Don't worry about work tomorrow because it'll work itself out.

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is good at many things, but she’s great at breaking records. A natural-born athlete, the 24-year-old hurdler and sprinter made history as the first woman to break the 52-second and 51-second barrier in the 400 meter hurdle. Add that fact to her gold medal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and her multiple World Athletic Championships wins, and McLaughlin-Levrone is one to watch going into the 2024 Olympics. But her career has been budding since her elementary school days. Her first official race went down when she was just six years old. Unsurprisingly, the now-professional athlete finished first in the 100 meter race held in their hometown. 

While maintaining a healthy lifestyle takes precedence for the New Jersey-native, she’s also an active member at her church in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband Andre Levrone, who just so happens to be her live-in wellness consultant. As the June Olympics approach, McLaughlin-Levrone has been keeping busy—signing a deal with Neutrogena as an ambassador, releasing her first book, "Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear to Faith," and starring in a commercial for The Marvels. 

Through a Zoom screen, the Olympian details how she keeps her health at the forefront of a busy life.

I would say the Gua Sha or any of the face sculpting tools. I've honestly had one of them for years and just never used it, mainly because I don't know how to use it properly. I always tell myself that I’m going to get into it or watch a tutorial, but it never happens.

I know a lot of people hate the cold and sitting in ice for 10 minutes does not sound appealing to anybody, but I love an ice bath. After three minutes everything goes numb, so you’re golden for the next seven. It's so good for the body and inflammation. I’m more alert and more awake after.

It's the fact that there are so many trends that I can't get on board with. You scroll on Instagram and TikTok and you see a different trend every day. It’s overwhelming, so I don't even look at them anymore because I can never tell what's real. There's always some new thing that you have to buy and it’s too much for me.

I would probably wake up and start with a cold glass of lemon water to help my body reset and detox. Then I would probably go get a facial—the whole thing. Hydration, relaxation, extractions, all the good stuff. I love getting my nails done. That, to me as an athlete, is really taking care of myself. My toes and my fingernails can get really dirty, especially working out all the time. Then I would go to the beach. I would read and soak in the sun, while getting some vitamin D. Then I would come home, relax with my husband, and get some good food in me. 

Doing my skincare is so relaxing to me. I'm excited to start my day knowing that my skin's taken care of. If I feel like my natural beauty is at its peak, I’m more productive with the rest of my day. I use all Neutrogena, which is super affordable and always easy to stock up—especially if you have a little CVS near you. I love their HydroBoost Cleansing Gel and their HydroBoost Water Cream. Both have hyaluronic acid, which is super good for hydrating the skin and keeping it plump and moisturized throughout the day. I also love their makeup remover wipes. I use them after practice, because I'm always sweating.

I’d have to go with a luxe facial—all in. Let’s do the masks, let's do the red light, let's do all this stuff. Just being able to sit there and relax and know that I'm still getting this wonderful treatment, feels like a very hampering moment. 

Very simple, clean, and calm. As long as I feel clean and it's not overwhelming or stressful, then I'm good.

My husband is the person that I go to for a lot of things because he’s my biggest source of encouragement, but also a straight shooter. He's gonna be honest with me. The wellness space can  get pretty complicated and he helps to break it down and keep the top level really simple.

You would find Headspace and Abide. Abide is an app, kind of like Headspace, but a Christian version. You get Bible stories, sleep casts, and music. When I can't sleep, whether it's the night before a race or I'm just up because of a long day, these two always help me relax and put me to sleep.

I go to the beach and just read. Seriously. I’m very grateful to live in LA, where I can drive 10 minutes and do that. The beach is my getaway place where I can just look out and work through whatever's going on in life.

Focusing on my health is a huge one—not only as an athlete, but also just in everyday life. So much of how we experience life is because of how our bodies feel, what we're putting in it, and how we're taking care of it. I'm huge on what I eat, how much I sleep, taking care of my skin, and ice baths because it really does make a difference. 

