THE HIPPY HOUSE OF SUSSEX!
Daily meditation. Trips to a trendy ‘wellness’ boutique. Even vegan paint for the nursery. As they prepare for parenthood, how Meghan tamed party-boy Harry to establish...
onCe he was a beer-drinking bachelor with a penchant for fast food, who was most likely to be found at the heart of the party.
But then our action man prince met a freespirited Californian actress living by the ethos that most things can be ‘cured with either yoga, the beach or a few avocados’, as she wrote on her now defunct blog The Tig. and the rest, as they say, is history. ever since Prince harry met Meghan Markle something has changed. Last week they were spotted leaving a notting hill wellness shop which offers ‘energy healing’ and meditation with ‘singing bowls’.
Then it was revealed they had stayed at heckfield Place hotel in hampshire for three nights. It boasts an organic ethos, a yoga studio and a spa offering ‘ all- natural treatments’, and holds mind-expanding talks on subjects such as ‘how the world thinks’.
here, BETH HALE takes a look at the hippy habits of new age harry and Meghan...
THE ‘LIFE-CHANGING’ POWER OF ACUPUNCTURE FOR TWO
Meghan has long been a proponent of acupuncture, which she credited with helping her beat debilitating migraines. according to Vanity Fair, she has visited celebrity acupuncturist Ross Barr during pregnancy.
acupuncture, which originated in China more than 2,500 years ago, involves the insertion of fine needles into the face and body.
The treatment is said to help alleviate mental or physical pain and distress. It’s now so widespread that it’s even used within the nhS, which says it’s generally safe to have acupuncture during pregnancy, as long as the acupuncturist is aware of your condition.
Back in 2015 Meghan said: ‘I have been a long- time believer in acupuncture. I used to have debilitating migraines — [I was] hospitalised for them — and acupuncture changed my life.’
Prior to their wedding, harry and Meghan reportedly both visited Barr, who offers 45-minute sessions costing between £90 and £120.
Barr, who is based in London, even offers acupuncture as a natural substitute for Botox. he has said some of his clients treat his sessions like ‘an MoT’ or ‘maintenance for modern life’.
harry is in good company — his mother Princess Diana had regular acupuncture sessions to cope with the strains of royal life, along with hypnotherapy, shiatsu, and even regular colonic irrigation.
KEEPING IT CLEAN (AND BENDY)
PRegnanT Meghan has been particularly virtuous when it comes to her diet.
But it’s not just Meghan who has eschewed caffeine and alcohol. Supportive harry has reportedly been turning to mineral water, or perhaps mint tea — a drink Meghan herself requested during an official visit this year.
he has also given up smoking and apparently embraced clean-living Meghan’s healthy eating habits. These include making her own juice, devouring avocado on toast, and a passion for roasted cauliflower, according to her blog The Tig.
The couple are thought to have taken the advice of a nutritionist when preparing for their wedding — which is hardly surprising given Meghan’s long-standing devotion to ‘wellness’.
She once counted Dhru Purohit and Dr alejandro Junger, the founders of U. S. health and wellness company The Clean Program (based around a 21-day nutritional cleanse), as her ‘wellness coaches’.
In an interview with wellness site The Chalkboard Mag, she revealed that she was a big fan of supplements — including magnesium, B12 drops, multivitamins and the stressreducing aid Cortisol Manager, made with botanicals, which she took before bedtime.
She also occasionally used the herb ashwagandha, which can apparently beat stress and boost the immune system.
On top of that, she said she enjoyed infrared saunas to ‘ sweat out all the toxins’, and a curious form of sculpting facial massage by celebrity skincare expert nichola Joss.
This involves a massage from the inside of the mouth to destress muscle tissue and improve tone and firmness.
She was also a fan of the ancient therapy of cupping, in which special cups are placed on the skin to create suction. It is said to help with pain, inflammation and relaxation.
The most well-thumbed book on the royal couple’s bookshelf might just be Meghan’s favourite, Prescription For nutritional healing by James and Phyllis Balch. This is an a-to-Z reference
of drug-free remedies given to her by mum Doria, a yoga instructor.
Meghan, of course, is a wellestablished devotee of both vinyasa and hot yoga.
She has continued doing yoga during pregnancy and has even introduced Harry to the mindful pursuit.
The couple’s new home, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, has reportedly been equipped with a yoga studio.
MEGHAN’S ETHICAL FASHION CHOICES
HER wedding dress was Givenchy and she has shown a penchant for high fashion.
But for Meghan a wardrobe is predominantly a way to deliver an ethical message.
Her favourite jeans are by Australian ethical brand Outland Denim, which saw sales increase 2,300 per cent when she wore them six times in a month.
Then there’s the eco-friendly Veja trainers and the Rothy pumps made from recycled water bottles.
On a visit to Birkenhead, Merseyside, she hammered home the message, sporting three different jewellery designs from ethical brands.
Her bracelet was by Bar Jewellery, a sustainable label that uses recycled silver and avoids chemicals in the manufacturing process.
Her Nosheen stud earrings from brand Pippa Small were made by the artisans of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, an Afghanistan-based charity set up by Harry’s father, Prince Charles.
She also wore a delicate gold ring on her thumb by contemporary line i+i Jewellery, which donates 10 per cent of all profits to the Indian charity Set Beautiful Free, an initiative that helps free women and children from sex slavery.
HYPNOTHERAPY FOR THE IMMINENT BIRTH?
THE Duchess of Cambridge is reported to have looked into hypnobirthing when she was pregnant with Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte. If Meghan and Harry (birth partners tend to do it together) choose to practise hypnobirthing, they could be following in her footsteps.
Hypnobirthing involves relaxation and breathing techniques to manage labour pains and ‘visualise’ the baby’s arrival.
Experts claim the practice, which is said to have helped celebrity mums Angelina Jolie and Gisele Bundchen and is based on English doctor Grantly Dick-Read’s work in the Thirties, keeps the mother calm from the moment she goes into labour.
One of the many apparent benefits of the technique is that mothers may not require pain relief during labour.
RIGHT-ON SPEECHES AND WISE BANANAS
THE couple appear to have adopted a rather ‘right- on’, politically correct approach to their public messages, which might explain the appointment of celebrity American PR guru Sara Latham to handle their affairs. Harry delivered a very touchyfeely speech to 12,000 screaming youngsters at Wembley arena for WE Day last month. This event was part of a global initiative encouraging young people to take part in positive social change. He said they needed to have ‘less screen time, and more face- to- face time, exceed expectations, and take risks’ if they were to leave their mark on the world. However, his inspiring message was also peppered with criticism of previous generations, suggesting they were judgmental, lacked positivity and were incapable of ‘thinking outside the box’. Then this week he said: ‘ Social media is more addictive than alcohol and drugs.’ The very millennial message, which came in for criticism from some quarters, followed Meghan’s famously impromptu decision to pen motivational messages such as ‘You are brave’ and ‘You are loved’ on bananas in food packages to be given to prostitutes. The Duchess had been paying a visit to the One25 charity in Bristol, which reaches out to women trapped in, or vulnerable to, sex work.