The Empire star's nerves are often frazzled by little things that annoy her and they can affect her mood if she doesn't clear her mind first thing every morning.
"The first thing I do when I wake is meditate," she tells New York Magazine's The Cut column. "I try to set my mind right. I try to tell myself that no matter what, today is going to be a good day, so when those curve balls come, I’m not taken by surprise. I can tell the days I don't meditate, because I pop off. Things aggravate me."
When Taraji meditates, her only objective is to clear her mind of all thoughts: "Meditation is just peace. You’re sitting with your thoughts and letting them play out in your mind until there’s total quiet," she notes, adding, "Sometimes I sit and burn my incense, but I try to let my mind settle its own voice. I have meditation apps where they have Tibetan-singing mode, but then I started getting into making my own bowls sing. That high pitch is actually very calming. It’s like an ohm (chant) without you saying it."
Whenever the Hidden Figures star is tempted to lose her cool in the course of her day and she is unable to sit down and meditate, she relies on herbal supplements to calm down. A sniff of a Calming Inhaler does wonders for Taraji.
“They calm my nerves and de-stress me," she explains. "They look like inhalers - you know the kind you use to clean your sinuses? They have all kinds - for stress, cramps, appetite, you name it. When I feel like I’m going to pop off I’m looking for one of these. I have them in my purse like Chapstick.”
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