Yoga Magazine - November 2009 - Olivia Newton-John

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INTERVIEW
Olivia
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Only
From clean-cut singer of Country Roads to
leotard-wearing disco diva in Physical,
Olivia Newton-John has had a career that’s spanned
nearly five decades. She is loved by everyone from
school children to grandmas and yet still remains as
down-to-earth as she ever was. Here Michelle
Morgan talks to the superstar about yoga, life, and her
recent trek along the Great Wall of China.
S
ay the words Olivia Newton-John and
most of us will automatically think of her most famous and successful role
– that of Sandy in the hit movie Grease. But while Grease was – and still is
– a worldwide phenomenon, there is so much more to Olivia NewtonJohn than leather trousers and dancing with John Travolta.
Olivia has not always had the easiest of lives, with the trauma of breast
cancer and the mysterious disappearance of her partner obviously affecting
her greatly. But in spite of everything she remains an optimistic and inspiring woman, who continues to tackle life’s heartaches head-on, through
yoga, positive thinking, healthy living and sheer determination. So how did
Olivia get into yoga, and what personal benefit does she gain from it?
“My first experience with yoga was 25 years ago when I took my first
class. It was Bikram yoga and it was 110 degrees in the room and I thought
I was going to pass out,” she laughs.“But it was so energising that I felt
amazing after that experience
and from that point on I was
hooked. I’ve done it on and off
for years, and enjoy the
stretches as I find them relaxing, peaceful, good for posture and wonderful
for inner peace.”
“It was so energising that I felt amazing and from that point on I was hooked.”
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Olivia is co-owner of Gaia Retreat and Spa in Australia, a place she likes to
call “Barefoot Armani” and she likes to practise there more than anywhere in
the world. She says:“Though I have practised yoga with many teachers over
the years, I really love to work with our instructors. All of the teachers there
are so instructive without making you feel overwhelmed.They really let you
work at your own pace and, the environment is so peaceful, comfortable
and intimate – and not too hot!!!”
In 1992 Olivia was diagnosed with
breast cancer. It was a frightening and
fraught time, but she gained help and
support from one of the world’s most
prolific spiritual teachers.“When I was
being treated for breast cancer,” she
explains,“I read one of Deepak
Chopra’s books, and shortly after he was introduced to me through a friend
of mine. He taught me meditation techniques and really helped me a lot.”
The two forged a friendship which has lasted to this day.“I see him from
time to time and he always has wise words to share”, she says.“In fact, he
was the first person I played Grace and Gratitude to.”
The Grace and Gratitude Olivia is referring to is the outstanding CD which
was released in 2007. So how did the album come about? “I had gone
through a very difficult time and I needed healing,” she explains.“I find music
to be a great healer and I got together with Amy Sky and we wrote Grace
and Gratitude in just five days.”
The album is very spiritual in nature.Was this what she intended it to be?
“Well, I wanted to write something that was spiritual and incorporated different belief systems, going through the chakras,” she says.“I had just read a
book called Anatomy of Spirit and was very interested in creating an album
which went through each chakra. I’d really like to write another one in the
future.”
When Olivia refers to the “difficult time” before making Grace and
Gratitude, she is talking about the tragedy of losing her partner, Patrick
McDermott, in 2005. McDermott disappeared during a fishing trip and
despite numerous alleged “sightings” he has never been found. Shortly after
his disappearance, Olivia poured her energies into creating a huge stone
labyrinth in the garden of her home. She explains:
“My friend is a landscape architect and she designed it for me. Having the
labyrinth was extremely healing – it helped me heal a lot. It was extremely
peaceful and an amazing experience to have it.” Indeed photographs of the
labyrinth show an amazing array of circles of stone, surrounded by beautiful
shrubs and trees. One can almost feel how peaceful it must have been, but
while Olivia found great comfort in the labyrinth, not everyone saw it that
way.“Unfortunately,” she says,“when I sold the house I had to leave it
behind. I felt weird about that, and when the new owners moved in, they
just didn’t ‘get it’ and took the whole thing apart.”
