Stella McCartney has told how Sir Paul McCartney introduced her to transcendental meditation following the death of her mother Linda McCartney.
The fashion designer was 27 when Linda McCartney lost her battle with breast cancer and her father, Beatles star Paul, took her to meet the Maharishi – the guru of transcendental meditation – tom combat their grief.
Stella told The Times newspaper: "When my mum passed away we actually went – my dad, my brother and myself – to Holland on a special trip to go and see him. It was amazing. I watched my dad see him for the first time probably since [The Beatles’ studies with him in India]. It was incredible, a real ‘audience with’. I’ve done some amazing things in my life and I would say it’s one of the things I witnessed that will have an impact on me."
The 46-year-old designer is now a passionate advocate of transcendental meditation (TM) after it helped her through the difficult wake of her mother’s death.
Stella said: "I had quite a reaction that I didn’t feel in control of. I possibly suppressed my emotions and I started having panic attacks, physical reactions to that loss. It really did help me at a time when I really needed some help."
Stella revealed she and her father still discuss meditation, but they do not do it together.
She said: "I do talk to Dad about it occasionally. He’s a much better student. But we don’t sit around the dinner table [and say], ‘Oh, how was your meditation this morning?’ My dad and my husband prefer to meditate on their own. I have a better meditation when I’m with Bob [Roth, Stella’s meditation teacher] or in a group meditation because my mind is, like, bzzzzzzz, buzzing all the time, which Bob also says is OK.
"Dad is a huge supporter of meditation. He obviously brought TM to the awareness of most of the world, so he’s clearly dedicated."
Paul McCartney introduced Stella to meditation after Linda’s death
