This feels full circle for me! This shoot represents a struggle that I have fought against internally and against an industry externally for a long time! At 38 (soon to be 39) I didn’t think I would ever see myself represented on a cover especially in London, the toughest of markets. I remember trying to find an agency 10 years ago and being rejected by every single one. This was at the height of my career in India when I was seen as a top model and an up and coming Bollywood actress. I remember feeling so disappointed thinking maybe I wasn’t young enough, maybe it was my curves , or the fact I had brown skin, maybe I wasn’t beautiful enough or skinny enough… I felt I just wasn’t enough.
Working on myself and feeling “enough” over the last few years, letting go of a lot of ingrained “stuff” allowed me to truly love myself and celebrate myself in this skin , at this age and in this body. Seeing myself a brown skinned girl with hardly any make up on, without any touching up and having natural curls on the cover of a magazine makes me feel so proud of my healing journey and to be part of a more inclusive and diverse industry.
I am so grateful to be represented by an agency @bma that truly sees and believes in me and to work with clients like @boots that represent and celebrate the natural beauty of women ❤️
@bma_models
Photographer @daniel_fraser
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#boots #london #cover #healthandbeauty #inclusion #diversity #model #bma #newwork #shoot #skin #skincare #lovetheskinyourein #brownskingirls #brownskin #indian #southafrican #curls #curlyhair #natural #health #beauty #heal #healwithhimarsha
Spotted! So excited to see my new @no7uk campaign @bootsuk in Dubai! It’s so encouraging and exciting to work with inclusive brands that celebrate and showcase natural beauty.
Thanks @bma_models for understanding me, supporting me and providing the best representation 💖
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#model #skincare #campaign #newwork #proaging #naturalbeauty #dubai
Strong mama , strong baby ❤️🔥
Getting pregnant at 41 while working full time as a physio in the NHS, teaching yoga on the side, travelling, creating, managing a home and still wanting to actually live my life… I knew one thing — I wanted to feel strong in my body 💪🏽
And yet the amount of times I heard “take it easy”, “don’t run”, “don’t push yourself”. !!
Here’s the thing though — that advice didn’t align with who I am or how I’ve always lived. I’ve worked out my whole life. Daily intentional movement is a way of life for me and it’s how I connect to my mind and body. And honestly, I feel stronger and more energetic now at 41 than I did in my 20s.
But beyond how I feel — the research is clear. Staying active during pregnancy (without contraindications) reduces your risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, C-section, excess weight gain, preterm labour, and even postpartum depression. Your baby benefits too — lower risks of preterm birth, unhealthy birth weight, and childhood obesity.
I’m not just doing this for now. I want to run around with my baba, get on the floor and roll about with them, and when they’re teenagers?…I need the strength and agility to chase them down 😹🏃🏽♀️
So if you’re pregnant and you’re being told by people to stop moving — please speak to your GP or a women’s health physio first. If there are no contraindications, keep going. And if you’re new to strength training, start slow, listen to your body and build day by day. Your body is incredible and more than capable 💖
(Evidence sourced from peer-reviewed research — PubMed & ACOG guidelines)
#pregnancyjourney #pregnancyfitness #womenshealth #physiotherapist #strongmama
He felt sand between his toes for the very first time!
This was a milestone for me… I looked forward to sharing this first with him. Being a wild woman at heart …barefoot on the earth, salt in air, the sound of waves crashing …this is what grounds me.
As a physio I spend a lot of time thinking about how babies develop through sensation. Watching him feel sand and hear waves for the first time — this is therapy. Nature’s most ancient one.
And this is where I grew up… home 🤍
There’s something about showing your child where you come from and what’s special to you.
What was your first shared experience with baby that really resonated with you?👇🏽
#newmomlife #earthday #babymilestones #wellnessmom #yogamama
Self Reflections …
Last Spring around this time I was just coming into my 2nd trimester. I had started to let work and friends know that I was pregnant. I started to get more attached and excited for this little life growing inside of me. The fear of the first trimester has subsided … but yet there was a fear that still gripped me , unsure if this little human would make it full term. I had heard horror stories from so many people I knew where there was loss even at full term. My heart ached for them and the possibility that could be our story.
