Radiance + Ritual: Meet the Brilliant Mind Behind Ziva Meditation

With so many different approaches to self care, wellness, and spirituality at our fingertips, how do we know what works? One of our favorite ways to learn about new practices is, of course, to see what our friends are doing, and how it’s working for them.

That’s what Radiance + Ritual is all about.

Radiance + Ritual is an interview series that takes a deeper look at individuals in our community who are living in their glow—what wellness rituals they practice, what self-care looks like to them, and what routines help them achieve their best self.

Meet Emily.

Emily Fletcher is the founder of Ziva Meditation, best selling author, kickass mom, and all around super human.

In the digital age, being able to take time to breathe and tune in with yourself is more needed than ever, and the work that Emily and Ziva do to bring meditation to the masses is so, so important. We love Ziva around the Annmarie Skin Care headquarters, so we jumped at the chance to chat with Emily.

We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we did.

Introduce yourself! Who are you, what do you do for a living, for fun?

I’m Emily Fletcher, former Broadway actress turned founder of Ziva Meditation and author of the bestselling book (happy dance), Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance. I teach meditation for high performance and have taught over 15,000 people the Ziva Technique — a trifecta of mindfulness, meditation and manifesting.

For fun, I will do basically anything to hear my son laugh. Taking him to the playground and watching him discover the world is more fun than I ever imagined. I also love going upstate with my core group of friends.

Walk us through your morning ritual and skin care routine

My mornings begin with the “sweet sounds” of my son, Jasper. Aka, his cries are my alarm clock these days. We start the day with his breakfast – 30 minutes of nursing. Once he’s fed, I tongue scrape to get rid of all the ama (or toxins) released overnight and then drink some water – hot in the winter and room temperature in the summer.

During his first nap I wake up my body by doing 10-15 minutes of yoga and/or ayurvedic exercises to get the energy moving before sitting down for my morning Ziva Meditation.

After I meditate, I shower and begin my skin care routine. I use a gua sha tool at night and find I wake up with my skin more contoured and glowy. It also helps my AnnMarie products penetrate more deeply so I find it worth the time invested.

In the morning, I wash my face and follow it up with  rose water spray. Then comes the Citrus Stem Cell Serum, eye cream and olive oil.

At night, I will wash my face followed by a fruit enzyme resurfacing serum, Anti-Aging Oil, gua sha and moisturizer.

What’s your wellness philosophy?

My whole life is a wellness philosophy. I spend most of my life optimizing my mental and physical performance so that I can help others do the same. As you heal yourself, you help to heal the collective.

How do you get your glow: Internally, externally?

I get my glow first and foremost from meditation. I’ve been meditating twice daily for 11 years and it’s what I attribute basically all the good in my life to…  including any compliments I get about how I don’t look 40. (I just turned 40 y’all.)

Meditating with a technique like Ziva floods your body with bliss chemicals like dopamine and serotonin which are alkaline in nature. This helps alleviate inflammation and improves skin elasticity. Meditating also helps build something called ojas which is basically a physical manifestation of bliss chemistry.

It stays on the skin after meditation and helps give your skin a vibrant glow. To maintain my glow, I use Sun Love. It is the JAM. It is so hard to find a sunscreen that isn’t toxic and this one even doubles as a light foundation. I also love the anti aging oil.

In addition to the mindfulness, meditation and manifesting that comprises the Ziva technique, my diet, supplement routine and skincare practices help to maintain my skin clarity. I used to suffer from pretty intense acne. Now I eat a clean, mostly ayurvedic diet throughout the day.

In the morning, I have a yummy superfood smoothie and take all my supplements. This includes a prebiotic/probiotic, and vitamins C and D. Nourishing my brain and body like this makes a huge difference not only in appearance, but in my performance day to day.

With so many health trends out there, what ones are sticking for you right now?

Trick question. Meditation is my non negotiable. Nourishing, real foods are in 2nd place and exercise is gaining in importance as I age. It’s so important for both for physical and mental health.

What’s your go to Annmarie Skin Care product? (you can omit this Q if you aren’t familiar with our products!)

Sun Love, Anti-Aging Facial Oil and the lip balm [Antioxidant Lip Balm]  are all my favs.

What’s one wellness essential you can’t live without right now?

Oregano oil! I use it for flying and if I feel a cold coming on.

Much gratitude and love to Emily for sharing some of her wisdom with us. You can check out Ziva Meditation here.

If you have a suggestion for someone you would like to see on Radiance + Ritual, please email [email protected]