“It’s been pretty incredible to see what happens when you start believing you are enough” – Meghan Markle
Hello, lovely EY MAG readers! I am planning to change up this inspo section a bit. I still plan to profile inspiring women but also find women doing amazing inspirational work in the world. When I first thought about the name for my site it wasn’t so much about how you look or ‘looking young’ but also about that constant reinvention and willingness to keep changing yourself and to keep your ideas and thoughts about the world fresh and new! Meghan Markle is the perfect inspo for female empowerment and constant growth, reinvention and staying positive throughout all of life’s changes! -B xx
How beautiful and love filled was the Royal Wedding! (my fav part was the epic sermon by Bishop Michael Curry). I thought Megan pulled everything off amazingly despite a major backlash and drama filled lead up to the big day. I have recently been listening to Marissa Peer and I absolutely love her take on self-esteem and self-love. She said in one of her talks that happy people praise others and unhappy people criticize others.
When you come under criticism it is often nothing to do with you and really a reflection of the other person’s unhappiness within themselves – something to remember! She also said to don’t let it in and let it bring you down. Megan certainly didn’t!
After struggling in her twenties and battling constant insecurities while also trying to support herself as an actress Meghan really found success in her thirties after landing Suits. She became a successful actress on a hit show (gotta love Suits!), spent many filming breaks and evening’s working on her popular lifestyle site ‘The Tig’, became a UN Women’s advocate for political participation and leadership and still managed to fit in time for travel and quality time with friends and her gorgeous rescue dogs.
Phew! Looks like she is Harry’s perfect match to take on the gruelling schedule of royal life. So how does she always look so effortlessly polished and put together? We give you the rundown on her exercise routine, eating plan, beauty essentials, life values and her advocacy work.
EXERCISE:
Meghan is a big fan of yoga and has had a regular yoga practice in place from the time she was a little wee thing of only seven years old! (The benefits of having a part-time yoga instructor for a mother!). She didn’t really value the practice until she was a teenager however and she understood how it impacted her overall mood and happiness. She now really loves hot yoga or a sweaty, evening candlelit vinyasa flow class.
Her secret to working out consistently is to develop the motivation and will to do it on your own! Although it is great to go to a pilates class or join a friend for a run if you can develop the self-discipline to do it by yourself you have already won half the battle she says. This internal drive and motivation is what makes exercise a usual daily habit.
After predominantly doing yoga and running for many years Meghan got a trainer during Suits to help her with her strength, posture and also her yoga practice as they did specific strength training exercises to help with her yoga alignment. Because she was working on screen she wanted to make sure that her posture and presence were spot on.
She also loved to get in quick strength training workouts in her Suits trailer as she often ended up with pieces of time during the day where she was not required for a scene. Meghan particularly loved using a mini band and did quick strength training workouts for around 10-15 minutes throughout the day. In the evenings Meghan would love to stream an at-home dance cardio workout from celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson.
Meghan also enjoys getting a good run in particularly with her dog and now apparently runs in the Kensington Palace garden’s where she is currently living with Prince Harry. Her best tip is to imagine the end goal and how good you can feel after your work out is done. She loves the feeling of her post-run euphoria!
“Running has always been my form of moving meditation, which I relish because it allows me to get out of my head…I need running as much to clear my head as I do for keeping in shape” – Meghan Markle (Shape)
PLANT-BASED LIFESTYLE:
Meghan tries to eat mostly plant-based (at least on the weekdays!) but has a pretty relaxed approach and does not deny herself any food if she feels like eating it. Often on the weekends, she will treat herself to an ice cream or her favourite fish/seafood and of course a glass of her favourite wine ‘the Tignanello’. Which is what her lifestyle site was named after ‘The Tig!’.
She dislikes the use of the word diet and instead prefers ‘lifestyle’. Because she is so disciplined with her work out routine she loves her foodie treats, with a particular fondness for carbs like french fries and pasta. She also loves to indulge in a glass of wine over dinner – of course! 🙂
Meghan loves to cook and will often whip up fridge staples like hummus (to have with carrots), pesto and chia pudding. She also loves to drink almond milk and green juice. She especially likes to cook roasted cauliflower and chickpeas topped with spicy curry powder which she will then pop on top of a salad or eat as a tasty side dish. Meghan prioritises cooking her own food every day and while at home she is often in the kitchen whipping up something!
