Camilla Sacre-Dallerup may be best known for her role as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, but after hot-footing her way to victory with actor Tom Chambers in 2008, she has forged a new career as a life coach and motivational speaker in Los Angeles.
The 41-year-old moved to California with her husband Kevin Sacre in 2014, and is now set to bring the revolutionary techniques she has learned through her work with LA cult brand Unplug Meditation - dubbed the SoulCycle of wellbeing - to the UK as part of an exclusive meditation retreat at Champneys health spa in September.
Ahead of her return to the UK, Camilla spoke to HELLO! Online about the importance of meditation, her new life in Los Angeles, and whether we'll see her gracing the Strictly dancefloor again.
© Photo: Getty ImagesCamilla Sacre-Dallerup is now a life coach and motivational speaker
"My main goal when I left Strictly was to create balance in life, after 20 years of competing and six years on Strictly I was ready to step away from the tunnel vision lifestyle I was living and create work and home life balance," Camilla revealed. "Although the tunnel vision worked for those years it was time to try something different. LA I suppose because it's near the beach and it's warmer than London has this kind of laid back attitude which I love.
"I feel like I finally have balance in my life, time to be fully present when I walk the dog or have dinner with friends. It has been a really cool adventure for my husband and I to do together."
Although Camilla stepped away from her role as a Strictly dancer in 2008, she admits that she wouldn't rule out returning to the show in the future. However she would like to hang up her dancing shoes and instead become a judge – a role she took on for the Strictly live tour this year.
"Ever since the day I left I mentioned that I would love to be part of the judging team, which is still a dream and which made the tour very special to me, sitting there with Tom, Craig and Len at the O2 I will never forget," she revealed.
© Photo: Getty ImagesCamilla now lives in Los Angeles with husband Kevin Sacre
The dancer even has a special person in mind that she'd love to see join the Strictly line-up in September.
"I would love to see my husband Kevin Sacre on it, mainly because he always asks me to teach him to dance but it never really happens and it would be so cool if he one day went "honey let's waltz together."
For now though Camilla is focused on her new role as a life coach, which sees her lead her own weekly guided imagery meditation class and hypnosis workshops at Unplug Meditation in LA. The Denmark-born star first began meditating when she was 13 in order to visualise her dance routines and success in competitions, but says it is something that everyone can benefit from.
"It's funny how meditation becomes part of your routine and after you have done it for a while you just can't imagine your day without it," she explained. "My favourite thing about meditating is that it helps you to not react to intense situations but rather respond with more appropriate replies, tapping into this calm stillness within when you meditate somehow makes it easier to tap into in our everyday lives."
Camilla also offered her advice to people who are struggling to switch off from their busy lives in the evening.
Camilla is hosting a life coaching retreat at Champneys Tring
"Take 5 minutes to meditate. Turn off everything and tune into you. Put on the sounds of the sea or a relaxing piece of music and breathe into your calm within. Simply focus on your breath that's all, notice where it's going in your body and try to breathe in a little deeper right into your belly.
"You will notice that as your breath calms down so do your thoughts, they won't switch off all together, just notice any thoughts that come to mind and then gently bring your awareness back to your breath focusing on the in and out breath."
As a long-term customer at Champneys, Camilla feels that their Tring spa is the "obvious choice" for her to run her first Unplug Meditation retreat in the UK, adding that it is the ideal place for people to take the first step towards achieving their goals.
"It all starts with planting that first seed. It's my vision and I believe that the retreat could be just that for someone, that first step of action. Mostly we know what we need to do but often we put it off until we put ourselves in a situation where we actually have the space and time to get quiet, listen to our instincts and goal set."
While Camilla's new career is completely different to her previous life as a competitive dancer, she admits she learned valuable skills that she still uses every day.
She explains: "Being an athlete, a dancer, it taught me to be disciplined and what being dedicated can do for you, those are valuable skills I use every single day of my life."
Camilla Sacre-Dallerup will be hosting a two day life-coaching retreat at Champneys Tring from 29 September – 1 October 2015. For more information and booking visit champneys.com.
