‘Batwoman’ star Javicia Leslie on her wellness practices: ‘I can be my own healer when needed’

The Unwind is Yahoo Life’s wellness series where experts, influencers, and celebrities share their approaches to health and mental health, from self-care rituals to setting healthy boundaries to mantras that keep them afloat.

When taking over the lead role of The CW series Batwoman in 2020, Javicia Leslie becomes the first black actor to play the role. It’s a milestone she doesn’t take lightly—it’s also informed her other projects, including a partnership with Puffs to cheer on young superheroes at Cincinnati Children’s; the brand also donated 3,500 boxes of Ultra Soft tissues to help patients Get through cold and flu season.

“We remind kids that they’re warriors and superheroes. It’s a lot of fun!” said Leslie, who also opened up about her self-care approach to Yahoo Life.

“I have a daily routine where I dig myself and see where I am,” she said. “I can be my own therapist when I need to. I get up two hours before work and start freelance writing; I release anything that might mess up my brain.”

After journaling, Leslie usually gets her body moving through yoga and deep breathing exercises.

“I started practicing yoga, which allowed me to breathe the whole way,” she said. “Then I started breathing; I did Wim Hof ​​breathing. It helped ease my anxiety and it helped me relax. It’s a natural way to alkalize my body. After that, I went into soundness The bowl. I also do buffalo drums. The sound waves (especially for me) – help calm my nerves. From there, I feel strong enough to go into the day.”

The actress refers to these breathing techniques as the “reset button” when she’s stressed by LA traffic or a busy day of filming.

“On set, I would do my breathing work. I would take a few deep breaths, filling my lungs and chest, hold for 15 seconds and then release. This helped release the stress that had built up in my body. If needed, I would chant and then Check my chakras to see if there is any feeling of imbalance. If I’m tight, it’s probably my root chakra,” she said, adding that she can often pinpoint the cause of stress and work from there Solve the disease.

“If I have anxiety in my throat — I had that feeling when I started making Batwoman; my throat was tight. I worked hard [relaxing] for a week to release the trauma and anxiety I was going through. ,” she explained.

Still, Leslie admits that some stress has no easy solution.

“The whole Covid-19 pandemic is stressing me out! I’m going to re-plan!” she said with a laugh. “[But] I remind myself that we’ll get through it; I remind myself that I’m healthy, and that keeps me in balance.”

For Leslie, another source of balance and joy is food—specifically, modifying restaurant recipes and making them meatless. (Her Instagram is filled with videos of her cooking using dishes that look familiar.)

“Cooking is a meditation for me,” she said, “but I also love going to restaurants and different places, stealing recipes, and making my own.”

Batwoman’s go-to recipe?

“I make these very crispy, spicy cauliflower tacos,” says Leslie. “I’m (mostly) vegan and I like to make recipes where you would use turkey or beef and then make vegan versions. My favorite thing is to bring variety and fun to vegan dishes – so you can Don’t feel like you’re compromising anything. If you don’t eat meat, you don’t want to feel like you’re limited to roasted vegetables!”