I'm very big into my faith, so I think trusting God in the season of life, especially with the Olympics and coming up, is my focus. Everything else flows from there. It keeps me grounded and rooted in what matters most to me. 

I feel the happiest at home on the couch in PJs watching a movie with my husband. 

I got myself into a pickle a while ago right before a big photo shoot. I had some breakouts and I needed to get rid of them. I did a spot treatment the night before and I woke up with all of these dark spots all over my face—dark circles everywhere. It was the maximum strength cream and I was definitely not supposed to use it the way I did. Luckily they were able to layer on so much makeup and cover it, but I was terrified. It literally looked like there were polka dots on my face.

People are always promoting stuff and they’ll say, It's gonna work, you should do it, you should buy it. But everybody's skin is different and not everything works for everyone. I don't like when people push something to sell it to a point where it makes you believe that it's going to work for you. The reality is that’s not always true. 

I would tell her that wellness is a journey, not so much a destination. It's always changing. You're always growing and finding new things that either work for you or don't work for you. Wellness isn’t so much a goal that can be completely attained, but rather something to always continue to strive towards. I was always thinking that once I got to a certain point, then I would be good. But, it's a never ending growth cycle. 

When you think of Lori Harvey, what comes to mind? Boss lady? Glamour girl? Entrepreneur? Queen of self-care? All of these titles are reasonable descriptions considering Harvey's the founder of SKN by LH, has modeling contracts with IMG Models and William Morris Endeavor and hits any and every red carpet with stellar grace and style. But what’s becoming more known is the 26-year-old’s love for wellness. It all started when Harvey shared her favorite fitness routine on TikTok (it’s mid-body exercises by the way) that went viral. She may be the daughter of funny-man Steve Harvey, but when it comes to wellness she plays no games. Her motto? “I just want to feel good, healthy, and energized.”

Here, Harvey details her workout routine, the necessity of drinking celery juice and why it's important for her to remain positive through the good and bad.

I've tried a lot. But, to be honest, I haven't really dived into Korean skincare yet. I've been seeing it everywhere, and that is something that I've been wanting to try.

I swear by drinking a glass of celery juice in the morning, which some people are like, ‘Absolutely not. That's so disgusting!’ But I swear by it. Drinking celery juice jump starts my system. It gets my digestive system flowing properly throughout the day. And I've also recently just gotten into doing cold plunges, which also some people are like, ‘You're absolutely insane’, but I swear by that now, too.

I’m one of those people who will pretty much try anything when it comes to wellness, so I don’t think there's anything that I'm not into. When it comes to health and wellness, I'm game to try it all.

I wake up in the morning, I have my celery juice. If I have time, I'll have a nice light breakfast. Maybe some fruit in the morning, like watermelon or some berries and yogurt. Then I'll do an hour long workout. I'll change between Pilates and weight training. After a workout, I'll do 30 minutes of cardio. So I'll either walk on the treadmill or StairMaster. Then I come home, shower and do my skincare routine. And if I really have time before my meetings, I’ll do my red light therapy face mask for 20-30. After all that I’m ready for my day.

Definitely my workout. I have to get my workout in every day or I just feel like I want to cry. And I love a good facial, too. That is top tier for me.

Getting facials are a splurge for me—they're definitely not cheap. But, also, another splurge would be an at-home sauna. Have you seen those sauna blankets? I think that's really cool!

I just want to feel good, healthy, and energized.

My esthetician, Sora Conner. I also really like Gwyneth Paltrow's advice. I'm just a big fan of Goop.

I just got this meditation app called Chopra. I like to do that in the morning to start my day before I get out of bed. And, I like to track my steps on my health app. And, I enjoy my Calm app when I'm sleeping at night and I just want to hear soothing sounds. 

I go outside and get fresh air. I take a walk or hike, and also reading I like to read. I recently read Atomic Habits. It's about rewiring your brain and helping you break patterns that aren't serving you in the best way. It taught me to be more productive in my day, have an overall better mindset, a more positive out look on everything, and how to manifest and project the things you want. 

