Natalia Vodianova says "sport and movement" have been "vital" for getting her through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Natalia Vodianova

Natalia Vodianova

The 38-year-old supermodel - who has just launched new sleep meditation app, Loóna - has shared how she has coped during lockdown amid the global health crisis and said exercise, especially walking and yoga, and cooking for her family have eased the strain.

Speaking to Vogue, Natalia - who has Maxim, six, and Roman, four, with husband Antoine Arnault and Lucas, 18, Neva, 14, and Viktor, 13, with first husband Justin Portman - said: “I hadn’t cooked for maybe 15 years when Covid-19 hit. Although I wouldn’t describe it as a passion, I started cooking from the age of six and I’m not bad at it. I’m comfortable in the kitchen and I feel deeply purposeful when I cook for my family as I was every day during lockdown — it’s beautiful when they need you in that way.

“Sport and movement are vital for me whether it be walking, hiking, Pilates, yoga or sometimes the gym. I love biking around the city with my children and being outside in nature. My 14-year-old daughter Neva has my bug for walking — she’s disciplined and will wake up 45 minutes earlier so she can walk to school.”

And when it comes to looking after her mental health, the Russian beauty is "good at letting go".

She explained: “I’ve always been good at letting go. At the beginning of the year, everything looked so busy, charged and exciting. Then lockdown came, and for the next six months, everything was cancelled. I was at home with my family — that was the positive side. Like everyone, I feel stress and anxiety about the future, even the day-to-day. No one knows how bad this virus is going to get.

“Sometimes cancelling one event or saying no to something feels like the hardest thing to do because everyone tells you it’s important. Ultimately, I've learned there are other ways to address these needs and opportunities, and I don’t need to travel as much. I can be just as effective working from home, close to my family, in Paris.”


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