Michelle Yeoh’s Martial Arts Morning
Designed by Bearmore
Inspired by Michelle YeohWhat if your body feels like the enemy?
Make peace with your body before you ask too much from it, then move. A movement-led morning of a meditation from bed, slow tai chi, shadowboxing and a long walk, drawn from how Michelle Yeoh trains daily.
The runsheet
Waking up slowly in bed
She meditates and runs her mantra to bring her mind online gently, not jolt awake. Keep it to a phrase that settles you; the point is giving mind and body a gentle start.
10 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing mantra before gratitude
This is an excellent pairing because focused chanting can quieten chatter, leaving mental space that gratitude easily fills.
Thanking the body
Still in bed, Yeoh makes peace with decades of stunts and injuries: "I'm sorry. Forgive me of all the things I've done to you. And thank you." Borrow the practice before you ask your body to work.
5 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing gratitude before tai chi
There's a useful connection here because the warm, settled state from gratitude practice carries into Tai Chi without any required state shift.
Slow tai chi form
Tai chi is Yeoh's anchor for balance, strength and what she calls internal fortitude. She treats the slow form as daily maintenance, not a workout. Move through it unhurried; pace and control is the point.
20 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing tai chi before martial arts
This can be a good pairing because Tai Chi loosens the body and gathers focus, both of which set up martial arts training well.
Shadowboxing rounds
Shadowboxing is Yeoh's daily martial arts, kept sharp over decades. Throw relaxed combinations and let your heart rate climb; she says you just "get past the first five minutes" and then memory takes over. Any repeated form works if boxing isn't for you.
20 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing martial arts before being in nature
There's a useful connection here because stepping outside afterwards cools the body and helps adrenaline ease into something calmer.
Long morning walk
Yeoh walks for distance most mornings, the full Central Park loop when she can. She calls it "my meditation as well, to be able to focus." Go further than feels efficient and let your mind wander.
30 min activityTime well spent.
2h that belonged to you — not the inbox, not anyone else.
The breakdown
Burst evaluation
Wellbeing focus
About this Burst
Malaysian-born actor and martial artist. Won the 2023 Academy Award for Best Actress for Everything Everywhere All at Once, the first Asian woman to do so. Trained first as a ballet dancer in London before a back injury redirected her to film and martial arts. Known for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Tomorrow Never Dies and decades of doing her own stunts. Practises tai chi daily and walks several kilometres most mornings; eats a largely plant-based diet.