Every week, Vogue will be spotlighting tastemakers across industries to hear how they’ve been approaching self-care during the coronavirus pandemic. We asked Grammy Award–winning, Oscar-nominated artist Mary J. Blige how she’s been staying sane at home. Blige shares how she’s been meditating, enjoying long baths, and drinking wine.
1. I’m learning how to self-love.
I’m learning what true love for myself means—which is getting along with myself, loving myself, appreciating myself, and not beating myself up for the things I can’t do anything about. I’m getting to know me and love me more, so that when I go out into the world, when everything is starting to come back to normal, I can be an even better person than who I was before quarantine. Self-love is self-care.
2. I’m taking long baths.
During quarantine, I got into just sitting in a bubble bath with music and candles, massaging myself, oiling myself, just getting into myself.
3. I’m meditating.
I sit quietly. I’ll turn everything off and I’ll breathe and start thanking God and be grateful for everything. It’s a time when you get to reflect on your character, who you are, what rules you, what you’re grateful for.
I wake up in the morning happy to live my life, even though we’re in quarantine. I’m alive. Even though we’re in the middle of a pandemic, I’m alive. My mother’s alive.
When I was younger, I didn’t meditate, but when I became a woman, meditation and prayer became a big deal in my life because it’s the only thing that can keep me sane. It’s the only thing that can help me to sustain my life and my health. It’s a huge part of my life—meditation and prayer.
4. I’m listening to old favorites.
I’ve been listening to a lot of old-school playlists. I’ve been taking it back to the ’70s, and then I’ll go into the ’80s and ’90s, but I’ll come into 2020 when I’m really ready to turn up.
I’ve also been listening to a lot of jazz again lately. I used to do it a lot when I was younger, but I’ve been listening to Roy Ayers again; Earth, Wind and Fire, and Heatwave, just real beautiful stuff.
5. I’m spending time poolside.
I’ve been going into the backyard, soaking up the sun, and lying by the pool. I mean, once you have a bathing suit on—a hot, sexy bathing suit—you’re on the “beach”—you’re in Italy or St. Tropez. I’ve been rocking my Pucci suits. They’re really sexy.
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6. I’m drinking wine.
Wine has been a huge part of relaxation—one of the things that has kept me sane to take the edge off. I’ve been drinking my new Sun Goddess wine all week. It’s really good wine. You know how I know it’s really good wine? Because I can’t stop drinking it. It’s fruity, but not too sweet. It’s not heavy [and it doesn’t] bring you down. It brings you up.
