The former 'Game of Thrones' actress opens up about her battle with mental health issues as she remembers her struggle with body image when she was younger.
- June 24, 2021
AceShowbiz - Actress Nathalie Emmanuel turned to yoga when her mental health was "deteriorating."
The "Game of Thrones" star has been a big fan of the practice since she was 18 and found herself struggling, and it's since become her go-to exercise to help clear her mind.
"What I love about yoga is there's no pressure to be the best at it. Even if you just lie on your mat for the hour and breathe with intention, you're doing yoga," she said.
"(When I was 18) my mental health was deteriorating, and I took my first class in reaction to it."
Nathalie struggled with her body image for years until she had a major realisation one day when looking back at her memories on Facebook.
She explained to the new issue of Women's Health magazine, "You know how on Facebook it shows you a memory of yourself from six years ago or four years ago? A picture came up on my phone, and I went, 'I look so great!' "
"But I also remember that at the time (of that photo), I thought I was overweight and needed to do all these unhealthy things."
"We just beat ourselves up constantly, and we're never perfect enough."
Nathalie, who once also trained as a yoga teacher, knew she needed to shift her mindset to be more positive about herself.
She added, "I had to change how I interacted with exercise and decide what I wanted to get from it."
The "Fast and Furious" actress now follows a vegan diet after attempting it for a week and enjoying the results, and after returning to England to visit her family and indulging in her childhood favourites, courtesy of her mother, she knew she'd made the right decision.
"She made all the delicious things I ate growing up, and I thought, 'I'm not feeling so good, actually,' " she shared of her trip eight years ago. "Then I said, 'Oh, guys... I think I'm vegan.' "
