CELEBRITY INTERVIEW
MY LIFE IN HEALTH
Actress, director, and health-retreat partner Sadie Frost, 58, talks to Joanna Ebsworth about her passion for yoga and meditation, and why she’ll never compromise on her dedication to wellness.
WHEN I MEET SADIE FROST FOR an afternoon of yoga and meditation to celebrate her new partnership with Amchara Health Retreat, she’s a radiant picture of health and happiness. By the time I’ve contorted my body through several asanas under Sadie’s watchful eye – she’s a qualified yogi – and drifted off to a higher plane while snuggled under a cosy blanket, my thoughts are clear and I’ve made my mind up: I need every one of her wellness secrets to staying strong, serene, and most importantly, sane.
Read on to discover how the mum-of-four balances motherhood with a hectic career by cherishing her “me time” at home, and by regularly going away to Amchara, her spiritual home in Malta, to reset and refresh her body and mind.
I loved performing from a very early age.
When I got a scholarship to Italia Conti, it was g reat for many reasons, not least because my doctors told me it was very important that I lead a healthy lifestyle due to having a lung condition called bronchiectasis, which I got at the age of four. I was vegetarian as a child because I wouldn’t eat meat or fish, so my mum became vegetarian too. I was brought up eating organic; there was a big emphasis in my house to eat well and be healthy.
My stepfather was a healer and told me about meditation when I was 11 or 12 years old.
And that’s when the seeds were planted that there was a more holistic way of living. We were seen as an odd family because, in those days, you were considered weird if you were doing anything alternative. That’s why I carved out my own beliefs from the beginning. I knew I had to be healthy, so dance became important to me. I started doing yoga in my teens after someone recommended it to help me understand the breath. Yoga involves doing the asanas, but it’s ver y much about breathing, meditation, positivity, and getting peace of mind.
I’ve gone back to yoga all my life.
When I’ve struggled with anxiety or postnatal depression, yoga has really given me the tools to get better. Nobody has a 100 per cent easy-going life, and we all have challenges to deal with. But I believe those challenges help us to grow as a person and become bigger, better, stronger. I’ve always tried to work through negative moments and shift them towards being more positive. I’ve always been a survivor, and I’ve always loved a challenge.
