Jennifer Aniston Can’t Get Enough Of Pilates Right Now

In Chill Chat, Bustle sits down with stars to chat about all things wellness, from their favorite skin care products to their hacks for getting a good night’s sleep. Here, Jennifer Aniston shares her favorite morning ritual, the wellness treatment she can’t get on board with, and her candid thoughts on matcha.

If Rachel Green was your fashion icon growing up, there’s a chance Jennifer Aniston is still one of your idols now. And while the actor may be falsely credited for some wellness tips like that viral TikTok salad, there are plenty of ways to emulate Aniston when it comes to your feel-good routines. Despite what you may assume, Aniston’s approach to self-care is very low-key, which makes it easy to emulate. Step 1: Never skip a meditation.

“[It’s important to] wake up mindfully, and be mindful of what you put into your headspace, what you ingest from the news — having a holistic view on things,” she tells Bustle. Along with her morning mantra and spending time with her close friends, Aniston turns to exercise and work-life balance to keep her feeling her best.

Aniston has also partnered with Vital Proteins — the buzzy collagen brand — as its chief creative officer to release a new line of Vital Proteins & Jennifer Aniston Bars, protein-packed snacks that come in three flavors: peanut butter fudge, cold brew coffee, and dark chocolate coconut. She’s been a fan of the brand since 2014, when her doctor introduced her to it. “I started putting it in my coffee and adding it to my shakes. And just like anything, you have to give it a good month to really start to see what benefits you reap,” she says. As for the benefits she saw from the collagen? “I started noticing a difference with my workouts and my post-workouts were not as painful. My nails were like steel. My hair was getting strong, and it wasn’t breaking.”

Here, Aniston tells Bustle the one wellness ritual she can’t live without, the fad she’s never been able to do, and what self-care looks like to her.

What’s your morning routine like?

I have an alarm and I start with my morning meditation, walk the dogs, make my coffee, feed the dogs, and then do a workout. If I’m on set that day, then that all has to get condensed. If there’s anything I don't skip, it’s my meditation.

What do you use to guide your meditation?

I have a mantra that I was given about 10 or 11 years ago, but there are great apps on the phone that I also love if I want to have a guided meditation for something specific. Meditation helps with sleep and it’s hard for me to go down. Sleep has always been a challenge for me.

In addition to your meditation, what are some of your go-to self-care practices?

My meditation, my workouts, my friends, connections, community, Zooming. I usually have a Sunday gathering with my girlfriends. Sometimes it's just the girls. Sometimes it’s a group of us with the kids. That’s something that’s very important. Before we go off into the chaos of the week, we have a little quiet time just to be friends and have fun.

What’s the most out-there wellness treatment you’ve ever tried?

I’ve tried a lot of things. People do cleanses after the holidays or they do Dry January or whatever it is where you have no sugar, no dairy. First of all, telling me to cut dairy out of my diet is hard, but I’m trying to do it. I’m not a fasting girl — I just can’t — but I do intermittent fasting and that I enjoy. I have a girlfriend that would do 40-day silent retreats — amazing. I know a couple people that could use a silent retreat.

What’s your favorite workout right now?

Pilates. Someone said it’s having a moment right now; I didn’t know that. I tried to do Pilates 20 years ago and I just couldn’t get into it. For me, it’s all about the teacher — you have to have a really good teacher because it can be kind of boring. If you have an excellent teacher and you understand the beauty of it, it’s like a moving meditation.

What helps you stay grounded after a stressful day?

My dogs. They have no care in the world except you, food, and to pee, and play with a ball. It’s unconditional love. It’s so nice. That, and good friends and meditation. All of that is essential, especially these days.

Coffee or matcha?

Coffee. I get the matcha by putting it in the coffee or in my smoothie or in bars. I think [matcha] is very personal… some people really love it and live for it. It’s a tough one for me. It can taste like dirt. There’s no way around it. When someone’s like, “Oh I love matcha,” I go, “Do you? Really? That’s something you crave?”

How have you learned to set boundaries between work and play as you’ve grown up?

I’m good at that, but it takes a while. I think that’s the 80/20 rule. Work is important and I love my work. I have so much fun, I work hard, but then when it’s time off, I really appreciate it. I’m not a workaholic. I work to live, I don’t live to work.

What’s the best wellness advice you’ve ever received?

Everything in moderation. You could say, sleep, water, hydrate — but everything in moderation.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.