Game of Thrones' Nathalie Emmanuel in Workout Gear Was "a Happy Birthday Girl"
Nathalie Emmanuel celebrated her birthday – in her workout clothes. In a social media post shared to her account, the Game of Thrones star looks fit and healthy in her exercise gear. "A Happy Birthday Girl," she captioned the Instagram post. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.
Her Workouts Start with Cardio
Nathalie revealed to Women's Health that when she's home in London she works out with personal trainer Tyrone Brennand at least four times a week. They exercise at a park, starting with a dynamic warm-up. Then, they do hill sprints to improve her cardiovascular endurance.
Strength Training Exercise
Post cardio, Nathalie does body-weight circuits with five or six different exercises. Jumping jacks, squats, high knees, pushups, up-down planks, walk-down pushups, shoulder taps, mountain climbers, bear crawls, and burpees are just a few of the strength training moves she does.
Yoga
Nathalie also does yoga. "I started going to yoga when I was 19 as a way to stay active but also do something by myself if I needed peace and quiet. In the last seven years, it's been much more of a necessity that I do it religiously. Wherever I am in the world, I find a yoga studio or I travel with my mat. I also trained to become a yoga instructor about two years ago—and taught at a London studio for a bit—because friends kept asking, 'Can you show me how?'" she told Shape. "Yoga is something I do to sit and breathe and bring my attention inward, because I'm often giving so much energy to the world. It's important to check in physically, mentally, and emotionally and see what's going on. A lot of the things you shove to the bottom, to get through the week, come out. It's good to engage with those things and have a conversation."
Vegan Diet
Nathalie follows a vegan diet. She maintains that it helps her sleep better and after starting it several years ago, friends commented that her skin looked brighter. "Then I did it for two weeks and felt even more energized," she told Women's Health. "And then I was like, "That's it; I'm going for a month!"
Foods She Can Pronounce
"Mostly, I try to keep my food simple. I want to read the ingredients and know exactly what's in stuff or be able to pronounce it. That's generally my thing: If I can't understand the words on the back of the packaging, then maybe I shouldn't be eating it," Nathalie told Shape. "Usually, I'll cook lots of vegetables together—broccoli, onions, peppers, mushrooms—and then I like to add a bean or something. Or I might buy some organic tofu, season it, and mix it with a grain or in a salad. Throw some nuts in there. I make it as colorful and as varied as I can."
Meditation
Nathalie gets her zen on. "When I get overwhelmed, I practice meditation or breathing with intention. It's a slow breath in and out as I focus for a second. You can get so caught up in all the worry. But actually, there are all these great things to be excited and positive about—you just have to remind yourself of that," she told Shape. "When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress," says the Mayo Clinic. Benefits include:
- Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
- Building skills to manage your stress
- Increasing self-awareness
- Focusing on the present
- Reducing negative emotions
- Increasing imagination and creativity
- Increasing patience and tolerance
- Lowering resting heart rate
- Lowering resting blood pressure
- Improving sleep quality
