September 26th, 2022 | FORBES MAGAZINE

Mastering The Mind And Body An Interview With JUNI Founders Jay Shetty And Radhi Devlukia-Shetty

Omaid Homayun // FORBES Contributor -- Between Jay Shetty and his wife, Radhi, they’ve helped thousands of people master their body and mind. Jay is widely known as a life coach and for his inspirational YouTube videos that have been viewed over 7 billion times. He’s also a podcast host and best-selling author. His path was not linear as Jay had to find his way in his mid 20s, but the inflection point was when he traded his corporate job to be a monk for three years. His friends thought he was crazy, but it turned out to be a rewarding experience and it’s where he draws upon much of his wisdom.

During my conversation with Jay, he said that his relationship with Radhi provided the balance he needed because he had likely been ignoring his body for years and her expertise in nutrition has been invaluable. Radhi is a plant based chef, dietician, and she earned her degree in Ayurvedic Health. She shares her mouth watering recipes through social media and she is working on her first cookbook.

As Jay has been working on mastering the mind, he packaged much of the timeless wisdom he learned into The New York Times best-seller, Think Like a Monk — to help others develop the tools necessary to breakthrough things like negativity, anxiety, and to ultimately find their purpose. His book is a manual to help develop more self-awareness through the stories he shares and the self-reflection he expects of you during your journey through the chapters.

Jay tells the story of Joshua Bell, the world renowned violinist who went undercover during the D.C. metro rush hour, playing his violin as hundreds of commuters passing by. The commuters were on such auto-pilot that they didn’t notice the GRAMMY Award-winning violinist, who just three nights prior played to a sold-out audience at Boston’s Symphony Hall where the average ticket price was over $100.

“The primary purpose of the book was to be a mirror — to give people an opportunity to look inwards to reflect which leads to self-awareness. If we were more self-aware we’d pursue the true priorities in our lives and we’re less likely to experience the pains of the challenges that surface through a lack of alignment with your purpose,” Jay explained.

Jay and Radhi were brainstorming something to create together that they could share with their communities that would also be beneficial and in alignment with both of their visions.

Radhi grew up in an environment where her mother was very mindful of what she fed her children, which included green juices and avocado smoothies. But it was in New York under the tutelage of Divya Alter where she began to study Ayurveda — the ancient health science.

“It’s about understanding your body and how everything in nature — including spices, herbs, and botanicals can heal or harm you. I’ve grown up in an Indian family so spices were a common part of my life, but I only started valuing how integral they are to health as I started learning the benefits of them,” Radhi explained.

On the heels of the couple’s successful launch of Sama tea last year, they wanted to introduce a sparkling tea with adaptogens — a cold beverage option that would also be ideal for social gatherings. Enter JUNI.

“I love sharing spices and herbs with people because I believe in the healing properties of them. Adaptogens are very similar which is why we have them in our teas. They are plant extracts and herbs that can help you cope and rebalance your physical and emotional stress,” Radhi said.

For the current lineup of flavors like tropical green tea, Jay and Radhi have hand picked five adaptogens to address different areas of wellbeing which include l-theanine, lion’s mane, and cherry extract.

My favorite flavor is the raspberry black tea which reminds me of a lightly sweetened brewed tea with a raspberry kick. It’s refreshing and has replaced my afternoon caffeinated energy drink as a healthy alternative.

“The panax ginseng and lion’s mane mushroom help with focus, attention, and memory. The number one benefit of both is supporting brain function and they are rich in antioxidants which can help with inflammation in the body,” Radhi explained.

I never drank coffee until our children were born and it’s been hard to switch back to tea. The half life of caffeine in your body is 5 hours, so drinking coffee late in the afternoon can disrupt sleep. JUNI has been a good gateway to minimize the caffeine intake in the afternoon with a healthy alternative while still getting the pick-me-up I need.