🌿 Ayurveda for Modern Life with Martha Soffer (Ep.20)

In this powerful and heart-centered conversation, I sit down with Martha Soffer, one of the world’s leading Ayurvedic practitioners and the founder of Surya Spa.

Martha was a pivotal healer on my own journey back to health during one of the most difficult periods of my life. In this episode, she shares the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda in a way that feels grounded, practical, and deeply relevant for modern life.

We explore:

• What Ayurveda really is—and how it differs from Western medicine
• The three doshas (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) and how imbalances affect your health
• The profound healing power of Panchakarma detoxification
• Why many popular cleanses can actually deplete the body
• Daily Ayurvedic rituals that support digestion, hormones, skin, and the nervous system
• Fertility, hormones, and why women’s health requires more reverence and care
• Meditation, nervous system regulation, and living in rhythm with nature

This episode is a masterclass in lifestyle medicine, body wisdom, and returning to balance—inside and out.

✨ If you’ve tried “everything” and still don’t feel well, this conversation may open a new door for your healing.

RESOURCES: 

👉🏼 Check out the amazing Surya Spa: https://suryawellness.com/

I highly recommend doing panchakarma at Surya Spa!! 

👉🏼 Follow Martha & Surya on Instagram: @suryabymartha 

Transcript

[00:00] Nicole Mixdorf

Hello, beautiful souls. Welcome back. I’m your host, Nicole Mixdorf. And today we are going to be diving into the world of Ayurveda.

I have a very, very special guest who is so dear to my heart. This woman helped me tremendously on my own healing journey. She found me at a time when I was at my lowest—so, so sick—and she rejuvenated me in a way I desperately needed. She helped restore my body, bring my life back into balance, and connected me with other beautiful healers as well.

I can truly say I’m sitting here today doing what I’m doing because of her.

I’m so honored to speak with Martha Soffer, one of the world’s leading experts in Ayurveda and the visionary founder of Surya Spa, the internationally renowned wellness brand at the forefront of Ayurvedic healing.

Martha is a master of Panchakarma therapy, an Ayurvedic chef, an herbal rasayanist, and a gifted pulse diagnostician. Her unique approach—Ayurveda for modern life—makes this ancient science practical, accessible, and deeply transformative for people in today’s fast-paced world.

She’s beloved by clients ranging from neighbors down the street to A-list stars in the entertainment industry, and she’s respected by Western medical doctors who refer patients to her when conventional medicine falls short. You may have seen her on CBS’s The Doctors or read about her in Vogue, Goop, Vanity Fair, InStyle, Allure, the LA Times, and New York Magazine.

Martha is devoted to restoring Ayurveda to its authentic, spiritual, and most effective roots—while innovating new ways to bring its wisdom into everyday life.

With that, I’m thrilled to welcome Martha Soffer to the show.

[02:47] Martha Soffer

Hello, Nicole. My God—what a beautiful introduction. Thank you.

When I graduated from the Maharishi School of Ayurveda and then came to LA and studied complementary medicine, from deep in my heart I wanted to bring this incredible knowledge—this incredible magic—of Ayurveda.

Thank you for letting me work with you and for trying the different things I suggested, because you were in a very difficult time.

[03:28] Nicole Mixdorf

Absolutely. You are truly an angel sent from heaven. And I’m not the only one—I’ve seen so many people come into your beautiful spa.

For everyone listening: Martha is the founder of Surya Spa in Los Angeles. When you walk in, it’s the most beautiful sanctuary. I’ve seen her take people who are broken and sick and restore them—people float out like a different version of themselves.

To start: for anyone new to Ayurveda, can you share what Ayurveda is and how it differs from Western medicine?

[04:35] Martha Soffer

What is so beautiful about Ayurveda… when I learned it, I was dealing with gastritis and headaches. Even though I was young and vibrant, it was affecting my body.

Someone told me about Transcendental Meditation (TM). I learned TM, then went to Iowa to the Maharishi School, and then I was introduced to Ayurveda.

I remember sitting next to someone with oil in her hair and thinking, “Why so much oil? And what is that smell? It smells so good.” I was curious—and I got one treatment. One treatment, Nicole, and it completely changed my life.

