Katy Perry says daughter Daisy's 'unconditional love' always 'helps the mental health'
The Unwind is Yahoo Life’s well-being series in which experts, influencers and celebrities share their approaches to wellness and mental health, from self-care rituals to setting healthy boundaries to the mantras that keep them afloat.
Katy Perry is an unstoppable force of pop stardom. The “Never Really Over” singer, who welcomed her first child with partner Orlando Bloom in 2020, now boasts a Las Vegas residency and a slot on the American Idol judges panel. Her most recent endeavor, however, is outside of music: the re-launch of her shoe line Katy Perry Collections, which aims to create kicks that are traffic-stopping and conversation-starting, all for an affordable price point.
“You can meet a stranger based on the shoes you’re wearing and become best friends, because they’re like, ‘Oh my God, you have a shell for a heel? You have orange slices on your shoes and they smell like oranges? No way,’” Perry tells Yahoo Life's The Unwind over the phone.
All these projects — as well as the busyness that comes with motherhood — means that Perry, up since 5 a.m. to give daughter Daisy a bottle on the day of our call, needs to find a way to keep her mental and physical health in check.
“As a mom, and a busy person in general, you’re always trying to find extra time in the day, like there are not enough hours,” she explains. “That’s why I swear by transcendental meditation. It has changed my life, it has changed my mood. Whenever I meditate, whether that’s once a day, or twice a day, it feels like I found two extra hours in the day that have come from nowhere, or that I’ve had a two-hour nap — but I just had a 20-minute meditation.”
Perry and partner Bloom have long praised transcendental meditation, which, in practice, involves repeating a mantra in your head as you sit or lie quietly for 20 minutes at a time, in order to promote relaxation. It’s not Perry's only wellness secret.
“I do a celery juice or this niacin drink twice a week, which flushes my system and oxygenates my blood, which is great,” Perry notes. “I try to be in the gym three to four times a week, and I notice my mental health does really well with that; I notice the positive effects of sweating out toxins.”
As a new mom, however, she knows she’s now “second on the call sheet.” Sometimes, she says, being “present” with her daughter is the best gift for wellness.
“Knowing that I invest quality, present time with her makes me feel really good about myself, about being a mom, about being able to work as hard as I work,” she explains. “When I am with her, it’s quality, and it’s present, rather than trying to juggle everything all at once. That’s really changed me. I think I am also getting my first dose of unconditional love, which always helps the mental health.”
For physical health, Perry credits her mother, who turns 75 this year, with sharing her “California organic” lifestyle with her. The Smurfs actress takes supplements based on her bloodwork and swears by Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar, which she grew up with thanks to her mom. (She’s now a major investor in the brand.)
Mostly, however, Perry says her life is about balancing her onstage persona with her real world one.
“I know how to compartmentalize and turn it on and turn it off,” the American Idol judge explains. “I don’t live in the ‘on’ zone 24/7. I really am only ‘Katy Perry’ when I’m doing my shows or my meet and greets or filming. Otherwise, I’ve found a great balance and learned to live a sweet small life. That’s waking up, making breakfast, going outside, playing in the sand. It’s really all about balance — that’s how I can do it all.”
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