Puravi Joshi

Lifestyle Science with Puravi Joshi: A leading yoga & breathwork teacher gives us her wellbeing & yoga essentials

Written by: Deepa Somasunderam

Welcome to our latest series, Lifestyle Science. These are interviews we are doing with POC leaders in the health and wellness industries where we deep dive into their lifestyle. They give us their personal guide to living well so your in touch with emerging wellness trends, nutrition and self-care for glowing mental and physical health.

When Puravi Joshi quit her job in the City in 2017, she had no plan. All she knew was that she didn’t want another corporate gig which would impact her health. She boarded a plane with a one-way ticket on travels that would take her from Australia to Cambodia to Costa Rica.

Fast forward six years later, she is the Founder of Mysa London and a 500hr+ registered yoga, breathwork, meditation & holistic women’s health coach based in London and is recognised as one of the best yoga teachers & breathwork experts in London. We caught up with her on her wellness must-haves and Mysa’s latest product range, the yoga deck.

My morning routine:

My morning routine usually starts with meditation whether it’s 10minutes or 20 minutes if I have more time, I really notice a difference when I give myself the time to just be instead of waking up and rushing.

It's then usually followed by a gym session at 6am, I'm a huge fan of strength training and just the feel good factor it brings. I love starting my day like this, I'm an early riser so I like to start my day as I mean to go on!

What I eat for breakfast everyday:

Breakfast for me is normally a vegan protein shake (|I’m obsessed with Hazelnut Choc protein atm) with an additional boost with Hux Superfood Blends and a banana, a coffee and toast.

Daily supplements I take:

I take Vitamin D, Omega-3, Vitamin C, Magnesium and Zinc Daily for my immune system. I take Biotin for my hair (it's been falling out a lot lately so I'm hoping it's going to help!)

I take The Beauty Chef - Glow Inner Beauty Essential everyday, it’s full of the good stuff, pre and probiotics to help promote a healthy balance in the gut, if I miss a few days of this I definitely notice.

A staple that's always in my back is Hux Health's hydration tablets. They give me the boost I need when I'm feeling low in energy and they ensure I'm getting my daily vitamins in as well as electrolytes!

My food philosophy:

My food philosophy is everything in moderation, I don't believe in restrictive diets and lean more towards an ayurvedic diet working with your dosha to create balance in your body.

My medicine cabinet:

My medicine cabinet consists of Paracetamol and Ibuprofen, as a migraine sufferer it's taken years to get off stronger medication so that's all I take and only in emergency!

My favourite yoga routine:

Honestly, it depends on my mood and how I'm feeling, I could yin everyday, but I could also get completely lost in a rocket practice, for me it's making time for both sometimes I need a fast paced practice to quiet my mind and sometimes I need to nourish my body and find a bit more stillness.

My favourite breathwork practice:

My favourite breath work practice is a simple box-breath technique, inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4. This technique helps to calm the nervous system, trust me it works!

Why I created the Yoga Deck:

The yoga deck was created in lockdown, a big part of the work I do as a yoga teacher is to champion inclusivity and diversity (something that is lack in the wellness industry especially in the Western world) my intention behind the deck was to create something that had all different ethnicities and body shapes first and foremost.

Secondly to educate as yoga postures have Sanskrit names yet so many don't know that or mispronounce, the yoga deck teaches you the pose names in Sanskrit, how to pronounce them, the English word for the pose, and as a teacher big on alignment, they also have a step by step guide teaching you how to get into the pose safely.

The deck consists of 54 cards based on the Sanskrit alphabet having 54 feminine and 54 masculine letters, and they are also based on the sun and the moon, the sun denoting more yang postures and the moon denoting yin postures, so that you can create your own flow to suit your mood!

What I do when I get migraines:

My migraines have grown with me, I've suffered with them since I was 13 years old, currently what works is rolling a towel under my neck, and laying down on the floor with my legs up on the sofa or bed. I have to have all windows open, it has to be pitch black and there has to be pin drop silence.

If I'm lucky the migraine will subside in a few hours, if not it can take a day and then another day to recover!

My go-to brands for yoga clothes:

I'm a huge fan of The Sports Edit, that house my favourite brands, Beyond Yoga, Girlfriend and Varley.

Yoga mats I use:

I have two brands of yoga mats that I don't live without, Fable Yoga and Yogi Bare create the best mats in the game and have the best grip!

My favourite yoga studio in London:

Favourite studio in London is Kindred Yoga in Deptford that's owned by my friend Katarina Rayburn.

My dream health vacation:

Anywhere with nature, hiking trails, beach & good local food, I went on a yoga retreat in Malindi, Kenya in February and it was exactly that, a week of absolute nourishment!

Favourite skincare and haircare products:

My skincare is pretty simple, but my staple products I cannot live without are Youth To The People, Polypeptide 121 Future Cream, it’s full of things that my skin just loves, and SuperGoop Glow Screen, I'm a factor 50 girl, all day everyday.

My hair care essentials is Indian hair oil that I make at home that I put on for 20mins before I wash my hair, the trick is to first rinse your hair with conditioner, then shampoo and condition (it gets rid of the oil slick and your hair will be healthy, shiny and bouncy!)

Puravi’s homemade hair oil

Infuse Virgin coconut oil with:
Gooseberries
Hibiscus
Fenugreek
Neem
Aloe
Castor oil

What I do regularly to get rest and recovery:

I love a massage, I don't get them as often as I should but I aim for monthly if I can, my other non-negotiable to rest and recover is carving out time to spend with the people I love, being self-employed can be quite lonely even if you are teaching rooms full of people. So having time with people I love ensures my cup is full :)

How I wind down and get ready for bed:

Hot Hazelnut Milk (you'll thank me later) it tastes like hot chocolate and is literally a hug in a cup, its my nightly ritual that I enjoy that helps me wind down, I also try to read 3 chapters of a book every night and then fall asleep listening to binaural beats!