I’m also usually calling my mom to reset, or one of my best friends and just cracking up!

I’m at peace. I’m happy.

I'm focusing on the sustainability of my businesses and keeping a positive outlook on life in everything that's happening no matter what. Through the good, the bad, the ugly, I just remain positive. I'm focused on knowing that what's for me will always be for me and will never miss me. A door closes, another opportunity will work out, seeing the good in that and just knowing that there's something for me and that there's something better on the horizon coming. I'm really just be patient and staying positive.

On a beach, going for a swim, getting a tan. And with my loved ones like my family and my friends.

It would probably have to be my cold plunge experience. The first time I got in, I jumped in and jumped right back out! It was so cold! The first two weeks, I did 30 seconds and I was so proud of myself. Then I worked my way to a minute, but I was still jumping out after a minute. They're like, 'No, you can do it! Do three minutes, do three minutes!" And so finally, I reached three minutes like a week or two ago, and I feel very accomplished. There's a girl at my gym and she sat with me the whole time and she just talked to me about other stuff. Even though I was dying, I didn't realize how much time was going by so by the time I looked up I was like 'Oh, I've been sitting in her for two to three minutes!' And also, playing Beyoncé helps.

Any advice related to skincare isn't that great. Everybody's skin is different, and I personally have very, very sensitive skin, so I have gotten some advice from people that doesn't necessarily work for me.

Don't stop working out because every time you take a break when you go back, you're going to feel like it's harder than it was before the break. Just keep going. Keeping your routine is hard but it will be worth it in the end.

Rosario Dawson’s been busy—on-screen and off. Professionally, her career jumped off with Sesame Street. Years later, she starred in Kids, along with several other independent films, however her talent was solidified via roles in movies such as Men in Black II, Josie and the Pussycats, Seven Pounds, and Unstoppable. She has a knack for voice overs, serving as the voice behind DC Comics’ animated Wonder Woman and Disney+’s Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars: Ahsoka earlier this year. 

Dawson’s on-screen talent, while impressive, isn’t a full picture of her impact. She’s established herself as a tremendous activist across political, environmental, and social causes, donating her time and voice to organizations such as Global Cool, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays, Doctors Without Boarders, and Save the Children. Most notably, however, is her work with the Lower East Side Girls Club, which recently went under renovation in partnership with Samsung. 

Visiting the center is a grounding activity for Dawson, but her wellness regime goes far beyond just that. She’s dedicated four days to pitch black meditation, has attempted eating foods best for her blood type, and works hard to place mindfulness at the forefront of her daily life. Through a Zoom screen, Dawson details her approach to health and wellness. 

The one thing I've always wanted to do is a 10-day silent meditation retreat. You have around 10 hours of meditation a day. It seems like a lot though, so who knows if I’ll actually ever get around to doing it. 

I just did this darkness retreat at Sky Cave Retreats in Oregon, where I spent nearly four days in the complete pitch black. In that instance, I couldn't be on the phone. I couldn't read, I couldn't listen to music. I couldn't be distracted by anything. I didn't even have lights to be distracted by. I ate in the dark. I drank in the dark. It was like the most incredible thing to open and close my eyes and still be in the dark. It was actually really powerful to see just how short the day is. If you really sleep, get good rest, take your time while you're eating, get your stretches in, do your yoga, take a nice long bath, and meditate a little bit, the day's almost gone. 

It's a crazy experience. I recognize that those are all the things that are always up for sacrifice. I can skip on sleep, I can skip the meditation, I'll rush through eating my food, take a quick shower rather than a bath so that I can squeeze in as much work as possible. I was able to feel my body in a different way. My deepest relationship on this planet is with my body. It will break down on me, it will get sick on me, it will be exhausted. But when we stop pushing ourselves and we stop developing—that is death. Sitting on that couch all day or scrolling on your phone, that is death. This retreat made me recognize that I need to have such a deeper loving relationship with my body. 

