Gabby Bernstein Reveals The Stress-Busting Midday Ritual She’ll Never Skip

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, New York Times bestselling author and spiritual leader Gabby Bernstein shares her morning routine, a hack for manifesting, and her go-to skin care.

Gabby Bernstein needs to go on her own version of the Eras Tour. As the author of 10 books — the latest one, Self Help: This Is Your Chance To Change Your Life, came out Dec. 31 — the manifestation guru and spiritual leader says she can look back on each one and remember exactly where she was in life when she wrote it.

“The books may have different angles or themes, but every time I write one, it represents the newest version of me,” the 45-year-old tells Bustle. Each one also builds on the last, which is why Self Help feels like a collection of all the lessons and manifestation tricks she’s learned so far.

Her latest specifically focuses on a four-step self-help practice that’s meant to help you let go of limiting beliefs so you can snag your dream life — something she knows a lot about. The author points to her first appearance on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday in 2019 as a prime example.

“I had meditated daily for half of a year, just visioning and feeling what it would be like to be on Oprah,” she says. “And one afternoon right before my fourth book came out, I think I was in my early 30s, I got a hit — an energetic hit, like an intuition.”

Bernstein grabbed a Post-it note and wrote, “I’m going to be on Oprah” — and the next day she got a call from the show’s producers. “I’d been waiting for this call. I'd taken action, like writing books and building my audience,” she says. “It wasn't like I was sitting on my ass being like, ‘I want to go on Oprah,’ but I was releasing any disbelief. It's in the absence of disbelief and resistance that manifestations can come into form.”

Below, Bernstein shares more about her book, her can’t-miss midday meditation, and her laundry list of wellness practices.

Walk me through your morning routine.

I wake up to a 6:59 alarm clock called Oliver, my 6-year-old who jumps on my bed. My husband takes him downstairs so I have time to do my five-minute check-in using the four steps from Self Help to see how I’m feeling. Then once I send my kid off to school, I like to have my “magic hour” where I sit down and do creative work.

How do you fuel up for the day?

I'm drinking an organic Mexican coffee that I make in a French press. And I do a smoothie with a kefir, protein powder, almond milk, adaptogens, and gut-healing supplements. I throw it all in.

How do you reset when you’re stressed?

Every day at noon I do a non-sleep deep rest meditation where I lay back on a sofa and use a mantra to reorganize my nervous system for about 40 minutes. It’s a practice where you're meditating and resting, but you're not sleeping. I let my body just completely relax. If I skip it, I catch myself yawning in meetings.

Can you share some tips for manifesting?

You can say all the affirmations and do all the tricks and tools, but if you're not healing your core beliefs about yourself, you're just going to keep winding back up where you started. The “new manifesting,” as I call it, is all about checking in with your beliefs so you can get back to a place of calm. I address it in Self Help. When you have creative, calm, connected energy, that’s when amazing things happen.

Do you have any self-care products you swear by?

I use my LYMA Laser every single night for an hour when I'm watching a show. I also use these Normatec boots. And I’ll do a red light helmet, which really helps my hair feel thick. I kind of do it all. I’m your classic wellness girl.

Are you a fan of working out?

I’m 45 now, so I do workouts that are good for perimenopause, like HIIT and heavier lifting. I used to be one of those people who used lighter 3-pound weights, but now I lift 15 pounds. I’ll do three sets of 15 on machines. I’m not bench pressing yet, but maybe one day.

How do you relax at the end of a long day?

After I eat dinner, I love to lie on the sofa with my son and my husband. We'll put on a fire and veg out. We’ll watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and other late-night shows, then I’m in bed by 9 p.m. My husband’s like, “When will you ever stay up and hang out?” But I'm like, “My body wants to go to bed at 9. Get over it.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.