I chose to let go of the fear and ground myself in the present of celebrating every little moment and milestone of the pregnancy, from the initial positive pregnancy test, to the excitement of hearing the first heartbeat and dreaming about what they would look like. I wanted to celebrate these moments without fear. If that moment was all I had then let me enjoy the experience and feel the attachment knowing I would survive whatever may be.
I was walking home through the park (trying to make up my daily steps 😉) from my Physiotherapy job after a tough day with challenging patients. I felt the need to take of my shoes, ground into the Earth’s energy and have a moment with baby in the sunshine which turned into a little dance with baby. A few moments later a girl came up to me and handed me a daisy chain that she had made. She said she was watching me dance and wished she would one day feel that connection and be able to celebrate life so freely. In that moment I felt such immense love, connection and a sense of knowing. My higher self knew that this little soul chose me and they were coming into the world Earth side one way or another to live an epic life … they were already attracting such love and connection 💛
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#selfreflection #pregnancyjourney #pregnantover40 #mindset #wildwomen
Matrescense has been the most transformative experience of my life. I could not have imagined feeling all that I have. From excitement to fear, being pushed to my limits of sensations and feeling absolute exhaustion, to the deepest love where I felt my heart swelling into my throat and rushes rippling in my skin.
I have felt the physiological changes, studying each and every layer as my hormones and neurology upgraded and my body transformed. I felt my perceptions shift with outer experiences as if I now saw the world through new lenses.
Becoming a mother is everything and more than I could have imagined. I am so thankful that I waited till my 40s, had the life experiences I had and did the inner work I needed to do. This is only the start of a new journey where I know I shall continue to evolve and rise as I raise this beautiful little human with an abundance of love, openess, kindness, curiosity and courage 🙏🏽🌸
📸 @applegrovestudio
#matrescence #firstmothersday #motherhood #babyphoto #familyphotography
HBD to me!! Ooof 42…💖🌸🎀
I move into this new year feeling like I have blossomed as a woman. Motherhood has grown me, challenged me and empowered me. I feel like a bit of a bad ass superwoman and in the same breath like I’ve been unravelled into the deepest depths of vulnerability. I have so much more respect and awe for this incredible body…this body that creates , grows, gives and births life. It’s not just about me anymore… celebrating today makes me feel closer to my own mother as she gave birth to me 42 years ago. I feel motherhood has made me understand and empathise with her so much more, all her dark and her light, it has deepened my love for her.
I feel so grateful for the abundance of love that surrounds me, my beautiful family both that I was born into and my new one we are creating. I am so grateful for my supportive and empowering female tribe that has had my back and lifted me up over the last year. And mostly I am so grateful for the blessing of my beautiful baby boy and the love and light he has brought into my life … he has cracked me open and shown me another dimension.
Counting my abundant blessings ✨🙏🏽✨
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📸 @applegrovestudio
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#birthdaygirl #countingmyblessings #womanempowerment #motherhood #pregnancyphotoshoot
Life lately…soft days and hard nights.
Coming out of the fourth trimester and survival mode. I’m slowly finding my way exploring and integrating parts of Self with this new version of me + 1. Motherhood has been incredibly challenging… but the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. This Oxytocin hits different 🙏🏽❤️
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#newmum #momover40 #mumlife #findingbalance #fourthtrimester
2016…
A year of reaching new heights in my career and personal life. Of great love and loss. A year of celebration, reconnection and making new connections with family and friends. A year of great change and discomfort, the start of deep transformation! I felt I lost myself, redefined myself and learned to deeply trust myself.
2016 was an evolution ✨💖✨
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#2016 #epic2016 #transformation
I had so much fun dressing my bump…I wanted to embrace my changing body and beautiful bump while still being authentic to my own style. I mixed and matched my pre-pregnancy clothing with a few new maternity pieces. I found it soooo hard to find fab maternity wear! Especially trying to figure what would for this changing body. What I didn’t want was to buy a whole new wardrobe that didn’t feel like me and would end up being wasted and not used post partum. So for me, this was the most sustainable way of dressing and maintaining my own unique style that was comfortable and made me feel sexy and beautiful.
For some inspo to new mamas to be: these are some of my favourite looks over 2025!
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#maternityfashion #sustainableclothing #styleinspo #dressthebump #pregnancystyle
