The Edit:  Olesya Rulin on Grounding Through It All

Olesya Rulin is an actress, artist, and mother best known for her role in the High School Musical franchise, but these days, she's just as likely to be found steeping black tea, journaling, or teaching her young daughter about lymphatic massage as she is on set.

 Born in Moscow and raised in Utah before landing in California, Olesya brings a rare blend of Slavic dark humor, ballet-trained discipline, and hard-won motherhood wisdom to everything she does. In this installment of our The Edit series, Olesya sits down with us to talk about grounding, slow mornings, and small daily rituals. From infrared sauna sessions to lymphatic drainage, these rituals help her stay rooted through the beautiful chaos of modern motherhood.

Olesya Rulin wears the Brett Top and Diana Midi Skirt

Q: You've lived so many lives — Moscow, Utah, Hollywood, ballet, and nowmotherhood. What does "grounding" mean to you at this point in your life?

A: Laughing... having the space in the day and in my soul to belly laugh. If you can create a life  even when challenges and difficulties arise you can laugh or find some strange humor in it... that's grounding at work. Maybe it's deeper than that... maybe it's just finding the space to hold energy like a tree... grow both upward and downwards at the same time. Defying gravity and using it; needing the dark and moist while reaching for the light. Mostly I feel really blessed to be alive... I'm not too attached to it... I've always said I have a hard time being in a human body and having a soul experience while operating a fresh skeleton. We are here for such a short time and I try to remind myself that the whole point is to enjoy the human experience in all of its colors. Keeping that in mind helps me not get lost in the details of it all. I guess that's grounding for me. I sound very slavic.

Q: Walk us through your ideal slow morning, from the moment you wake up:

A: Waking up to my daughter (we co-sleep) saying "Good morning mama, it's a sunny day." I crawl into the bathroom and we take turns peeing. That may sound silly but it's cute to have a little mini you wherever you go... even the bathroom... and it's these little moments that I know I will miss one day. It's the mundane and everyday moments that I love to collect in my memory box. I make tea and she watches cartoons with a bottle. I take 15 min to write in my journal, maybe more... drink another cup of black tea. I take a long hot shower, I use my favorite " special" soaps, not too much of my long hair comes out when I brush it. I thank my body versus judge it. I take my time applying lotions vs speeding through. My husband makes breakfast for our family. More black tea. A morning where it's not too warm and I can enjoy the morning sun... water my plants that somehow survive my negligence. I take a call with a girlfriend... we laugh at the events of the week... find each other over to-do lists and kids... I look at my phone and shoot some images of Ondine looking effortlessly chic in her linen nightgown. Making me feel that I gave birth to a fairy forest nymph. I get dressed in a dress that's made with care and obviously natural fibers... something that reminds me of my feminine power. Then I get to emails and smile because I get to "work" by making art and telling stories. I call my Mom, call my Dad, and receive a letter from my penpal Scott from Paris. More tea.

 

Olesya Rulin wears the Brett Top and Diana Midi Skirt

 

Q:  What's a non-negotiable?

A: Infrared Sauna with PEM mat. No, really. It saves me 4-5 days a week. I would say sleep but I have a four year old and I have forgotten what sleep is. I don't think I could sleep uninterrupted anymore without magnesium or wine...or both. 

Good friends. Good family (chosen too). Good food. Clean water. Linen sheets. Joy. Dark humor.

 

Q: Is there one small morning ritual you'd tell everyone to try tomorrow?

A: Lymphatic massage...watch a short or reel on how to jump around and wake up your lymphatic system. Get things flowing. Help your body so it can carry you. 

 

Q: You spent your early childhood in Russia before moving to the States ateight. What pieces of that heritage live in your home and daily life now?

A: My dark sense of humor. I can make the worst situations funny... or at least bring light to it. A lover of mine would say "Olesya, in a room filled with sh*t you are the only one smiling while everyone around you is miserable..you're looking for the pony." I WILL find the magic. It's a survival technique thanks to Communism but I like it.I also can make some amazing soups...I'm an incredible chef when I want to be. My borscht blew the socks off a Michelin star chef once but that's a story about a billionaire and his yacht that I'll save for my book.

 

Olesya Rulin wears the Tatianna Mini Dress

Q: You and Cleobella share a love of slowness and intention. What drew you tothe brand, and how does that ethos show up in your own life?

A: Cleobella was created for beauty and expression. The purest form of artistry. As it grew it took with it the people that made it great...it enhanced their lives...the brand made everything and everyone attached to it better. That is an ethos I live by. Make whatever room I'm in... better.  My greatest accomplishment is the people in my life and I know that's what Cleobella prides themselves in as well. I also love wearing dresses for the ease and the beauty of it. The prints and colors Cleobella makes adds that extra magic and you can't feel "down" in a Cleo dress. They are too pretty and too well-tailored. You just feel GOOD in the clothes. The brand has soul and lungs. It breathes like a business should with profits and margins and deadlines (because we all need and love money, how else are we going to change the world) while the soul lives on stronger than ever... to make life better for all who are attached to it. Isn't that sexy? Good job Angie and team.

 

Shop Olesya's Pre-Fall Collection Favorites