When I watch people exercising, training, yoga, or doing whatever online, I end up just literally watching them. I’ll just watch and be like, Oh, that's a good technique. But then I don’t actually do it. Maybe if it was live, I would. 

For me, it's not turning on my phone immediately when I wake up. It's having it off for an hour or so before I go to bed. It's really enjoying drinking my tea or wasting time waiting. It's being really present in this moment right now, which is the only thing we have. Not making lists, not worrying too much about the past. It's okay that those thoughts and things come up, but if you lead with your heart, you embrace so much more. 

Maybe you don’t believe in it, but I’m very into manifestation. I think I'm a very powerful manifester. I absolutely believe when you put your intention, your thoughts, your energy, and especially your gratitude behind something, more of what you want will come back to you. 

Something like the darkness retreat. When I came out, my body just naturally cried after nearly four days of darkness and seeing the sun and trees and color.  It wasn’t because I realized life was so beautiful or the sight was so pretty. It was because I recognized that feeling. There’s a feeling to sight. It’s really, really powerful and really, really beautiful.

I love adventure and I love pushing myself. I'm always in the energy of learning something, evolving, and developing myself. Wellness has definitely been one of those things that wasn't really uplifted in my childhood. We had this sort of idea that if you weren't stressed out and exhausted, then you weren't trying hard enough. So we betray ourselves all the time. We push ourselves, we neglect our sleep, our eating, our self care, and we burn out. That's something I've really experienced way too many times over the years. I'm allergic to it now. I'm seeing so many other people start to recognize that actually taking that time, taking that bath, taking that walk, stretching, and meditating, will actually make you perform better. That’s been my journey. 

I go to Hardy Health now. My friend, Dr. Lou, started this company over the pandemic. They do personalized medicine. I started with them last year, which was really helpful when I was filming on Ahsoka. They were helping me with repair, healing, and strengthening. 

I became really obsessed with the Aura Ring because sleeping was never my strength. I discovered sleeping pretty much during the pandemic. With the Aura app, I find out my REM, my deep sleep, my heart rate, and my oxygen levels. It gives me that personalized health information, which I really like. 

I’ve been volunteering with the Girls Club for years. I've been on their board now for years. My daughter's gone there. I'm a wannabe Girls Club girl because it didn't exist when I was a kid. Going there just blows my mind and warms my heart up. They recently opened up the wellness center at the Lower East Side Girls Club. Samsung came in, made a donation, and retrofitted the entire building. We can use that to be more creative and to be healthier. I've been really grateful for this technology. I feel like it's the Jetson jet in there. 

My current state of mind is just really gratitude. There are just insane things happening in the world at all times.I am worried about my parents and their health and my kids in college. It's so easy to just get so stressed and spend too much time on the news or worrying. I've been turning more to my gratitude. I like to be present in the moment with my parents and in life. I’m trying to live in the now—that's been my main thing. This is the only moment that we've got. 

I’m trying to meditate more. My friend, Light Watkins, is my meditation teacher. He has a really great, brilliant book called “Bliss More,” where he teaches you how to do it. As we get back to work, we sacrifice that alone time. I know there are going to be times when I'm filming and working 14 or 16 hours a day. But that means I have to better balance my other time—I can't just keep doing back to back jobs. I have over a hundred credits on IMBD for a reason. I am gonna burn out and that's just not healthy. I have to figure this out better. So that's sort of been that meditation and that quiet time. 

I really love being in the water. Whether it's the ocean, a pool, the shower, or a bath. I've read that when kids start to have a tantrum, just bring water into the equation and it can be so healing and I think it's grounding. We are nature, so whenever we interact with it—that fresh air, that ground, the dirt, the soil, farming, planting, sunlight—it just means a lot. I grew up with community gardens and camping. I took it for granted because it was just there. Now, I have to be so intentional about it. 

