Love built a bridge: Naomi Judd sings a song of health and vitality

Deep in the picturesque Tennessee countryside south of Nashville lies Naomi Judd's farm, "Peaceful Valley." This is where the 58-year-old country music chanteuse and motivational speaker steals away to meditate and unwind. The busy grandmother of two--Elijah and Grace--finds that leading a peaceful, unstressful life has helped her conquer hepatitis C, a liver disease. "I always count my blessings," she says.

One blessing Judd counts is her health. For 8 years, she and daughter Wynonna were country music superstars--The Judds. In October of 1990, Judd was due to go on tour, but she felt fatigued. There were times she couldn't even stand up on stage. Eventually, she was diagnosed with hepatitis C. Until that time, Judd had never been sick a day in her life. As a former registered nurse, she knew the seriousness of her illness, so she set out to develop a personal health regimen to improve her immunity and stamina through a mind/body/spirit connection. But she's the first one to admit her complete recovery didn't just happen overnight.

The Simple Life

Judd had faith, hope and a plan to win back her health. Now with her hepatitis C "totally cured," she still takes daily precautions to fight fatigue and lead a healthful lifestyle. "When I wake up, the first thing I say is, 'Good morning, God,' instead of, "Good God, it's morning,'" says the superstar, wife and author of a new book Naomi's Breakthrough Guide: 20 Choices to Transform Your Life.

"I've tried hard to organize my life." she explains. Judd simplified her life, reminding herself daily to live in the present and not worry about tomorrow. And because sleep is one of the body's great healers, Judd makes sure to get about 10 hours every night--and afternoon naps are her daily rejuvenators. No matter how busy she gets, Judd always finds time for her morning rituals, which she likens to a extension of her meditation practices. "I have Cafe Caramel in fire morning in my special china cup and saucer. I call it 'grounds for celebration,'" she laughs, saying no pun intended. "Then I acknowledge nature [by] feeding and watering the dogs and then stepping out onto the back porch--no matter what the season is--all the while listening to peaceful music." While she and Wynonna made their mark as one of country music's most popular duos, Judd prefers listening to "Soundings of the Planet." "I call it 'imagination music.' It has so much space and air that it stimulates your mind" Night-time brings another meditative ritual. "I light the scented candles around my tub, put in nice-smelling bath salts and lie in a hot bath with dim lighting for a half hour."

The Mind/Body Connection

Awareness and responsibility, are at the foundation of Judd's approach to personal transformation and general well-being. She has emerged as a wise woman in our culture, one who speaks at various conferences and who most recently gave a keynote address at The Wellness Institute, a holistic psychotherapy training organization in Issaquah, Washington. Judd is well aware that deep breathing, meditation, massage and peacefulness lower blood pressure, help migraines and fight fatigue, among other ailments. But she is convinced that her total recovery is a testament to the quiet power of the mind/body connection. "Your belief becomes your biology. For instance, if you're having a bad day and all of a sudden you realize that you're holding the winning lottery ticket, everything just completely changes. Unfortunately, data shows that 3 months later, you return to your prior emotional state. So the mind is the body's control tower, and it tells the body what hormones, neuropeptides and neurochemicals to secrete. The brain is like a drug store."

Today, the six-time Grammy winner feels healthy and energetic. Regular massage has become a favorite part of her regimen. "Healing touch is the oldest form of therapy," she says. "Massage can not only drain the lymphatic system of toxins and impurities, but it also causes you to go into deep states of relaxation." But what if you can't afford regular massages? "If it's not in the budget, then I would suggest trade-offs. Believe me, I know about trade-offs because I never had a bank account until my staging career, and I was 37 then. So I've been dealing with ingenuity for a while. Maybe you can babysit the masseuse's kid or run errands for her." Another option is buying candles, lighting them and having a loved one give you a massage.

Nutritional Value

While Judd's mind/body connection is strong, she insists that proper diet and exercise--including yoga and stretches--are necessary for optimum health and vigor. "I am a slacker," she confesses. "I want to do more yoga, but it eludes me at this point in time. I do stretches instead; that's my favorite form of exercise. What I say is my favorite form of exercise is whatever I'll do. I'm just too practical" An avid Court TV watcher, Judd sits on her bedroom floor from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. for her hour of "appointment TV" and her series of stretches. "I'm a forensic science junkie, so while I'm watching serial killers and profilers, I'm relaxing and doing nay stretches."