Miranda Kerr On One of Her Oldest, Most-Transformative Wellness Practices

A favorite of Miranda Kerr’s long-standing wellness practices doesn’t cost a cent. For years, the entrepreneur, model, and founder of KORA Organics has been obsessed with refining her perspective—one thought at a time. “If it’s raining outside, you have the choice to go: Wow, I’m so grateful. This is going to make nature even more beautiful, and I’m going to get cozy under a blanket. Or you can choose a negative thought: Like, ugh, it’s raining,” she tells Well+Good.

Of course, not every negative thought can (or should) be willed away, but there’s something compelling about reframing the weather or telling yourself that your phone dying is, in fact, an opportunity to tune into yourself. This practice is one that Kerr has carried with her through many stages of life, and it plays a key part in her pursuit of holistic health: a term that gets thrown around a lot, but speaks to a wellness perspective that includes physical, mental, social, financial, intellectual, and spiritual well-being (among other factors).

Despite her presence in the beauty space, Kerr’s interest in multidisciplinary wellness runs beyond skin deep. Growing up in Australia, Kerr had an early introduction to healthy eating and spending time outside in nature. “My grandparents had an organic vegetable patch, and I spent most of my days as a child on the farm climbing trees and playing in nature outside,” she says.

Still, when her mother was diagnosed with cancer, 16-year-old Kerr began to wonder what—besides diet—went into living a “well” life. “That encouraged us as a family to research not just what we were eating, but also all the ingredients in all the products that we were using—from our personal products to our cleaning supplies to any other kinds of packaged goods,” she says.

In time, this curiosity would lead Kerr to become a founder in the beauty space, launching a certified-organic, skin-care brand using ingredients inspired by her childhood and everything she’d learned about wellness so far. Kerr wasn’t about to stop learning, though: In 2010, she became a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN).

The experience, as Kerr describes it, “was just a really fun course to do because it really takes a unique approach to health and wellness. It explains that all of [health] is interconnected, a 360-degree view of looking after yourself emotionally, physically, spiritually—and helps you find out what works for you as an individual because we are so different.” Those who enroll in the class can earn their certificate in six or 12 months, and have the choice of whether to take the course in Spanish or English.

Now, with The Miranda Kerr IIN Scholarship, three winners will be awarded full tuition to IIN’s Health Coach Training Program and another 50 runner-up applicants will receive 30-percent off. “This is something that I’ve personally found so valuable. It really provided me with so many tools to help me thrive in all aspects of my life, and I just feel like creating the scholarship program is such a wonderful way to share that with those who may not necessarily have been able to afford it otherwise,” says Kerr.

IIN’s instructors are indeed holistic: Integrative medicine specialist Deepak Chopra, MD; transformational speaker Cynthia James, MA; and nutritionist Deanna Minich, PhD, are all part of the faculty. Applications for Kerr’s scholarship are open now, and winners will be announced on April 20.

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