Gwyneth Paltrow went on a silent retreat to help her cope with the stress in her life

Gwyneth Paltrow once went on a silent retreat to help her cope with the stress in her life.

The Oscar-winning actress ' who has two children, Apple, seven, and five-year-old Moses, with husband Chris Martin ' went to the "hippie style" retreat but didn't get much from the experience and has since found there are better ways for her to deal with her problems.

Writing in her weekly newsletter GOOP, Gwyneth said: "I have never been very good at handling stress (though a bit of meditation helps), and I wanted some very practical ways of reducing it that I could use during the course of my day. I got some good answers that don't require a 90 minute yoga class, or flying to a hippie-style silent retreat (I've actually done one - don't ask), just simple things that we all have access to."

However, Gwyneth will soon be relaxing in an altogether different environment ' she, Chris and the children are going on holiday to the South of France with Jay-Z and his wife Beyonce Knowles, who are hoping to try their hand at parenting.

A source said: "Beyonce has already spoken about how keen she is to have her first baby with Jay-Z. So spending time with her friends' kids is going to be a good trial run for having her own family."

Meanwhile, Gwyneth thrilled the audience at London's The O2 as she joined the cast of 'Glee' onstage for a surprise guest performance last night (29.06.11).

The 38-year-old beauty, who guest-starred as supply teacher Holly Holiday in a number of episodes, arrived near the end of the concert to belt out 'Forget You' by Cee Lo Green.

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