Willow Smith Said She Does Yoga to Keep From Smoking Pot — ‘What Have I Been Missing?’

Musical artist Willow Smith has been whipping her hair back and forth for years now, but lately she’s got a new focus. Most people know the 20-year old singer-songwriter because of her A-list parents, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. However, she’s been cultivating a separate identity for years now, including a push to go simply by Willow as her first name.

Willow sees no harm in a little bit of cannabis on occasion. However, on an episode of Red Table Talk, the “Wait a Minute” artist admitted she began swapping weed for yoga while focusing on her mental health. Here’s what Willow had to say about choosing yoga over marijuana.

The Smith children grew up without many rules

Willow and her older brother Jaden didn’t have a typical upbringing by any stretch. The two had extremely famous parents who both took a unique approach to parenting. That meant never having strict rules and setting their own boundaries. 

“We don’t do punishment,” Will once told E Online.  “The way that we deal with our kids is, they are responsible for their lives. Our concept is, as young as possible, give them as much control over their lives as possible and the concept of punishment, our experience has been — it has a little too much of a negative quality.”

However, the lines of communication always stay open. The Men in Black star continued, “So when they do things — and you know, Jaden, he’s done things — you can do anything you want as long as you can explain to me why that was the right thing to do for your life.”

Willow Smith shifted energy from smoking pot to downward dog

The “Whip My Hair” artist went through different stages in her life, including a time where she chose to smoke a lot of marijuana. But Willow is enjoying putting her time into a new, more naturally balancing activity instead of habitual marijuana usage.

“I know this sounds cheesy, but around the time I stopped smoking, I started doing a lot of yoga and I just excelled because I was putting all of my energy into that,” Willow explained on Red Table Talk.

“I wasn’t doing anything else and I was like, ‘Wow, what if I was doing this with everything?’ And then it really made me think, ‘What have I been missing? What have I been not putting my all into or not putting all of my brain power into?’”

Quitting weed made Willow discover who her true friends were

While immersed in marijuana smoking, Willow started hanging out with different friends who naturally departed her life when she switched to yoga. 

“When I stopped smoking it was a really big eye-opener,” she said after admitting she’d quit marijuana three months prior. “There are so many people that I called friends in my life who just kind of like [drifted away]. It really made me think like, ‘This is really interesting.’”

Rest and relaxation are important no matter who you are. For Willow, that journey is ongoing.