The 54-year-old model says she starts the day by finding time to 'just breathe.'
Elle Macpherson is sharing her best health and beauty tips.
The 54-year-old model covers NewBeauty's Summer/Fall 2018 issue, and in her accompanying interview with the mag, she gets candid about her quirky beauty treatments, what she eats regularly and how she rejuvenates daily.
Macpherson says she wakes up around 5 a.m. each morning and starts her day with "a guided meditation" or "hands-on Reiki," a Japanese technique for stress reduction, relaxation and healing that she's recently learned to do herself. She avoids checking e-mails first thing, and instead gives herself 10-20 minutes to "just breathe."
For breakfast, Macpherson loves eating soaked chia pudding, and has recently traded in her morning espresso for "hot water and lemon." The mother of two says she now sticks to a "raw, plant-based diet" that consists of grains, nuts, seeds, beans, vegetables, almond milk, hemp milk and chia seeds.
"That's how I feel best," she explains. "I make my own granola in a dehydrator. Avocado, salads, juicing -- you know, beautiful, whole, natural foods. As far as animal products are concerned, I'll have a poached egg every now and then, some Parmesan cheese and goat cheese, but they're not staples of my diet."
For soft, smooth skin, Macpherson swears by dry brushing her body before or after a shower.
"You can watch how to do it on YouTube. Basically, it’s circular movements toward your heart, from your fingertips and your toes," she says. "In the shower, I do about three cycles of switching hot and cold water. You can feel your body start tingling; it’s so good for your lymphatics and circulatory system, and such an easy thing to do."
And when it comes to relaxing, the Australian model says it's all about turning up the heat! She spends plenty of time in her in-home sauna, aimed to also help reverse sun damage.
"I can't do lasers because I live in the sun, which compounds the issue, so that's out of the question. But, I've been using an infrared sauna at home for about a year and a half," she reveals. "I try to do it every day for an hour. I'll watch TV in there or do a meditation or a phone call."
The fitness guru also loves a good yoga session, and spending any chance she can get by the water.
"I do Vinyasa yoga or power yoga, or go for a swim, go paddle boarding or waterskiing, or take the dogs for a walk. If I'm lucky enough to be by the sea, I think walking in seawater is one of the best things I can do for my body," she says. "It tones the legs and the waist, it's great for minerals, and if you have any water retention, it's a great diuretic. I walk in about thigh-deep or knee-deep water for 40 minutes to an hour."
Macpherson began her modeling career back in the '80s, and has appeared on five covers of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue over the years. Recalling her early modeling days, she tells the outlet that people in the industry tried to downsize her figure.
"When I started modeling, my physiognomy, my body type -- this sort of Amazonian, broad-shouldered, narrow-hipped, big-breasted, six-foot-tall Aussie girl -- wasn't in fashion," she explains. "There was a huge movement toward girls being very androgynous and very slight."
"In the beginning, they used to bind my breasts with elastic so that the clothes wouldn't show the shape of the breast," she continues. "I realized early on that I couldn't starve myself and shrink myself to try to be something I wasn't So, it was when I managed to embrace my uniqueness and stand in my own truth of what I was, that I became more confident. That confidence was attractive, and people started booking me for that."
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