How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Jay Shetty and Radhi Devlukia
If there was an award for the most wellness-focused couple in Los Angeles, Jay Shetty and Radhi Devlukia would take the cake.
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
Shetty is a celebrity life coach, author and host of the “On Purpose” podcast, where he’s had vulnerable conversations with people like President Joe Biden, Kim Kardashian, Kobe Bryant, Gwyneth Paltrow and Oprah Winfrey. His wife, Devlukia, is a clinical dietitian, nutritionist who specializes in Ayurveda and author of the cookbook “JoyFull: Cook Effortlessly, Eat Freely, Live Radiantly,” which will be released Feb. 27. They are both vegan, and together they have a sparkling-tea brand called Juni, which is infused with adaptogens and nootropics like lion’s mane, acerola cherry and ashwagandha. Plus, Shetty was a monk for three years.
The United Kingdom-born duo previously lived in New York, but Devlukia said Los Angeles, which they’ve called home for the last five years, has “felt more like me.”
“I’ve loved the move to L.A.,” said Devlukia, “the slower pace, energy, being around more nature, and just the general attitude of everyone toward their wellness. All of our friends love to sleep early and wake up early, and they all prioritize their health so much more.”
“If you give two Brits blue skies and sunshine, that’s it,” Shetty added. “That’s all we need.”
Not long ago, Jay Shetty struggled to attract 10 people to mindfulness events. Now he has the ear of celebrities, star athletes, even President Biden.
The green-eyed couple’s ideal Sunday in L.A. involves meditating at home, hiking in Griffith Park, hitting their favorite farmers market to pick up ingredients for one of Devlukia’s mouth-watering recipes and indulging in a sweet treat at the end of the night. Here, they take us along for the ride. (To be honest, if I did even a quarter of the activities on their itinerary, I’d feel great about myself.)
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
7 a.m.: Wake up and meditate
Devlukia: I’ll wake up around 7 a.m., brush my teeth, put on my comfy clothes and then do my meditation. That’s a weekday and weekend ritual. I’ll usually meditate for about an hour and then Jay will [join me].
Shetty: I would like to wake up at like 11 a.m., but it never happens. I’m up at like 7:30 a.m.
Devlukia: So we’ll do our meditation and breathwork in the morning. I normally have hot water with some spices in it. I have this spice blend that I love with coriander, cumin and fennel seeds.
It’s a great time to hike Southern California’s waterfall trails, from Eaton Canyon Falls to the Grotto at Circle X Ranch.
8:30 a.m.: Hot Pilates and hiking at Griffith Park
Devlukia: I usually go for my workout after that.
Shetty: That’s where we split off. I’ll usually hike. She likes high intensity. I like low intensity.
Devlukia: On weekends, I either do hot Pilates, hot yoga or I’ll go for a run somewhere. I just started going back to Heated Room. I really like their classes. The teachers there are amazing. One teacher specifically I’ve been going to is Chelle. I think she’s great. Then for hiking, we like Griffith and Runyon [Canyon]. One of our friends loves finding different places for us to go on hikes within an hour’s distance. He’ll pick a place and we’ll just join him sometimes.
Shetty: I also love pickleball. So I have a bunch of friends that I’ll go play pickleball with for a couple of hours on a Sunday morning. And if I had it my way, I’d love to play a game of soccer. That would be like my ideal ideal Sunday, but I’ll settle for pickleball because it’s hard to get 22 guys to play soccer together in L.A.
Started by Liana Levi in 2020, the invite-only Forma Pilates offers a highly personal, and ultra-branded core workout that has drawn celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Addison Rae.
11 a.m.: Brunch at Nic’s on Beverly (if Devlukia isn’t cooking)
Devlukia: We usually eat after our workout on the weekends.
Shetty: If we’re going to eat out, I love to go to Nic’s on Beverly. It’s one of our favorite restaurants. Nic’s is completely plant-based. They have a benedict, which is amazing. That’s filling enough because it has tofu.
Devlukia: We also get the three-cheese vegan omelet.
Shetty: That’s if we’re going out, but Radhi usually cooks a brilliant brunch [at home]. If she’s not in town, then I have to go out.
Devlukia: At the moment, what I’ve started doing is — because I created the recipes for my book about a year and a half ago — pick something from it every weekend and make it. [Recently], I made the veggie frittata muffins for breakfast.
Shetty: They’re so good.
Devlukia: I also sometimes will make a chickpea flour omelet with veggies inside or I’ll make us an epic sandwich. I have a sandwich in my book, the Everything Sandwich. I just love sandwiches being saucy, so it has pesto and hummus. I’ll make some dips and sauces myself to put in there, and it’s just like a super loaded sandwich.
