Who I am

I have no formal degree in yoga, Ayurveda or anything else on this page. I am mostly self-taught. Over nineteen years I have spent time within several traditions and systems of practice, learnt what I could from each, and kept what held up in daily life. I am not a yoga teacher, a doctor or an Ayurvedic practitioner.

What I do have is a daily practice. Classical hatha yoga and meditation have been the fixed points of my day for those nineteen years. Alongside them I read the Vedic texts and the scriptures of other traditions, and I follow the Ayurvedic daily routine at home: water kept overnight in copper, jala neti with a copper pot, a copper tongue scraper in the morning.

How I came to copper

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I took up Agnihotra. It is a short fire ritual performed at the exact minute of sunrise and sunset, in a small copper pyramid, with dried cow dung, ghee and unpolished rice, and two mantras. I have done it every morning and evening since.

Agnihotra needs a copper pyramid, and the Ayurvedic routine needs copper vessels. Looking for pieces I was happy to use myself, I found that much of what is sold as copper is lacquered inside or comes from a factory that nobody at the shop has ever visited. Copper Healer grew out of that search.

Where the pieces come from

Our bottles, pitchers, carafes, glasses, neti pots and Agnihotra pyramids are made by traditional coppersmiths in Uttar Pradesh, the state I live in. They work from sheets of pure copper, raise each piece by hand, and on the hammered pieces strike the dimpled pattern one blow at a time. There is no lacquer or coating inside any of our drinkware.

I deal with these workshops directly. There is no trading company or agent in between, and no catalogue order. I go there, I look at the copper sheets before they are cut, and I agree what will be made and how. Many shops that sell copperware in the United States never see the workshop; the pieces go from a factory to a warehouse to the buyer. Mine have been in my hands first.

What I check before a piece is packed

Each piece that leaves us has been looked over by hand, in India, before it is packed. Not a sample from the batch; each one.

• The copper itself: the sheet before it is cut, and the finished body inside and out, for the colour of bare copper and a clean surface with nothing left inside.
• Bottles: the body, the neck, the screw cap and its thread, and the washer inside the cap. I screw each cap on and off, fill the bottle, turn it over and wait.
• Pitchers and carafes: the lid sits flat on the rim, the knob is firm, the welded handle does not move, and the piece stands level.
• Glasses and tumblers: a smooth rim, a base that sits flat, no dents.
• Neti pots: the joint where the spout meets the body, and an even flow from the spout.
• Bracelets: the magnets sit flush in the ends, and the ends are smooth against the skin.
• Agnihotra pyramids: the pyramid sits square on its stand.
• Any screw cap or screw fitting is turned by hand to see that it runs true.

Hammer marks differ from piece to piece and the weight varies by a few grams. That is handwork, and it stays. A rough rim, a cap that will not seat, a dent or a drip does not pass.

Why an order takes a little longer

Each order is packed in India after this check. Handling takes 1 to 4 business days, and delivery to a US address takes 10 to 15 business days after dispatch. Standard US shipping is free. That is the trade-off for a handmade pure copper piece that someone has held and checked before it was boxed. The full terms are on the shipping policy.

In short

• Name: Akshat Goel
• Role: founder of Copper Healer, handmade pure copper from India, sold to the United States
• Based in: Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
• Practice: classical hatha yoga and meditation daily for nineteen years; Agnihotra at sunrise and sunset since 2020; the Ayurvedic daily routine at home
• Training: self-taught across several traditions; no formal degree; no title
• Work: buys directly from traditional coppersmiths in Uttar Pradesh, visits the workshop, chooses the copper sheets, checks each piece by hand before packing
• Uses: the same copper pieces at home every day

Guides I have written

Each guide below says what was compared and on what date. Prices and specifications in them were read from the sellers’ pages at the time.

Write to me

Questions about a piece, an order or the workshop reach me through the contact page: [email protected] or +91 88261 61899. Our address is 126/31, I Block, Govind Nagar, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, 208006. The story of the shop is on About us.