Coldplay’s Chris Martin – ‘My wellness wins to boost my mental health’
These days most rockstars are more into meditation than drunkenly throwing TVs out of windows – and Chris Martin from Coldplay is a case in point. Here are 5 surprisingly simple ways that the singer looks after his mental health
Any products in this article have been selected editorially however if you buy something we mention, we may earn commission. Images Instagram @coldplay
Chris Martin has never been known for a hedonistic rock’n’roll lifestyle. Amy Winehouse, he is not. Instead of being papped stumbling out of clubs, the 48-year-old singer is often seen skipping out of LA fitness studios after an intense yoga session. Which is on brand for the man once married to Gwyneth Paltrow.
Currently on the UK leg of a world tour with Coldplay’s latest show, Music Of The Spheres, the singer recently discussed how he looks after his mental health. “I’ve noticed a few people recently – included myself – suffering from depression so I’m going to tell you a few things that’ve been helping me,” he said on Instagram. So here are Martin’s Wellness Wins that enable him to “stay grateful and happy to be alive” – and pleasingly none of them require a rockstar’s bank account to try out.
View this post on Instagram
1. Freeform writing for 12 minutes each day to let go of challenging thoughts
Freeform writing: write it, bin it, forget about it (Image: Instagram @coldplay)
“Freeform writing is when you write down all your thoughts for 12 minutes, and then burn it or throw it away. That’s very good,” he says. This isn’t the first time that Chris has mentioned this mental health-boosting method. Back in December, he and Jamie Oliver gatecrashed lunchtime TV show Loose Women (look up the clip) and he told the presenters he did freeform writing every morning. It is, he says, a good way of working out what’s going on in your head and releasing the things that you’d really like to say but can’t.
2. Transcendental Meditation to relax
Martin says that transcendental meditation (TM) “has been really wonderful for me”. A practice that first become popular with 1960s hippies (The Beatles were famously into it), TM is a silent, seated meditation where you focus on a word, saying or sound, repeating it until you reach a state of peace and calm. Done properly, it can bring on a huge sense of relaxation but while maintaining awareness. It’s best practised twice a day for about 20 minutes at a time.
3. Improving mind/body connection with proprioception training
Martin describes this as “body movement to help balance your brain”. Sometimes described as the ’sixth sense’, proprioception is the way that the body can sense its own position and movement –like when a pro footballer takes a penalty without looking at the ball – but it declines with age, as co-ordination reduces. Martin recommends The Costello Movement, a guided programme that teaches proprioception, saying he believes it’s particularly good for young people with ADHD and autism.
4. Psychedelic tunes to chill out
Martin’s chillout tunes of choice (Image: Instagram @coldplay)
Unsurprisingly Martin finds listening to music soothing, in particular psychedelia. He recommends Music For Psychedelic Therapy, the 2021 album by British electronic musician Jon Hopkins. The album was created to be used during guided trips (apparently the length of the album is timed to the average length of a ketamine high – one hour and four minutes – please don’t try that one at home though) to help those suffering from depression, and was inspired Hopkins’ visit to the Amazon rainforest.
5. And breathe…
Chris Martin: good at breathwork, not so good at choosing outfits (Image: Instagram @coldplay)
We all know how breathing properly can help calm the nervous system. Martin recommends a book: The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown, £8.93, which teaches the reader easy-to-use techniques to reduce breathlessness, improve sleep and nix anxiety and stress. (For more on Patrick McKeown, see this piece on mouth taping.)
