Katy Perry says daughter Daisy’s “unconditional love” always “helps with mental health”

The Unwind is Yahoo Lifestyle’s wellness series in which experts, influencers and celebrities share their approaches to health and mental wellness, from self-care rituals to setting healthy boundaries to the mantra that keeps them afloat.

Katy Perry is the pop star’s unstoppable force. The “It’s Never Really Over” singer welcomed her first child with partner Orlando Bloom in 2020 and now holds a Las Vegas residency and a spot on the American Idol panel. Her latest endeavor, however, is outside of music: the relaunch of her shoe line, Katy Perry Collections, which aims to create kicks that stop traffic and start conversations at an affordable price.

“You can meet a stranger and become best friends based on the shoes you’re wearing because they’ll say, ‘Oh my God, do you have a crust on your heel? Do you have orange slices on your shoes that smell like oranges? There’s no way,'” Perry told Yahoo Life’s The Unwind by phone.

All of these projects – and the busyness that comes with motherhood – mean Perry wakes up from 5 a.m. to give her daughter Daisy a bottle on the day we call and needs to find a way to keep her physical and mental health in check.

“As a mom, and a busy person, you’re always trying to find extra hours in the day, like there aren’t enough hours,” she explains. “That’s why I swear by Transcendental Meditation. It’s changed my life, it’s changed my mood. Whenever I meditate, whether it’s once a day or twice a day, it feels like I’ve found an extra two hours in the day that came out of nowhere, or I’ve taken a two-hour nap – but I’ve only slept for 20 hours – a minute of meditation. “

Perry and partner Bloom have long praised transcendental meditation, which in practice involves repeating a mantra in your mind while you sit or lie quietly for 20 minutes to promote relaxation. That’s not Perry’s only health secret.

“I drink celery juice or this niacin drink twice a week, and it flushes my system and oxygenates my blood, which is great,” Perry noted. “I try to go to the gym three to four times a week, and I’ve noticed that my mental health is good; I’ve noticed the positive effects of sweating out toxins.”

As a new mom, however, she knows she’s now “number two in the phone book. Sometimes, she says, being “present” with her daughter is the best gift to health.

“Knowing that I’m putting in quality time with her makes me feel really good about myself as a mom and about being able to work as hard as I do,” she explains. “When I’m with her, it’s about quality, it’s about being present and not trying to juggle everything at once. That really changed me. I think I also got my first dose of unconditional love, which always helps with mental health.”

For physical health, Perry credits her mother, who is 75, for sharing her “California organic” lifestyle with her. The Smurfs actress takes supplements based on her blood volume and swears by Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar, which she grew up on with the help of her mom. (She is now a major investor in the brand.)

For the most part, however, Perry says her life is about balancing her onstage role with her real-world one.

“I know how to compartmentalize, turn it on and off,” the American Idol judge explains. “I don’t live in the ‘on’ zone 24/7. When I’m performing, meeting and greeting or filming, I’m really just ‘Katy Perry. Otherwise, I’ve found a good balance and have learned to live a sweet little life. It’s about getting up, making breakfast, going out, and playing on the beach. It’s really about balance – that’s how I can do it all.”