S7, Ep6 – In conversation with Mira Manek
11 November 2025
For our sixth and final episode of season seven, Dr Reena is joined by the inspiring Mira Manek — author, wellness entrepreneur, and founder of Chai By Mira, a brand for authentic chai spice blends that beautifully blends her love for food, Ayurveda, and mindfulness. Mira has authored three transformative books — Saffron Soul, Prajña, and The Book of Chai — each one empowering us to find more balance, purpose, and joy in everyday living.
Conversation Show Notes – The Recap
The conversation begins with Mira sharing the personal journey that led her to Ayurveda and wellness — a path rooted in rediscovery. In her early twenties, she struggled with yo-yo dieting, low energy, and digestive issues, equating “health” with being thin. The turning point came on a trip to India when she realised the true nourishment she had been missing lay in her own cultural roots and home-cooked food. Reconnecting with her Gujarati heritage and learning traditional recipes from her mother and grandmother became both healing and transformative.
This awakening inspired her first book Saffron Soul, celebrating traditional Indian cuisine as medicine for both body and mind. Her second book Prajña emerged from a deeper exploration of Ayurveda and rituals — not as quick-fix detoxes, but as sustainable, daily practices for balance, emotional resilience, and spiritual growth.
Mira explains that the heart of Ayurveda lies in living in tune with nature and listening to your body’s signals. She shares practical insights from her own lifestyle — from mindful eating and minimising snacking to support digestion, to daily self-care rituals such as facial and body oil massages, using Ayurvedic oils like kumkumadi and sesame, and incorporating small grounding habits like sunlight, journaling, and movement.
Mira reminds listeners that wellness is not a destination but a continuous relationship with oneself. Her “resuscitation kit” — the small, consistent rituals that sustain her through life’s highs and lows — includes yoga, rest, and simple acts that nurture both body and mind.
The conversation also touches on Mira’s experience building her brand, Chai By Mira, and the challenges of staying authentic in an often-crowded wellness space. Her advice is to stay in your lane, resist comparison, and lead with purpose rather than pressure. For Mira, success means aligning your work with your truth — not competing, but uplifting others along the way.
Even with her ever-changing schedule and frequent travels, she maintains her grounding rituals wherever she goes — proof that balance is about intention, not perfection. Whether she’s journaling, doing headstands, sipping chai, or nurturing her growing business now stocked in over 250 cafés across the UK and US, Mira’s message is clear: small, meaningful rituals create big, lasting change.
Episode Key Takeaways – The Best ideas
“Health is not about being skinny — it’s about nourishment, balance, and energy.”
Returning to traditional home-cooked food helped Mira heal her digestion and reconnect with her roots.
Ayurveda is not just ancient wisdom — it’s a way of living in tune with nature and your body, wherever you are in the world.
Small, consistent rituals — from oil massages to mindful meals — build resilience and emotional balance.
“Stay in your lane.” Authenticity and purpose matter more than comparison or competition.
Stress is often the root of imbalance — managing it gently supports digestion and overall wellbeing.
Balance doesn’t come from perfection, but from creating everyday practices that ground and uplift you.
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S7, Ep1 – In conversation with Trinny Woodall
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S4, Ep5 – In conversation with Olivia Falcon
Join the Life & Smile conversation now as Dr Reena welcomes Olivia to the Harley Street recording studio to discuss how she successfully built and navigated her award-winning career. We discover first-hand how Olivia makes everything work so effortlessly on a daily basis, her journey to becoming co-founder of Spectacle Skin Care, and recommendations she can’t live without.
