Hollywood star Lupita Nyong'o's 10-day silent retreat at New Zealand meditation centre

Lupita Nyong'o spent 10 days at a meditation retreat in New Zealand after the mayhem of Black Panther. Photo / Getty Images

Lupita Nyong'o booked herself into a meditation retreat after the success of Black Panther.

The 35-year-old actress starred as Nakia in the popular Marvel movie, and has revealed that following a "passionate" response from fans after the release of the feature, she scheduled a 10-day silent retreat at the 'Vipassana meditation centre' in New Zealand in order to escape from the mayhem.

Talking to Porter magazine, Lupita said: "I learned so much in there.

It blew my mind. All you are doing is learning this technique of meditation. It was the hardest 10 days of my life. It was also the most restful 10 days."

Lupita even managed to cure her stress-induced insomnia whilst at the retreat.
She added: "It makes all the difference. Stress is what makes me an insomniac. And I'm a stress-buster, man."

The Star Wars star continues to meditate daily and now she is back home in Brooklyn, she admits it's comforting to know she can call on friends that live "down the street".

Lupita continued: "I like that I can call a friend down the street to go the farmers' market. The other day I was watching The Shining, the credits came up, and I'm like, 'OK, I need company, I can't be alone.'

I called my friend and he came over immediately."

The Oscar-winning actress recently embarked on a trip to Kenya for the first time in two years, and was overjoyed with the new arrivals in her family.

She said: "Everyone has babies! There's a whole new generation that I feel like I don't know. I just had to go and spend time with them. I'm madly in love with my niece. I see pictures and videos of her in Tanzania, and I think my heart will burst. I love her to death, and she doesn't even know it."

The Mexico-City born star confessed that privacy is at the top of her priority list and being in the moment seeing someone "eye-to-eye" is a key component in the way she lives her life.

She added: "You'd be surprised. I think there's a separation between the public and the private. In the arena where I'm being desired, I'm absent. Most of the time, I'm actually not there. The only thing that matters is the private - seeing someone eye-to-eye. Desire from afar is just news."