When we think of alone time, we often picture ourselves shopping without chasing children, having a quiet pedicure, or simply lying in the bathtub uninterrupted. For some truly quality alone time, you don’t have to go much further than inside your own mind. Meditation is a contemplative state where by you silently remove yourself from the physical and the present to reflect, increase clarity, and find a more serene or deeper state of consciousness.

It’s an ancient practice, often associated with yoga, that’s becoming increasingly popular in our scattered, harried, pressure-cooked society. Business professionals use it to decompress after a tough meeting or even find their center before heading in to the bull pen. Men and women alike use meditation to strengthen their minds, reduce stress, and even attain that “me time” that is so necessary.

It’s something Julia Roberts’ character in Eat Pray Love grappled with during the pray portion of her journey at an Indian ashram. But in real life, celebrities are embracing it seemingly with ease for a vast many reasons.

For instance, Richard Gere says a meditation practice helps him to stay grounded amongst the excess of Hollywood life. Eva Mendes credits meditation for helping her mine her best creativity, according to Well and Good. And Gisele Bundchen, who delivered her second child at home this month, has called meditation the source for her post-baby weight loss.

“A regular meditation practice creates mindfulness. Being mindful helps keep us from feeling distracted and impatient with life when things don’t go our way,” said Jill Lawson, our resident yogi expert. “When we are fully aware of our feelings through the practice of meditation, we can move toward being more proactive, instead of reactive. Taking action versus being frustrated is the first step in living a joyful life.”

We found 20 famous men and women who have dedicated themselves to the art and practice of meditation. If this group can make Power Bracelets, veganism, and the Master Cleanse a storming success, maybe they can serve as models to make us all a bit more mindful out here in the real world.
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On November 7, tune in to a special episode of Ellen as she celebrates her show’s 10th anniversary. Among other guests, Ellen invites Bethenny Frankel, creator of the Skinnygirl franchise, on the program.

Frankel gained fame by starring in The Real Housewives of New York, afterwards launching Skinnygirl Cocktails, which grew in to a line including nutrition and recipe books, exercise DVDs, health foods, skincare, and women’s undergarments. Her products, like her book Naturally Thin, encourage healthy and natural eating, common sense habits, and ways to make all women feel beautiful no matter their size. She also starred in her own show, Bethenny Getting Married?, with a name change of Bethenny Ever After after her marriage, and was a contestant on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. 
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On Ellen’s September 17 episode, Ellen discussed her partnership with the company Food Should Taste Good to take a stand for the fight against breast cancer. She is raising money for Ellen For The Cure, which will go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

To raise money, Food Should Taste Good rolled out a special pink bag of multigrain chips that will donate a part of the profits to the foundation. Ellen let her audience taste the chips by passing a bag around (“she only has one bag”), touting their delicious taste and their vegan and gluten-free status. You can also donate directly to the foundation on her website.
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On the first show of Ellen Degeneres’ new season, the talk star meets with the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team.

She speaks with Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, and Kyla Ross about what it was like to win big at the Summer Olympics. The team swept the scoreboards, winning by the largest margin in 52 years at the Games, which helped them take home the team gold medal. Douglas also took home an all-around gold medal and Maroney got a silver in vault.
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First lady Michelle Obama has been a busy woman this week. She’s been making the talk show rounds as she promotes Let’s Move, a campaign is designed to end childhood obesity by teaching children about fitness and healthy eating.

As the first lady wraps up her week, she will be a guest on the Ellen show today alongside Booty Barre creator and fitness expert Tracey Mallett.

Mallett and Mrs. Obama invite 40 children to the stage to demonstrate exercises to keep them moving and excited about good health. Mallett led the children of Whitney Elementary through a fun workout the kids loved. In an email from Mallett, she described the episode as “an amazing experience.” See it now, and try it with your own kids!

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