TM was a door. After I started, all the doors started opening. It was like I knew I was here to do this.

And now that you do Akashic Records, I feel it was part of my Akashic Records too—to open the doors for people and bring Ayurveda.

My first experience was through meditation, and then Ayurveda. I remember leaving that treatment thinking, “I don’t remember ever feeling this calm in my system.” That was through Panchakarma.

I did an Abhyanga and Shirodhara—a four-handed massage and then Shirodhara. They use different oils that we make. I keep it traditional, and I make all the oils myself. It takes a long time—sometimes a week or more—to create the products. The process holds the magic of nature.

Then through Panchakarma, I learned how to clean the body. The doctor changed my diet—don’t drink this, don’t do this. At first I wasn’t so disciplined, but even a little helped me feel better. And then I did my first Panchakarma and my headaches were gone. My stomach healed.

I said, “I get it. The Western world needs to know about this.” That’s why I opened Surya. The LA Times wrote about Ayurveda—two huge pages—and that’s how it started.

In Ayurveda, you clean your body, and you balance your doshas: Vata, Pitta, Kapha.

Vata is air and ether—everything moving in the body: blood, bowels, urine. Vata has the quality of cold.

Pitta is fire—very important. It controls digestion and agni (digestive fire). Without enough agni, you don’t absorb well. Skin suffers. Too much heat can also be a problem.

Kapha is earth and water—bones, stability, grounding, the synovial fluid, mucus, lubrication. It brings you down to earth.

When I learned Ayurveda, there were so many Sanskrit words—it was hard for people. I wanted to teach it in a simple way. Like: if you’re cold, you put on a sweater. If you’re hot, you take it off. Ayurveda works like that.

So sometimes instead of saying Vata/Pitta/Kapha, I say: calming, cooling, energizing—so people understand what to do.

If you apply this as a lifestyle, it will change your life.

[10:51] Nicole Mixdorf

That’s what I’m learning Ayurveda is about—lifestyle medicine. Living in the cycles of nature: changing what you do and eat based on the seasons, and based on your dosha.

Martha, how do you determine someone’s dosha, and how do you diagnose imbalances?

[11:52] Martha Soffer

For women we use the left hand; for men the right. We place three fingers on the pulse—Vata, Pitta, Kapha—and we listen. Both people need to be quiet. Stories come through.

If someone has a Vata imbalance, I can feel: they work too much, do too many things, can’t sleep. The solution can be simple: go slower, go to bed earlier, do an oil massage.

I’ve been fortunate to learn from my teacher and colleague Vaidya Manohar—he works with me now. We’re starting a program: Ayurveda for chronic disease, for people where Western medicine hasn’t been able to help.

We will offer Panchakarma programs—21 days, 28 days, sometimes longer—where people can be away from their everyday habits, and learn new lifestyle and how important food is.

Food is very important. With pesticides and what’s put into food—even “organic” can still mean pesticides. These things accumulate, like a piggy bank, and if you don’t clean yourself out, health challenges come.

[14:26] Nicole Mixdorf

I’d love to dive into Panchakarma and share my experience. I’ve done Panchakarma with you four times, and every time has been so beautiful.

For listeners: Panchakarma is a detoxification process within Ayurveda. Martha customizes it for each person.

For me, it begins with a home prep—about five days—eating certain foods, cutting certain things out, preparing your system. Then you go into the Panchakarma process and it becomes rebuilding.

At Surya, your staff pours love into every detail. You’re greeted with tea and homemade breads. You eat a nourishing Ayurvedic meal. Then you begin with Abhyanga—a four-handed oil massage with two therapists working in tandem. It’s the most calming experience.

Then the second daily treatment differs based on your needs. Some people do three days, five days, seven days, 21 or 28 days—each middle session is different.

And you end with Shirodhara—warm oil over the third eye and scalp. I’ve had out-of-body experiences during Shirodhara with you. By the end of each day, you feel more you than you’ve ever been.

Martha, what is the purpose of Panchakarma, and how does it differ from other detoxes?