My mom has been on every diet known to man because she's diabetic. She definitely went through the whole eat right for your blood type phase. I didn't have the same impulse because my mom was trying to lose weight and take care of her diabetes. But I thought if it was healthy, I was happy to try it because she needed that support. The first time I met my friend Dante Bosco, who played Zuko in Avatar, I was 19 and we got set up on a blind date. I think I ate a plate of broccoli or something ridiculous. At that time, I was eating right for my blood type and having these really weird meals. I was totally unabashed.

Sometimes you hear of more extreme things—like why you should be a bodybuilder or something. But I’m not interested or willing to push myself that hard. Maybe if I was pro-athlete, but for the meantime I’m good to have my little muscles and eat a normal amount of protein. 

I would say that wellness is a necessity and a priority. Growing up in New York, going up four flights of stairs every day, walking all the time, and going to gardens and camping was just part of my life. But when I moved to LA, everyone was just driving and I put on 15 pounds. Suddenly, I had to work out. I never really did that before. I love a pilates class, but I’m not doing power pilates. I want it to feel slow. I want to feel myself isolating muscles. I want that really personalized, deep body experience. 

Lauren London’s IMDB page is nothing short of inspiration for great television. The highlights: She got her start in the acting world circa 2006 with her breakout role in ATL, which led to a nomination for “Best Supporting Actress” at the Black Movie Awards. Once on the map, gigs in Entourage and 90210 quickly followed. She found a home in comedy films, starring in Madea’s Big Happy Family, and most recently, Netflix’s You People. 

Despite the constant hustle in her professional life, London’s off-screen focus is about finding balance, stability, and, most importantly clarity. In fact, she just launched a collaboration with Puma inspired by her commitment to protecting her peace. The self-proclaimed “student of the truth” places faith in her spiritual guides, turns to her two sons, Kameron and Kross, for peaceful resets, and dabbles in more than her fair share of “woo woo” wellness practices. From the comfort of her home in California, London details her holistic approach to life. 

You’re going to think this is crazy, but I haven’t tried cupping. Don’t judge me. Here's the thing: I want to do it so badly. I live in LA where it's probably something that everybody's doing. I feel like it’s time. I hold so much tension in my back. 

I love a sound bath—I’ll do one every chance I get. I also love a sweat lodge, which is where you go into this really small tent and it’s hot as hell. You sweat your life away, but it’s highly spiritual.

I think it’s acupuncture. I do believe in it, I think I’ve just had an interesting experience with it. I didn’t like what it brought up for me and I just felt funky afterwards.

If it were my ideal day, I would wake up, have some tea, do some journaling and some reading, and turn on my church’s live stream. Then I’d go to a spa and have a massage and a facial. I would have the best food—from a garden. I would pick my own fruit. I would be by water and just slow down. The whole day would be extremely intentional, quiet, and just focused on taking care of myself. 

Well, meditation is free. I especially like guided meditations or yoga stretching—you can just put it on YouTube. I feel like that is affordable, accessible, and can really shift your day or your moment. You can create your own inner, sacred sanctuary wherever you are. 

I love a wellness retreat. I love Miraval in Arizona. 

I’ll try anything once. If you tell me it’s going to make me feel better, I’m in. I like to say I’m a student of the truth. I’m a seeker of the truth and the truth always looks different. 

I go to my Reverend, Michael Beckwith and my friend Lalah Delia h who wrote a book called “Vibrate Higher.” I go to Reverend Michael with all my big spiritual questions. Lalah is so positive and sees the world so beautifully. 

I love the Calm app and Human Design—you have to get Human Design. It tells you all of your special gifts. 

If I need to reset, I light incense and some sage to cleanse out my energy. Then I’ll sit still and just write. Getting all of my emotions out has really been a game changer for me. It's my safe space to word vomit. Sometimes it’s insights or thoughts that popped up in dreams or meditation. I put it all in there.