Shetty: One of our favorite things to do as well is go to the Hollywood Farmers Market. That’s our favorite one. If Radhi is cooking something, she’ll go buy all of the ingredients there.
Devlukia: Yeah, that’s usually what I’ll do if I make sandwiches. I’ll get fresh bread from the market first, and then get all the toppings and fillings for it, and then create something magical from it.
Carts, cash, recycled yogurt containers and making friends with vendors are just some of the ways pro shoppers conquer Los Angeles farmers markets.
2:30 p.m.: Hang out with friends or relax at home
Devlukia: We either go two ways. One way is we’ll pick some friends to hang out with, whether that means going over to their home and just hanging out. Or if we feel like just being together, usually midafternoon is when we pick a movie to watch.
Shetty: Just something relaxing.
Devlukia: [Recently] instead of watching a movie, we just sat and read together. So we’ll read separate books for like an hour or so just because sometimes during the week, you don’t have time to really immerse yourselves in the books that you want to read. We really appreciate having reading time. I’m reading “The Courage to Be Disliked,” “The Daily Laws,” which Jay also recommended to me, “Attached” and some spiritual books. I read multiple books at the same time. Embarrassingly, I’m also reading Jay’s “8 Rules of Love” because I never finished it at the time it came out, and it’s actually an amazing book. [Laughs]
Shetty: I’m reading a book called “A Therapeutic Journey” by Alain de Botton, who started the School of Life. It was a gift from one of my recent podcast guests.
5 p.m. Cook some Indian comfort food
Devlukia: We’ll cook dinner. Usually it’s [just] us or some of my friends.
Shetty: Everyone has been ordering out all week and wants some home-cooked food, they’re coming over. All of Radhi’s other children.
Devlukia: It’s never really planned. If we’re messaging with someone, I’ll just be like, “I’m making dinner. Come over if you want,” so it’ll just be one or three people. My friends usually ask me to make them Indian food. So it’ll be different types of curries and some veggie dishes. I have this sweet potato, green bean and cashew curry in my book that’s like my go-to. I’ll make that with maybe some flatbreads or naan and a yogurt dip on the side, then some sort of dal.
Shetty: We had this pact ever since we got together because she’s such a pro in the kitchen. I love everything she makes so I trust her, so I’m like whatever you want to make, I’m happy receiving.
Devlukia: He’s someone who eats to live, he doesn’t live to eat. He’s so gracious and loves me experimenting with food, but the thing he gets most excited about is chocolate. So that is like his indulgent food. Apart from that, he will eat to live and he’ll be happy with anything he gets.
Shetty: And this is why I don’t request stuff because if I was asked, “What do you want?” I’d say a burger or something basic. But if I don’t say that, I get all of this.
5:30: Or maybe go to a restaurant
Devlukia: I’ve struggled quite a bit to find good Indian restaurants in L.A. There is an area in Artesia called Little India where they have all these amazing Indian restaurants. I like Surati Farsan Mart and Honest [Restaurant]. But around here, if I really want an Indian fix, and I can’t be bothered to make it myself, there’s a place called Tulsi Eatery [that I like]. They do really amazing vegetarian, plant-based Indian food.
Bhookhe brings the flavors of Rajasthan to the already exquisite mix of regional Indian cuisines in Artesia. Critic Bill Addison points the way to some favorite new dishes.
7:30 p.m.: Grab some dessert
Shetty: If I’m being bad, then I’ll get a dessert from Van Leeuwen. They have a vegan list of flavors, which are amazing. I’ll get chocolate fudge brownie ice cream with chocolate sprinkles, rainbow sprinkles, honeycomb crunch and maybe some chocolate brownie pieces depending on how I feel. Plus, hot fudge!
Devlukia: Normally if we go out for dessert, we have to make two pit stops. My place is Yoga-urt, which has frozen yogurt. I get similar toppings. They make a hot chocolate sauce and I like to throw some strawberries on mine, some nuts and mochi.
Shetty: Might as well add some broccoli on there too. Add some spinach. [Laughs]
Devlukia: He thinks that if there’s fruit in something, it’s not a dessert. How rude! [Laughs]
8 p.m.: Get ready for bed
Devlukia: We’ll come back, and honestly we’re both early sleepers. We’re in bed by 9 p.m.
Shetty: Especially on a Sunday. I’ll look at my calendar for the rest of the week and my schedule. I’ll set an intention of how I want to walk into the week.
Devlukia: I’ll do a skincare routine, which I love every night. I’ll exfoliate and get myself fresh for the week. Then we’ll get into bed. We both knock out really fast. At 9 p.m. on the dot, we’ll be knocked out.
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