Her breakfast favourites are oatmeal topped with bananas and agave, a tasty acai bowl, or a wholesome smoothie stuffed with fruit and veggies (she even has gotten Prince Harry on board!). She also shares about the importance of drinking water and staying hydrated while opting to start her day with water and fresh lemon.
“Because I work out the way I do, I don’t ever want to feel deprived. I feel that the second you do that is when you start to binge on things. It’s not a diet; it’s lifestyle eating.” – Meghan Markle
BEAUTY REGIMEN:
Meghan often shared all of her makeup and beauty favourites over at ‘The Tig’. Her signature is what she dubs the ‘Five Minute Face’. Lashes curled with a Shu Umera eyelash curler (we talked about them here), with plenty of mascara, a bit of concealer dabbed here or there, with some rosy blush and her favourite lip balm, of course!
She also favours tinted moisturiser over heavy foundation (because it still shows her freckles!). She loves to draw attention to her eyes by lining them with a shimmering brown eye pencil for evenings or on her wedding day! Meghan always goes for sheer, classic makeup looks that enhance her natural beauty.
How does Meghan cope with ageing? She loves to do facial massage and face yoga! Apparently, she does this every day which is probably how she gets that amazing, beautiful skin in the first place! Face yoga can be beneficial in boosting your skins own collagen and elastin and it also helps to tighten, tone and sculpt the facial muscles.
Meghan now has her own signature hairstyle – the slightly messy, relaxed bun which was also seen on her Wedding Day. She also loves to wear her hair in loose waves around her face.
“You can be a woman who wants to look good but still stand up for the equality of women” – Meghan Markle
LIFE VALUES + ADVOCACY:
Meghan famously said in her engagement interview with Prince Harry that the most important quality she looked for in a man was kindness and that if he was not kind then she did not think that it would work out! She credits her mother for bringing her up in such a loving, nurturing way that has then led her to care deeply about others lending her name and her time to various humanitarian and women’s advocacy organisations.
Her advocacy for women started at the young age of eleven when after viewing a television commercial for washing up liquid with some classmates she was upset to hear that ‘women everywhere were fighting greasy pots and pans’ implying that women were the only ones cleaning in the kitchen. After hearing about it her father encouraged her to do something about it. She wrote to some powerful women and the company that produced the commercial actually changed their tagline from ‘women’ to ‘people’. One small voice can make a difference!
Meghan has also worked as a counsellor for One Young World and spoke at their 2014 summit on gender inequality. While speaking she also discussed how important it is for men to be advocates for women. She also worked as a global ambassador for World Vision and travelled to Rwanda to be involved in their clean water campaign.
Meghan also travelled to India and wrote an amazing op-ed piece for Time Magazine discussing the stigmatisation of women in third world countries who do not have sufficient resources to deal with menstruation that they often end up dropping out of school at age thirteen.
She also spoke at the United Nations Women’s conference as an advocate for women’s participation and leadership. Meghan discusses how girls and women’s voices matter and urged girls to become more active in their communities and take on positions of leadership so that we can create more equality within all areas of decision making.
Megan also wrote a piece for Cosmopolitan discussing how being from a mixed race family she never felt like she fit in. She thinks that it is so important to create your own identity and ‘draw your own box’ if you don’t fit into cultural stereotypes ♥
“Women need a seat at the table, they need an invitation to be seated there and in some cases, where this isn’t available, well then you know what, then they need to create their own table” – Meghan Markle (UN Speech)
Links:
Great Read: Draw Your Own Box by Meghan Markle from Cosmopolitan
Try Megan Markle’s Strength Training Exercises direct from her Trainer
Megan Markle’s Diet and Exercise from Harpers Bazaar
Megan Markle’s Fitness Routine from Cosmopolitan
Megan Markle’s Favourite Beauty Products from Matilda