My name is Heidi Moneymaker. I have been an athlete my entire life. I started gymnastics at the age of 5, and I continued competing nationally and internationally for both the U.S. and UCLA until I retired at the age of 22. I then took my skills to Hollywood and became an actress and one of the industry’s top-performing stuntwomen. I have been part of the action team on such films as John Wick 2, The Fast and Furious series, The Hunger Games series, and Marvel’s, The Avengers’, the Captain America’s, and Iron Man 2 as the stunt double for Scarlett Johansson. In order to stay at the top of my game, whether in the gymnastics world or in “Tinsel Town,” it has been imperative for me to keep my body and mind fit and healthy. I have spent years figuring out the combination of nutrition, exercise, and stillness that fits my individual lifestyle.
For me, it started with nutrition. My father is very knowledgeable in this field, and he taught me that what I put in my body would become my body—”You are what you eat.” We ate a very balanced and healthy diet at home, and we supplemented it with freshly juiced vegetables, fruit, and wheatgrass. As I got a little older, I started adding green smoothies, bone broth, and coconut oil to my nutrition plan. I also started cross training (practicing multiple types of exercise, i.e., yoga, kickboxing, running, resistance training) for maximum fitness, but it wasn’t until I became a stuntwoman that I realized the importance of stillness and meditation.
As you might guess, performing stunts in film and television can be very dangerous and can be a cause for anxiety. It took me quite a few years to figure out the solution to my distress and sleeplessness. After much trial and error, I came to find the power of stillness—the power of meditation. It wasn’t until I put this amazing trinity of nutrition, fitness, and stillness together that I finally found my balance. I had discovered how to balance the scale of my life.
Now, part of my job as a stuntwoman and action designer is to “fight train” the actors and actresses I work with for their action scenes. Everyone is unique and resonates with different learning techniques. It usually takes a training session or two for me to understand what direction I will go in, but once I figure it out, I love helping to bring out the Warrior in these action stars! I enjoy sharing my knowledge of the trinity of nutrition, fitness, and stillness so much that I often work with crewmembers at lunch and sometimes teach ”Quick Sweat” boot camps.
It is for this reason I have joined the very talented Lisa Newman and created Fierce Lotus and the Fierce Lotus Lifestyle. We are both extremely busy Warriors, but we have truly found the secrets to balancing the scale of our lives. We can’t wait to have you as a part of our Fierce Lotus Tribe and to share a lifestyle of healthy, happy existence with you!
