The White Lotus star Natasha Rothwell: ‘Often health and wellness are conflated with being thin’

Actor Natasha Rothwell – best known for playing Belinda Lindsey in HBO’s The White Lotus – is calling for health and wellness to feel accessible, no matter your size.

“As someone is plus-sized –  and very proudly so – oftentimes, health and wellness are conflated with being thin and skin, which is just not true,” says the 45-year-old.

“I do think that seeing diversity in the space lets everyone know that mental health and their wellbeing is also important and should be prioritised.”

The LA-based writer, producer and director, who is collaborating with shoe brand ASICS for its new Everyday Escape campaign, says she hopes it’s the start of “more representation in the health and wellness space”.

“So often, many of these endorsement opportunities in this space are fronted by people who don’t look like me.

“I think that it’s doing a huge disservice to a lot of populations that want to see themselves in the health and wellness space. They are participating and they are a wonderfully beautiful demographic to acknowledge.”

The brand’s new initiative emphasises the benefits of taking just 15 minutes a day to move your body, over splashing out on wellness holidays.

“For a very very long time, I couldn’t afford to travel to wellness resorts to boost my wellbeing,” says Rothwell, whose breakthrough role was fan-favourite Kelli Prenny in HBO series Insecure. “I talk very openly about my mental health and the impact of just 15 minutes of movement a day can boost your mood and mental health.

“The kids these days say, ‘Go touch grass’ and so often we’re on our phones and not in touch with reality. So it’s important to realise that there is an everyday escape right outside your door.”

Rothwell says there have been a few turning points when it comes to her mental health. “I feel like when life gets extremely busy and being someone who’s in the entertainment industry, I can have days that are 18 hours long.

“I was brought up to be productive all of the time and I was taught that you have to earn your rest and those moments of reprieve. However, the truth of the matter is, you need those moments of rest in order to function at a high level, which my job demands of me.

“I think there’s just this recognition mission we all have when we know that something is out of whack or we’re not balanced. When we realise that the scales are tipped, we need to recentre ourselves and put our health and wellness on the priority list,” she explains.

In the TV and film industry, Rothwell says work-life balance is becoming more and more of a necessity. “In Hollywood specifically, sometimes the health and wellness industry is complex,” she explains. “It’s often an idea that there’s a price to be paid, literally and figuratively, before you can actually experience health and wellness. There’s this idea that the more you can pay, the better you’ll be.

“I think it’s quite the opposite actually. It doesn’t cost much to access the benefits that you’re seeking from some of these outlandish, very expensive ‘cures’ for fatigue. I think the industry is doing much better in recognising the fallacy that in order to experience peace and respite, you have to be rich and famous to access these things, which I’m very glad to see.”

Rothwell says she has experienced burnout and she takes it as an opportunity to pause.

“A key is recognising that when I feel overwhelmed, a sign for me is where I feel my anxiety level is getting higher and I feel overwhelmed,” she says. “That is a signal for me to pause and to reset.”

“Nine times, maybe even 10 times out of 10, it looks like a 15-minute reset of just stepping away, pouring into myself, breathing, walking, feeling the sun on my face instead of the glow of a computer screen. There are all sort of moments that are available to let us know that we’re burnt out or we’re reaching burnout. You have to listen to your body and recognise what you need.”

Although she travels a lot, Rothwell says her time out is often meditative.  “Sometimes I go on meditation walks, and what this is, is being thoughtful of every single movement of your body as you’re walking,” she says.

“That way, you’re not necessarily just walking without thinking about anything. You’re just really in tuned to your body and being present. I have two wonderful dogs and they need than just 15 minutes so they help get me walking a lot more than that. But when they’re not around, I do try to put on jazz, put my headphones on and go.  I am very deeply introverted, which means I get my energy from solo time. I think those little 15 minute walks are those moments that I can recharged.

“I also dance. Sometimes I put on music and I just dance to get my body moving – there are many ways to get [it] moving. I also love crosswording, it’s one of my favourite things just to sit down to exercise my brain. Most recently, I’ve taken up the hobby of doing Lego and that is such a fun thing to do,” she adds.

When it comes to advising others on how to take the time out to achieve this, Rothwell says ‘so often, people think in order to get that stress relief, you have to hop on a plane and go somewhere’.

“Research has revealed that many wellness retreats add to stress levels and they cost a lot. The juice is not worth the squeeze,” she explains. “I would say to folks to not delay or put off the opportunity to get the relief that they are seeking at the touch of their fingertips on the other side of the door. There’s been so many studies too about just our lack of connection, and I think connecting to the outdoors and to other people who are outside, it does just as good for the mind and body.

Upon reflection for her own wellbeing journey, Rothwell says she would tell her younger self not to stress about not being able to afford a gym membership. “Just walk,” she says.

“When I was in my early 20s and I was standing outside a very fancy gym in New York and I was seeing people on very expensive equipment, I thought I wish I could experience that. And there I am walking in New York, which for me is the best city. I would tell my younger self put your wallet away and let your left foot follow your right foot and repeat.”