During the final few moments of the 2017 Super Bowl nail-biter between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, most fans in the stands or at home were stressing in anticipation over the outcome—and were probably continuing to reach for boozy beverages or cheesy nachos to calm their nerves.
But not wife-to-the-QB Gisele Bündchen. As the clock ticked and it looked like the Falcons had clinched the win, Bündchen knew the game wasn't over. After calling her family and asking everyone to pray for husband Tom Brady and his Patriots, she turned to meditation.
"I channeled some great energy, and I feel a little responsible [for the win]."
"I channeled some great energy, and I feel a little responsible [for the win]," she joked to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. "I brought love and peace and clarity and calmness into the game. It shifted after that, I must tell you. It worked."
Bündchen has been practicing since her early 20s and says it's particularly helpful when she starts feeling anxious or finds herself in stressful situations (like when your husband is on the field at the Super Bowl, about to lose the biggest game of his life). "It was the only thing that could calm me down, because it was kind of crazy," she says. "It's the most amazing tool."
Her preferred form of meditation is Transcendental Meditation—a popular choice among celebrities and CEOs—which is the practice of sitting for 20 minutes, twice a day, repeating a personal mantra. Bündchen says she has spent up to three days at a time in intense meditation. "Before kids, I had time for that," she says.
But, she says, TM isn't just for Katy Perry and women who walk red carpets and runways for a living. "It's beneficial to everyone," she insisted to Fallon. "For people who feel that life sometimes is overwhelming—it's a wonderful tool. It's unbelievable. You really should do it." Well, if it can win Super Bowls...
