Body & Fitness

Westside’s Antonia Prebble shares her wellness routine

The Kiwi actress opens up about her love of meditation, why breakfast is imperative to her day and how she stays happy.

Talk us through your morning routine

I have to say I’m not much of a routine person. I think it’s due to the fact that, when I’m filming, my start time can vary by a number of hours every day.

Sometimes I’ll be up at five and then the next morning I might get to sleep in until eight, so it’s tricky to establish any kind of morning habits. If I don’t have to get up too early then I love going for a walk or a run first thing, it sets up my day so well and puts me in a positive mind-set.

I always make sure I have a good breakfast, either eggs on toast, smoked salmon on a seeded loaf that I make, porridge with LSA or a smoothie.

I find that if I don’t eat a good breakfast in the morning I can feel a bit out of kilter for the rest of the day and end up snacking and craving sweet things in the afternoon.

What kind of work outs do you enjoy the most?

Historically I have gravitated towards high intensity workouts like HIIT training or spin classes, but this year I’m trying to vary my workouts and include more stretching and yoga.

My favourite kind of exercise is walking. I live close to Mt Eden and love going for a good, brisk walk up there. It’s a great way to catch up with a friend, it’s low impact and I always feel invigorated and clear afterwards.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgxllmEgxqd/?hl=en&taken-by=antonia_prebble

What motivates you to work out?

Knowing that it’s good for me and knowing that I will feel good afterwards… also making plans to work out with friends helps because it means I can’t pull out!

How do you try to stay positive and mentally healthy?

The best thing I have found to keep me mentally healthy is meditation. For me, it’s a game changer. If I meditate on a particular day, that day just goes better.

I feel more calm, more focussed, more open and more grounded than when I don’t. I try to meditate for 20 minutes at least three times a week. If I’m having a stressful time then I’ll up that to everyday and it really does make a huge difference.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjjFZ6EByar/?hl=en&taken-by=antonia_prebble

Any advice for others who are going through hard times?

Meditation would be my number one bit of advice, even if you can only manage five minutes a day, it really does have quite profound effects.

Headspace is a great app that introduces meditation in an accessible way that I would definitely recommend. I also do practical things: I make sure I keep exercising and I make sure I get enough sleep – everything feels a million times worse when you’re tired.

I try to find the balance between feeling my feelings and not wallowing in them, which is sometimes tricky but the awareness of the distinction serves as a good anchor.

Westside returns to THREE Monday 9th July at 8.30pm.

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