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Ginger Spice at 52: For Geri Halliwell, aging well is all about self-love, not skin cream
Even her approach to exercise is "very, very loving," she says.
It’s hard for Geri Halliwell to tell a story that doesn’t involve a cameo from one of the biggest superstars on the planet. It makes sense; as one-fifth of the Spice Girls, the woman formerly known as Ginger Spice was one of the biggest superstars on the planet. “This is going to be like name-drop city,” she warns me as she rattles off the names of the rock legends she was hanging out with when she first got hooked on yoga.
I connected with Halliwell, now 52, over the phone to learn more about her evolution from singer to bestselling author as well as her approach to aging for Yahoo Life’s "Unapologetically" series. First, however, she wanted to talk about someone else. Would it be Victoria Beckham, Mel B or some other celebrity, I wondered. No, it was a woman named Julia Hawkins.
“It’s interesting that we’re going to talk about aging because today, just by chance, I learned about somebody who is so inspiring,” Halliwell told me, referencing a runner from Louisiana who took up running at age 100 and set world records in the 100-meter dash before passing away last October at 108. While Halliwell has only just learned about Hawkins, she is already using her story as a rebuttal for “anybody who wants to start moaning about age,” she said. “I’d be proud of every year we get given.”
Here’s what the former pop star has to say about aging and self-love at this stage of her life.
You already shared a great mantra about aging. How would you explain the positive outlook that you’ve carried into your 50s?
For me, I just want to be my optimum self — whatever age, whatever era it is and whatever that looks like. That can manifest in the physical, the mental, the spiritual, creatively, you know?
I’m a very curious person and know that we’re all discovering, we’re all learning and we’re consistently evolving. We talk about different eras. For me, it’s been wanting to do music, wanting to write books and thinking if I want to try something, then why not? Go for it. Keep growing, keep evolving.
You just released your second young-adult novel, Rosie Frost: Ice on Fire. What has it been like to take on new ventures in this chapter of your life?
I’ve always done writing, to be fair. I’ve always written. I love the expression of it and the freedom of it. It’s been a journey in itself [writing this trilogy]. It’s a gift of learning technique, discipline and research. It’s made my brain have to concentrate, which I think is a very good thing.
And you know, Julia Hawkins decided to take up running when she just turned 100. Like, come on, we’re allowed. We’re allowed to be this age and celebrate it.
Have you always had such a positive outlook on aging?
My father died when I was quite young. And so what happens is a very sobering moment where you think, oh my goodness, we better make this life count. Don't squander it on just procrastination. I thought, let's take some action. It was gas in my tank. So I’ve always had that mentality.
I also read this Tibetan book about living and dying. I didn’t understand it very well because I was very young and they have a very different philosophy. But they talk about being here on a temporary basis. It made me think, Let’s celebrate our time here rather than pretend it’s not happening and that it isn’t temporary.
When you have that in mind, you’re going to go, OK, what’s important to me? What choices am I going to make? It sort of gives you clarity.
You’ve mentioned this runner Julia Hawkins twice. Do you run?
I used to run a lot when I was younger. But then I found something a little bit more like a power walk. You know, I’ll take my dog for a walk … or my dog takes me for a walk.
Then I discovered yoga before it was a thing. So I’ve always done that. I make sure that any exercise in my life is just very, very loving. It’s strengthening rather than taking anything away from me. It gives me a feeling of strength or aliveness.
I ride horses too. I like exercise where you’re not thinking about it — that’s my favorite kind. Just playing with my children, running up and down the stairs. That, to me, is like a form of exercise too.
Tell me more about how you found yoga.
I was sitting at a table with lots of very, very famous people. This is going to be like name-drop city, but it was Elton John, some of the Rolling Stones and a couple of other people. This was about 25 years ago, I was very young and I wasn’t feeling confident in my body. The director Sam Taylor-Johnson told me, “Well you should try yoga.”
It wasn’t a thing then; it was thanks to her. She introduced me to this yoga teacher and then I started yoga and my body changed. But my mindset changed as well. Yoga was just a sort of thing to make me feel present, so I’m really grateful for it. I did it a little bit today. Nothing too much, but it just keeps your body stretched.
That’s amazing. Do you have any beauty routines?
I can be vain and lackadaisical in, you know, the same breath. I know sleep is the best thing, but sometimes I’m up watching a movie. I know you’re meant to drink plenty of water — sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.
For me, the one way to achieve beauty is just to get happy or content and to really love yourself. It’s the greatest love of all. And if I can love myself, I swear there is something magic about it. There isn't a cream or a potion. There’s nothing wrong with a little face cream on top of it. Sometimes it’s an outside job and we have to put a bit of cream on to feel better, too. But being happy is all-encompassing.
Is there a secret to achieving that level of self-love?
You have to look into your own eyes and go, “You know what, I love you. Despite your imperfections, I love you. For all that you are, all that you've been and all that you're going to be, I love you.” I mean, that is such a nice thing to do for oneself. And then you can actually show up and be present for others.