I am trying to surrender more of this control mindset that I have. I'm trying to release and surrender to the bigger picture.

My wellness focus at the moment is less about my body and more about my mind and my thoughts. Meditation has been a really good practice for me because it mutes the random thoughts that pop up all the time. I also cannot stress how freeing  journaling is—it’s really like a therapy session.I also am a big therapy girl. 

I feel the happiest when I’m safe and at home with my kids, just chilling. Maybe it’s a Sunday morning and we’re watching the sun rise.

My acupuncture story is actually a really funny one. It was really busy outside and I was hearing all of these loud sounds. It was literally the episode of Sex in the City where Charlotte goes and gets acupuncture. I was expecting it to be all peaceful and quiet, but it was loud. Cars outside are honking like crazy while she’s putting needles in my ears and my head and my ankles. I was so stressed out. I just wanted to pull them all out and go home.

I don't really like the idea of faking it until you make it or this kind of toxic positivity. Sometimes it’s ok to feel your strong emotions and to honor your strong emotions, but the idea of “everything’s fine” — I don’t truly believe in that. I do think that you have to be really genuine in where you're at and it's okay to have really big emotions that make you uncomfortable. Sometimes they're great indicators of what’s really going on. They lead you to a deeper self awareness within yourself. We have a tendency to disown our humanness. 

I would tell my younger self to have a better relationship with nutritious foods. I wish I started embracing healthier, more nutritious foods earlier so that my palate would be inclined to eat healthier foods.

Keke Palmer has spent nearly two decades in the spotlight. Her acting acumen and witty delivery put her on the map in movies like Akeelah and The Bee and the hit Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson VP. In more recent years, she’s starred in blockbusters like Nope, released her “Big Boss” album, and debuted a new single, “Serious.” Through it all, Palmer has established a level of candor with her community as it pertains to mental health and self esteem. She’s been transparent about her experience with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), adult acne, depression, and most recently, the emotions that come with being a new mom (her son, Leodis "Leo" Andrellton, was born in February). 

Professional success and personal growth are a balancing act for Palmer—one that’s constantly evolving, growing, and changing. The same can be said for her approach to wellness. Her journey has ebbed and flowed in intensity and experimentation. She possesses a “learn as I go” mentality, expanding her purview from exercise and healthy eating habits to reiki healings and “hippie-ish” spiritual retreats. On a phone call from her home in Brooklyn, Palmer details what prioritizing a healthy mindset looks like for her right now. 

I've tried a lot of stuff, but I would love, love, love to try one of those shaman-type retreats where somebody guides you through a spiritual experience—kind of like what Nicole Kidman did in Nine Perfect Strangers. For something like that to work though, I think you not only have to have an open energy, but you also need to be confident in your choice to do it; you need to feel solid and balanced and know you’re in the proper head space to feel safe and receive something positive. 

I was actually invited to do a shaman retreat one time, but I was very early in my wellness and spiritual journey. At the time, I thought sound waves, and teas, and cleansing my soul sounded crazy. I was so spooked, but it probably would have been very cool. 

I’m into all the “woo woo” stuff. When I did the We Care Experience, they had reiki. They had sound healing. To me, that kind of stuff isn’t “woo woo,” but people get very spooked out by those kinds of things. I for one am here for it. There was a period in my life, when I was in my early twenties, where I did a lot of reiki healing and aura cleansing. I’m all about detoxing—mentally and physically.

Acupuncture. It’s not necessarily “woo woo,” but I’m just not a fan. It makes my muscles too zhuzhed. It does something odd. I’m not mad at cupping, but I can’t get behind acupuncture.

It would start by waking up at 5:00 a.m. to work out. Then after I leave my workout session, I would have all planned meals available—and there would be five or six a day that I could go through. I would have a facial, a massage, get my nails done, and my eyebrows waxed. I’d walk around Brooklyn, by the water. I’d maybe have a glass of wine and eat something nice and fresh like oysters. I’d end the evening at Night Hawk Cinema, which is my favorite cinema in the world. I’d come home, maybe get into some reality TV, have another glass of wine, and go to sleep. That would literally be the best day ever.