Olivia may have lived through much heartache in the past, but the future is
looking a lot brighter. She has recently married her old friend, John Easterling,
who runs the Amazon Herb Company, and is a great advocate for his health
products.“Amazon Herbs are amazing,” she says.“I had been friends with
John Easterling for many years and always used his products. John seemed
very committed to the purity and integrity of the herbs and when I had
breast cancer he sent me some ‘Illumination’ [a herbal product to help boost
your immune system] which I took every day. I also used the face serum and
vitamin C serum and now I don’t take anything else except them.”
Olivia obviously loves the products, but it doesn’t stop there. She will
shortly be in the UK to help John launch a new health drink, Zamu, which
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“Meditation techniques really helped me a lot.”
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she whole-heartedly believes in.“Zamu is an organic drink from
the Rainforest,” she explains.“John and I each have it every day –
whoever wakes up first brings one up – and I believe it keeps us
healthy when we are working and travelling.”
No doubt Zamu helped keep Olivia’s energy up when she decided to walk the Great Wall of China last year, in order to raise
money for the Cancer and Wellness Centre – a special centre in
Australia designed to give the best care and treatment for men
and women fighting cancer. Olivia gained the help and support of
friends such as Dannii Minogue, Sir Cliff Richard and Joan Rivers,
and together they set off to walk the Great Wall. As Olivia explains:
“The Great Wall of China walk was incredibly challenging for me –
it was almost like my cancer journey in the way it challenged me.
Once I had completed parts of it, it was an amazing feeling, but
when we crossed the finish line it was incredibly emotional and I
just burst into tears. I had expected to feel amazing but I felt sad to
say goodbye to everyone I had been with during the journey.”
While the walk was primarily about the human experience, it was
a small kitten who stole the show – and Olivia’s heart.“My husband had to leave as a family member was suffering from cancer
and he had to go back to the States to see her. It was a traumatic
time and on the day he left we were walking past a river and one
of the guys saw something in the water.We took a closer look and
it was a kitten which someone had thrown into the river. It was so
tiny, its eyes were closed and it was close to death. I scooped it up
and put it into my shirt, carrying it with me for two weeks and
feeding it every couple of hours with a dropper. It was a very special mascot for our journey, we named it Magic, and the day before
we left it finally opened its eyes.”
Magic was a much-loved companion on the trip, but the story
has a sad ending.“Unfortunately,” she says,“I couldn’t take it with
YOGA magazine • November • 2009
me when I went home, and I left it with someone, but two days
after I left it passed away.”
With everything that Olivia has achieved in the past, she could be
forgiven for slowing down a little now, but no. Classing herself as a
cancer “Thriver” rather than “Survivor”, Olivia continues to throw
herself into projects involving cancer charities and awareness. She
has helped to develop a product called Liv-Aid which is a gel-filled
pad to help detect lumps during breast self-examination.
Olivia is very aware that some women are scared of self-examination and hopes that Liv-Aid will increase confidence. She says,“It
is a weird phenomenon that women are scared to examine their
breasts but early detection is essential.We need to learn what is
right and what is unusual for us because finding the lump early is
key. It is important that fear doesn’t stop self-examination, because
if something happens to be there, it is best to know and get it
checked by a doctor. It may be that the lump is not cancer at all,
but it is essential to get it checked out. Fear mustn’t stop you.”
Indeed fear hasn’t stopped Olivia in anything she has done in her
life. She is an inspiration to women everywhere, but who does she
look up to? Who does she herself admire and respect? “That’s a
good question,” she says, before thinking for a moment.“Well, I
think the most inspirational person I’ve ever met is [animal activist]
Margaret Owens. She does so much to help animals; she is a very
elegant, spiritual lady who has a quiet voice but always gets things
done.When I met her she was so inspirational I decided that when
I grow up, I want to be just like her. Hopefully I’m almost there by
now!”
For more information on Olivia Newton-John and her projects,
please visit www.olivianewton-john.com