From La DoubleJ to the Divine Feminine: J.J. Martin on Beauty, Energy, and Aging Well

J.J. Martin

I used to focus so much on how I looked on the outside: my butt, my abs, my thighs, etc. What’s so funny is that as you get older (I’m 52 now) you realize that you just can’t control that (no matter what Kris Jenner says). The wisdom of age has taught me that the more I take time to take care of my insides, the more I regulate my emotions, my nervous system, the more I clear my energy body, the more that I connect with higher consciousness, the more I’ve noticed people commenting on how good they think I look—and I really haven’t changed a goddam thing! 

All of this stuff works. The energy practices that I do are very unique and personal to me. I am braiding and threading many different wisdom practices together with my own creative inventions. I might do some movement in the morning—usually a mix of strength and weights. Then, I typically flow into a lot of free-form movement and noise, which is really helpful for just letting the energy out and releasing any pent-up emotions. 

One of the quickest ways to lose your wellness, I’ve found, is through unprocessed emotions. There’s always a moment during the day—it might be five minutes, it might be 55 minutes—where I’m practicing a kind of mix between Vipassana and a multi-dimensional meditative hookup. I’m always playing with those two realms.

I was a vegetarian for many years and I’ve noticed that I just can’t do it anymore; I simply need more protein now. That has really helped keep me in better shape. I try to not eat that much of it and I try to be responsible with the kind of meat and fish that I’m eating, but just increasing my protein intake all around has made my life much better. Cold plunging and Finnish saunas have also been game-changers for me, particularly when I can do so outdoors, in nature( like under a frigid, arctic waterfall in Forte dei Marmi…or bathing in the sun on Lake Como). I still get totally addicted to wine and sugar so I’m just a better person when I’m not eating or drinking those substances but, you know, we’re all human.

I never wear makeup unless my photo is being taken for work. All those good pictures you see of me, I’m wearing makeup. Normally, I don’t look like that. It even shocks me.

If I had one scent to live with it, would be lavender oil. No additives, no alcohol, nothing but pure oil of lavender. I find it so uplifting and expansive. I also like to make my own brews. Sometimes, I have tons of essential oils at home. I really don’t like synthetic fragrances because I can’t stand alcohol on my skin.

For skincare, Irene Forte just gave me this really good Almond Cleansing Milk and a Lemon Toner Spritz that I’m totally into.

A shaman just told me to start taking maca root powder for menopause symptoms after getting this incredible womb massage and sleeping in scaler waves at a farmhouse outside of Milan, so I’ve started doing that. I was also micro-dosing lithium a few months ago, which was recommended by a doctor friend of mine, and that was really interesting. I like to go through moments of trying different micro-dosing protocols like mushrooms, or kanna. I like to go in phases with them, it’s definitely not a full-time practice.

My wind-down routine is simple. Sometimes it’s reading the New York Times or the New York Post, but honestly these days that just winds me up. I also love to cook. My Florentine boyfriend is an amazing cook and one of the most relaxing things is when we cook together. I love to either cook for him or with him. Otherwise, I like to read channeled texts. I find them really relaxing. The one I’m reading right now is “The Hathors.”