Gabby Reece’s Meditation Hack Will Change How You View Mindfulness

In Chill Chat, Bustle sits down with celebrities and influencers to talk about all things wellness, from daily routines to hacks for getting a good night’s sleep. Here, Gabby Reece, a former professional volleyball player, talks about her go-to meditation technique and favorite pre-bed TV shows.

Gabby Reece walks the wellness walk — and has for decades. The athlete splits her time between California and Hawaii — both sunny, breezy states — where she exercises daily, loads up on natural products, and hangs out with surfing pro husband Laird Hamilton.

Reece made a name for herself when she won the first-ever Beach Volleyball World Championship in 1997, her fifth season as team captain in the Women’s Beach Volleyball League. She went on to model for Harper’s Bazaar, Shape, and Sports Illustrated before kicking off a media career as a podcast host, sports commentator, author, and panelist.

The athlete also stays busy running Laird Superfood and managing her workout brands, like HIGHX and XPT. “I’m always trying to build things that excite me and make me inspired, but somehow simultaneously, I’m always trying to simplify my life, too,” the 55-year-old tells Bustle. “It’s like this constant story of doing both all the time.”

Her latest venture is with Vionic, a shoe brand rooted in biomechanics, foot health, and arch support, as its first-ever Well-Being ambassador. “The funny thing is, Vionic first advertised on my podcast years ago, and I have a whole philosophy that I need to try everything — eat it, wear it, sleep in it — before I will advertise it,” she says. “I’ve never been a good faker.”

One thing that stood out about the brand? The science. “So much [of our health] starts with our feet,” she says. Through her partnership, she will create content, lead conversations about well-being, and collaborate on the design of Vionic’s most advanced walking shoe to date (launching in the spring).

Here, Reece talks about slow mornings, the workout classes she designed, and the wellness tools that have ended up in her home.

What do your mornings look like?

I wake up around 6 and enjoy my space before starting the day. I’ll move slower than my husband and take my time, but we will eventually have a coffee together and connect before all the craziness of the day.

Are you a breakfast person?

I like to start the day with coffee, but it’s one that has a lot of nutrients. I add creamer from our brand Laird Superfood, which was born out of Laird packing his coffees with healthy fats before surfing.

What workouts are you into right now?

I train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:30 a.m. with a group of women, and I structure my days around it. It’s a program called HIGHX that I developed 15 years ago that started as workouts I’d do with friends, and it turned into a built-in accountability group with teams and partners that you show up for.

We do weightlifting, proprioception and balance, and cardio. It’s a lot like HIIT, but you can make it your own, too. I’ve had professional athletes who train with 70-year-old ladies. I write new workouts for it every day, and it keeps me creative. Then, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, I do pool training — another workout I created called XPT.

How do you stay hydrated?

I’ll have water with lemon and minerals before my coffee, and I’ll rehydrate after a workout and eat high-water-content foods. But I’ve never been a big water person. I do think you can overdo it.

Walk me through your beauty routine.

Because I sweat a lot, I use a Japanese non-perfumed charcoal soap to wash my face at night. In the morning, I just rinse with cold water.

I like to use castor oil, tallow, and honey on my skin, which I can get away with because I’m older, or a moisturizer from OneSkin.

For sunscreen, I’ll use a zinc one, but mostly I try not to be in the midday sun. I’ll go outside earlier in the morning because it’s so important for your eyes and body to know what the sun is doing.

As someone who loves wellness, do you have a lot of gadgets around your home?

If we can justify a purchase by saying it’s good for our health, it’ll eventually end up in our house. I have a red light device from LightStim, and we’ve had cold plunges, hyperbaric chambers, and saunas for 15 years.

How do you deal with work-related stress?

What I’ve learned to do is to focus on the one big thing I have to deal with. I might have six other tasks on my list, but I try to minimize the impact of just that one main thing.

I also have this obnoxious datebook that I take everywhere. I like to look at the month as a whole, sort of like a story. If it’s too packed, I’ll look for ways to thin out the weeks.

Do you ever meditate?

Every chance I’m alone — in the shower, driving in the car — I do a daily check-in with myself, like, “How do I feel? Am I anxious about something? Do I need to have a conversation with somebody?”

People have made meditation into this thing, but sometimes even finding a word that you resonate with and repeating it can help.

How do you end your day?

I carve out 10 to 15 minutes to do something I really want to do, almost like a guilty pleasure. It could be reading a book, sitting by myself, or watching a certain show or a documentary. I think, “What do I want to put in my brain?” and feed it with something positive. People love mysteries and murder shows, but I stay away from all that stuff.

Do you have a go-to bedtime?

As busy as my life is, you won’t see me out late at events. I like to preserve myself so I can get stuff done during the day. My husband’s the same way. At 8:30, he’ll be like, “I’m heading up to bed. I’m going up the mountain.”

Do you have any tips for someone who wants to create their own wellness routine?

Remember that perfection isn’t the goal. Just do the best you can each day, do your research, and find what works for you.

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.