I’ll go to CVS and buy myself a face mask, maybe some shaving cream, and a bath bomb—anything that they have. I’ll grab a candle, always some wine, and get the bath going. Then I’ll put my iPad up, get a show going, shave everything that needs shaving, and just relax. It’s a wonderful wellness vibe.

A wellness retreat. I once went on one called the We Care Experience. The thing about a serious wellness retreat is that it’s not jacuzzis and baths at my whim—my whole day is scheduled. I’m talking to a spiritual guide at the top of the day, and everything is completely programmed, down to the meals. It’s totally detoxing and rejuvenating.

I’m kind of hippie-ish—it's all very free flowing. I'm not really afraid of anything. I really trust myself and I really trust God and the universe. I feel very supported, even when things are intense and difficult. Ultimately, I believe I’m meant to come out of this life feeling good about my experience. Even with the ups and downs, I’m always seeking the positive and searching for ways to receive balance for myself. When it comes to wellness and bettering myself, I feel like it’s all just part of the process.

My trainer Corey Caillet has been really awesome as a wellness motivation. He trains me on not just the physical, but the mental aspect, too. My mom has been really encouraging, especially when it comes to mental health. I read books from people like Louise Hay and Wayne Dyer. I used to listen to Wayne Dyer’s “Wishes Fulfilled” every morning. He’s a very well-known spiritual and motivational speaker. 

Equinox, Club Pilates, and MelissaWoodHealth—lots of movement. I also have Daily Yoga, which isn’t just yoga, but also a guided meditation.

I go somewhere where I can be alone. I'm the kind of person that seems super extroverted, but I'm also quite introverted and it's important for me to spend time alone and be with my thoughts. I need to gather myself before I can be out in the world.

It's a little chaotic. It’s interesting though; I just came home from the spa. I like the spa, but it took longer than I thought and I was like, Did I miss my whole day? Then I got spooked, but it’s fine, everything is fine.

I’m trying to work on letting go of things I can’t control and continuing to unpack unnecessary narratives that aren’t serving me. It’s been a lot of therapy, relaxation, and really focusing on the positive. It’s so interesting—I was talking to Raven Simone and she was saying that your thirties are the decade of revelations. I felt literally the day that I turned 30 that became true. I started to realize who I don’t want to be and who I do want to be. I’m so much more aware and able to put things into perspective. I remember my time is the most valuable and expensive thing I have.

I’m the happiest when I’m with my son. He's my favorite human on the planet and being with him gives me a boost. If I’m ever not with him or he’s sleeping and I need a boost, I find myself looking at his pictures. Seeing him reminds me of my reason.

The first time that I did reiki, this lady was beating on my chest. She kept saying, Let it out. Let it out. I started crying. I felt like I was remembering things and letting stuff go. It was painful. But after a while, I couldn't figure out if I was crying because I was releasing emotion or because this lady was beating on my chest. This was physically hurting me. It was the funniest experience I ever had. In hindsight, I can’t figure out if I was having a break through or if she was literally breaking through me.

There’s this idea that wellness is this linear, expensive thing. It doesn’t have to be expensive and you don’t have to be perfect. The more you think you have to be this perfect “wellness” person, the harder it’s going to be for you to keep it going and the harder it’s going to be for other people to jump on the train with you. It’s the same way we look at self-esteem. I hate the concept that self esteem is either low or high. It’s always growing. It’s the same way with wellness. When you think about wellness like that, it doesn’t become such a hard task. It’s a bit more easy and a bit more graceful—not this uptight, specific task.

Put yourself first and make yourself happy. That’s all that’s needed.

Doing Well explores how busy people, well—do wellness—from the vitamins they take, to the silly reality TV they watch to help them relax.