beautify – GEM

Shailene Woodley, an actress you probably know from The Divergent series, Fault in our Stars and The Descendants to mention a few, is far from the typical Californian Hollywood-actress type. She forages her own food, makes her own toothpaste and drinks clay.

Shailene (Shai for short) uses natural remedies like no one else – at least it’s safe to say that when it comes to young actresses in Hollywood, she is one of a kind. Even her interviews and articles radiate fairy princess -like, wood nymphish glow. If it was broadcasted that Ms. Woodley now knows how to talk to animals while she gets her own water from natural springs, I would believe it in a heartbeat.

STEPPING IN SHAI’S SHOES

Though I’m already living an alternative lifestyle of my own, these Shailene days will be fun. In these two weeks, I’m going to focus even more than regular on the whole Earth goddess thing that she has got going on and on more natural ways of taking care of myself.
The timing for the Woodley weeks is beyond great right now as my cellphone got broken on Sunday, just a day before starting this, and when I think about it, I don’t want a new one. So, off the grid I go; just like Shailene!
Then comes Monday, the start of a week. Coincidence, I think. It begins, stepping in Shailene’s shoes. Or better yet, stepping in Shai’s Vibram FiveFingers that she is said to love. I’m trying to live quite similarly to Shailene for 14 days and write my thoughts down every day. Here are a few random days from my journals. Starting with Day One and going on to Week Two.

MONDAY, DAY 1

9 am – I wake up. I know about Shailene’s ways of waking up to a new morning, and I will definitely try them later. I drink a cup of Chaga coffee with butter and coconut oil. Shai drinks her coffee Bulletproof style. Hello energies! I catch up on some articles and interviews of Shailene Woodley. This girl is amazing!

1 pm – I go to a whole foods store to get a natural toothpaste by Urtekram. Shailene makes her own toothpaste with clay, but I decided to skip this part of her lifestyle and go with a ready-made-one. And now that I’ve read all about oil pulling and how Shailene does it, I’m really fascinated with the whole process and excited to see if it works. I’m going with an unrefined, organic sesame oil bottle and Instant Chaga powder from Four Sigma Foods. Hurray! Natural goodies. It always makes me ten times happier to buy something from a whole foods store than from a regular market, because I know that the products are ten times better than the others. I bet Shai thinks this way too, if she is not making or collecting products on her own.

2 pm – One with the nature and earthlings and out with the two canines. As I am in Finland at the moment, the weather is not ideal for something Shailene would perhaps do: yoga in the park or getting Vitamin D in the sunshine or walking barefoot on Californian soil. Instead, the weather is cold and grey and I’m just lucky it isn’t hailing.

5 pm – Astanga yoga for an hour. Shai does yoga, so do I.

11 pm – Oil-pulling time is upon me. As I read, dental plaque is fat-soluble, not water-soluble, so the old-as-time Ayurvedic oil-pulling technique should get rid of the dental plaque and make your teeth whiter. Ok, let’s try this. One spoonful of sesame oil feels weird, really oily, but I like the taste of sesame. I swish swash the oil through the teeth, really well and not lazily. You could do this with olive and coconut oil as well I guess, but Shailene’s favorite is sesame. Into one minute I’m thinking I won’t make it to ten, but I do somehow. Then I brush my teeth normally with the Urtekram toothpaste that is based on chalk. My teeth feel amazingly clean! This really works. How come I haven’t tried this before, I wonder.

11.15 pm – Shailene’s evening rituals are all about winding down after a day of urgency, which is not a huge strech for me. Shai says she has a cup of tea, does yoga and reads. Her favorite authors include Anais Nin. I read some quotes and relax with easy yoga asanas.

FRIDAY, DAY 5

9 am – As I’m waking up, I recall Shai’s way of starting every morning; being thankful, shouting and singing “Good morning, good morning!” from Singin’ in the rain, which she continues with shouting the words “Exciting day! Exciting day!”. Maybe I should start doing this. Because, why not?

9.10 am – Oil-pulling was horrible again for the first five minutes, but after that, I could have gone on for twenty. It was still the regular ten minutes. My teeth are very clean, soft and altogether nice.

9.20am – Morning Chaga coffee with coconut oil to drink and for breakfast rye bread, a banana, carrots and an orange. It’s still winter time in Finland, and unlike for a Californian girl in the sun, my choices for absolutely fresh products from street markets are not that vast.

11 am – Out in the ‘Twilight weather’ shopping for good stuff. I have my mason jar with me (mason jars are a big thing for Shai) filled with beet root juice. I’m on the hunt for a good thermos mug and also some natural beauty products from Dr. Hauschka. The whole foods store I visit informs me that my clay order has arrived. I am not finishing with my Shailene days until I drink my clay!

1 pm – Hanging with the dogs for several hours, a real tail-wagging day today. Fur-energy! I still do not own a phone, and I will not own one until the Shai-days are done. Although, at this point I’m beginning to wonder if I even want a cellphone ever again. I’m beginning to love this freedom of not being dependent on a thing, as does Shailene apparently, because she only is said to have gotten a phone when her publicist begged her to have one. Yeah, Shailene. We got this!

