Healthy Hollywood: Wellness Wednesday – Candy Crowley’s Calming Secret!

Let’s hear it for debate moderator Candy Crowley.

This lady kept calm in a pressure cooker of contention between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney. As an outsider looking in, I must say it’s got be a tough job to keep the town hall format moving and keep these two powerful men in check and on their toes.

Perhaps, Candy’s secret to her peaceful demeanor is meditation. CNN’s chief political correspondent reveals to Prevention online that after the 2008 presidential campaign, she realized she needed to get on a healthier track.

“My TM [Transcendental Meditation] experience started right after the last election. Campaigns are so hard on everything. You’re on the bus, you’re off the bus, you’re on the plane, you’re in a hotel. And, that’s really your life: You think you’re not going to eat and then you eat too much, or you think you are going to eat and you don’t eat enough. You’re just so stressed out and tired,” reveals Candy to Prevention.

The 63-year-old journalist says meditation is the one thing she does every day.

“I just sit in a chair in my room. I meditate in the airport. I meditate in my office in the afternoon. It doesn’t require a special place or a lack people,” adds Candy to Prevention. Plus, she’s also become a vegetarian and tries to exercise regularly.

Candy credits her meditation practice with improving her life. “I think that it has made my thought process more ordered. When your stress level is lower, you make better decisions and you have a better thought process. Do I still get angry? I do. Do I still get frustrated? I do. Do I still have stress? Yes. I don’t think that’s the point; the point is for you to be able to handle the stress. The point is that I don’t hang onto my anger nearly as long as I used to. “

So, did the political journalist have a moderating mantra? “Five minutes before I get on a show, I take deep breaths and settle in. I just say, “Listen,” because that’s the most important part that most people forget. And that’s about the last thing I tell myself before I go on the air.”

For more on Candy’s stress-reducing tips, check out www.prevention.com.

— Terri MacLeod