Harry’s daddy detox
No cigarettes, no high jinks, less booze and a punishing fitness regime ... after he reveals he meditates and has a Buddhist manual for happiness, BETH HALE reveals the full gruelling extent of...
EVER since Prince Harry met Meghan Markle, a transformation has been underway. The once party-loving, beerswilling prince of old has been replaced by a clean-living, snappy dresser who, as we learned this week, practises yoga and meditation.
now as Harry’s dream of becoming a father draws ever nearer, another change is at play: the transformation from husband to parent. From ditching caffeine to embracing yoga, BETH HALE examines Harry’s Daddy Detox.
DAILY MEDITATION
During some of his wilder moments (strip billiards anyone?), Harry, 34, might have been wise to pause for a moment’s meditation.
now it seems he’s embraced a hobby once primarily associated with Buddhist monks.
Meditation, of course, has had a millennial makeover; mindfulness is everywhere — from the classroom to the doctor’s surgery (it’s part of the government’s guidelines for treating depression). On a visit to Birkenhead this week, Harry told Buddhist monk Kelsang Sonam — who gave the prince a copy of the Buddhist book Eight Steps To Happiness — that he practises it ‘every day’.
When Harry adopted it is unclear, but he has been frank about seeking counselling after enduring two years of ‘total chaos’ while still struggling in his late 20s to come to terms with his mother’s death. in turning to meditation, he is following in the footsteps of his wife, who will doubtless be deploying the techniques she has learned to aid her through the later stages of pregnancy and birth.
Writing on her now defunct website The Tig, the former Suits star — a firm believer in a healthy mind and body — explained how meditation had ‘rocked her world’ and made her ‘much happier’.
Last year, LA-based yoga instructor and meditation teacher Light Watkins said he had spent four days giving Meghan, 37, one-toone guidance in meditation after meeting her five years ago.
He said she later got back in touch, telling him: ‘i’m meditating every day, twice a day — once in the morning for 20 minutes, once in the afternoon. it’s wonderful.’
Perhaps Meghan shares Watkins’ advice with Harry. The instructor, who trained in india in 2007, sends a daily email to his students to inspire them.