But Piven hasn’t been sitting idle. Instead, the star has been honing his stand-up chops and getting ready to make the world laugh. Key to this, he insists, is his health regimen, which has helped him stay healthy - both inside and out. In a recent interview with GQ UK, the star broke down his health routine, one which sees meditation play a key part.
“I was told never to talk about Fight Club, but I have to talk about mindfulness. I know it’s a taboo and Russell Brand will hunt me down, because you’re not supposed to jam spirituality down people’s throats. Well, I’m going to anyway, dammit,” he told the publication. Piven credits books like Mindfulness by Professor Mark Williams and Dr Danny Penman as helping him get a handle on meditation, and showing how to incorporate it in daily life. “It’s incredibly difficult to do it, but if you just tart logging the hours of breathing and being present, only good will come of it. I have no skin in the game, I make no money off of telling you to meditate. It just works for me. It saved me,” says Piven.
He added: “Every one of us is a slave to our thoughts and fears and doubts and the circus that is continuously going on in our minds. The pandemic has really made me buckle in and make sure that I don’t miss a single day of meditation. With my training, I’m either lifting weights and jumping rope and doing circuits or I do jiujitsu.”
Speaking about the importance of discipline, Piven added: “I’ve been doing yoga for decades and I make sure that I wake up and do a run or a walk, keeping the body moving. That is essential. We all want to just kick back and drink and watch TV. It’s tough to get that discipline in our lives, but we need it now more than ever.”
Such dedication is something Piven clearly doesn’t lack, as he’s even found ways to train during lockdown as gyms around the country have been closed. He credits resistance bands for most of his workout routine, which he says “cost no money.” He also adds: “Yoga is free and it’s been around for thousands of years, so they must be onto something.”
He also touched on the importance of nutrition. “You make certain choices in this life and what you do in private shows up in public. It’s not about being obsessed with yourself or any of that stuff. It’s just taking care of yourself. I’ve learned during this pandemic how to be inventive. Make sure you talk walks every morning, make sure you break that jump rope out. If you can walk for 30 minutes or 45 minutes before you stuff anything in your face, it will kick in your metabolism.”