3 pm – The clay has arrived. So, this is what it has come down to; drinking clay. I mean, I drink mushrooms and spirulina, but this is something to think about even for me. I put a tablespoon full of clay powder in the glass and pour water over it, then mix the earth colored drink and let it settle for ten minutes. When the clay has sunk to the bottom, I drink the grey water that smells of ground. Shailene is a huge believer of drinking clay, it is said to purify our internal systems. It actually tastes a lot better than spirulina ever has, I conclude to myself as I’m gulping down the mineral-infused clay water. Nice.

7 pm – Off to the movies with my friend. I greet her, and everyone else for that matter (the people I know) with a hug. Shailene hugs everyone with a double-hug: one to the left, one to the right, to the heart. She says it is heart to heart greeting: hey, I’m real, you’re real, let’s hug it out!

7.15 pm – I’ve got my new thermos mug filled with Chaga, which I offer to my friend. She happily accepts. Ms. Woodley is an avid drinker of chaga, as am I. Shai says it tastes like dirt, but she likes the taste of dirt.

9 pm – Having cups of tea after the movie. It’s wonderful to not even check your phone, as everyone usually does when out socializing, and I don’t even have to remind myself anymore of the fact that the notifications are not there to be checked.

10 pm – Winding down this evening with a hot shower, healthy food, and some raw chocolate and tea. Instead of reading something mindful I’m writing something mindful. Reminding myself what I still need to accomplish what Shai does. I have to go forage something that is foragable in this weather. Shailene goes out into the nature to collect her own herbs and spring water. I’m thinking of going to forage some pine needles, because there are no natural springs anywhere close to where I am. It would be fantastic, if I found something like mugwort, but the chances are slim. Woodley drinks mugwort tea to have more lucid dreams á la Native American tradition, which sounds more than fun. Instead of mugwort I sleep beside my rose quartz. I do sleep better.

THURSDAY, DAY 11

9 am – Good morning with little morning mantras! Exciting day! This is definitely a more brighter way of greeting mornings than just rolling out of bed.

9.05 am – Washing and cleaning my face thoroughly with all of my Hauschka products. Amazing as always! I am using Dr. Hauschka products, which I imagine come close to Shai’s favorite brand Living Libations (Seabuckthorn Best Skin Ever is her ultimate favorite, I hear).

9.10 am – Oil-pulling is like “I could do this all day son, all day!” hearing Schmidt’s voice from New Girl, during week two as I swish and swash the oil for twenty minutes with ease. My jaws have really become stronger for this.

9.30 am – Drinking coffee Bulletproof style. I’m remembering the lucid dreams I had last night (even without the mugwort) of riding trains in the vast spaces of unknown land. The sun is out today and the sky is clear. What a beautiful morning! I remember Shailene’s morning ritual: “Exciting day! Exciting day!”, and try to run with that thought.

1 pm – Taking the canines for a small walk in the sun and under the Vitamin D blasts. I visit a nearby forest, because I have a bag with me to forage some pine needles and pine cones. I take pictures of nature with my old digital camera. It takes a lot of more room in my pocket than a phone would. But it’s all good.

2 pm – I’m trying to make a cup of freshly picked pine needle tea á la me for the first time. I clean out the needles and boil the water. Even the smell of the brewing pine needle tea reminds me of the woods.

2.15 pm – If something tastes like forest, it’s pine needle tea. I am hoping to get the mega amounts of Vitamin C.

4 pm – I am getting ready for a ballet class. Ms. Woodley likes to do yoga, but as I practice it already, I thought I’d try something else. I put on ‘beet root lipstick’ which is one of Shai’s inventions, and I have to say a genius one. I slice a piece of beet root and dabble it on my lips. A hundred per cent natural and gives a lovely tint. I guess I could use any foods with red tint. If she wore this beet root lipstick for the Golden Globes, I bet it will do just fine for me on a regular Thursday.

9.15 pm – After the ballet class my legs are feeling the post-class tiredness. Holy moly, barre-work for over an hour, my body is saying ‘thank you ballet’ at this point in the evening. If Shailene doesn’t go to ballet classes, maybe I could recommend that to her.

9.30 pm – I make a huge salad with something new to my diet that Ms. Woodley eats herself; sauerkraut. She believes in eating something fermented on every meal. It tastes good. I also add artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes to give it a wonderful taste.

10 pm – How is ballet still making me thirsty? All I could do is drink water. Time for a relaxing evening. I make my own body scrub with sesame oil, honey and sugar. Wow, amazing. I’m starting to use more of DIY stuff.

11 pm – I start to reflect these past days a little. Shailene doesn’t own a home, she likes to couch surf at her friends’ and drive around from place to place and travel. Shai has said that she doesn’t know where she would want to live, so until she does, she’ll drift a bit. I find similarities with her, for I haven’t had my own place with my own things in four years. As Shailene fits her life in one suitcase, I feel like I do too. It is wonderfully rewarding and teaching to live somewhat alternatively.

I end my Shailene Woodley weeks feeling a lot more grounded and mindful, not so busy and hurried. This is the right place to continue on with the rest of the year and start the next with. Only one thing is different: I do own a phone now. How uncool of me.