[18:36] Martha Soffer

I’ve seen many detoxes: water fasts, vegetable fasts, soup fasts. I had patients doing only water for seven days—no food. Some had Lyme disease. And I told them: please don’t do that. It can deplete you. You need rejuvenation.

Panchakarma is different. Ayurveda is thousands of years of knowledge and there’s a magic to how everything works together.

In preparation, we give a lipid—often ghee—sometimes castor oil or herbs, depending on cholesterol and what we’re treating. We make different ghees with herbs. The ghee goes down, finds toxins, and binds them. It’s rejuvenating—our brain is made of fat—and it supports the nervous system.

Then the toxins move into the GI tract. We support elimination with castor oil or specific herbal teas.

I recommend a seasonal cleanse—every season, even for about eight days—to stop and reset. This is gentle: it cleans and rejuvenates at the same time. Not like depleting fasts.

And avoid cold juices—Ayurveda is about cooked, warm foods. If you’re Vata imbalanced and drink cold juices, you won’t sleep. Warm soups are better. The body needs warmth to let go. If you put cold water on butter, it congeals—how will it melt?

During a cleanse, eat cooked foods: lentils, mung beans, rice, vegetables. This is how I’ve eaten for 30 years.

If you have too much Pitta (too much fire), we cool you—without cold raw foods like coleslaw. We use specific treatments to remove excess Pitta internally. In Panchakarma we open channels, use heat to mobilize, then cool and move toxins out.

That’s why people say: “This changed my life.”

Find a practitioner near you, or come to Surya. We can do a consultation and guide you.

[26:39] Nicole Mixdorf

For those who don’t know, ghee is clarified butter. Martha, what makes it clarified?

[26:50] Martha Soffer

You cook ghee slowly. It smells like caramel. You remove the milk solids, and what remains is the pure fat. That’s why it’s so good for moving toxins out.

[27:13] Nicole Mixdorf

Yes—ghee binds to toxins. In modern life we’re exposed through food and air; we can inherit toxins; we can be born with a toxic load. If the liver is sluggish and toxins block the body, it’s hard to function.

Ayurveda recommends cleansing once a quarter if possible, and at least once a year.

Martha, what miraculous stories have you seen?

[28:47] Martha Soffer

Lately I’ve seen fatty liver and high triglycerides more than ever. We had a client with very high numbers. She did a high-tech lab panel every six months—blood, hair, urine, stool, and genetic testing.

Her levels were very high, cholesterol was high. We did Panchakarma. We took her to Ojai; I cooked for her. Seven days later she texted: “Martha, this is a miracle.” Her doctor was shocked—levels went down to normal. She also lost weight. It was incredible.

[30:02] Nicole Mixdorf

Yes—your body is information. Symptoms are communication. Miracles are possible.

Martha, what daily practices can people integrate into their lives?

[31:01] Martha Soffer

Before that, I want women and moms to be aware: the number of women struggling to get pregnant is alarming. Birth control pills, IUDs, and ways that stop the period—this is not natural.

Having your period is a blessing—it’s detox through blood. Hormones are delicate and sensitive. Be careful what you do to the body with hormones.

I personally took the pill once and thought: “This is not good.” There are other ways to prevent pregnancy.

Many women now do IVF, and the hormone load can be intense. I’ve had clients asking how to get those hormones out of the body.

So: awareness matters.

[34:19] Nicole Mixdorf

I was on birth control for years. When I wanted to conceive, it took two years. I was also sick with colitis at the time. An integrative IBD specialist told me I had low pregnenolone and recommended support for my adrenals, and then I got pregnant quickly.

It’s interesting to hear your perspective on birth control and fertility.

For a woman who has been on birth control for many years and wants to prepare for pregnancy, what do you recommend?

[36:24] Martha Soffer

Panchakarma. We take the pulse and see what’s happening. Ayurveda offers many ways to rejuvenate tissues—yoni steams and other supportive practices—because tissues can be depleted by long-term hormonal birth control.

Also: there are condoms for men and women. Use them properly. There are other ways.

[37:31] Nicole Mixdorf

Yes—so many friends have needed fertility treatments. Women are also waiting longer. It’s delicate.

Now, routines—what do you recommend daily?

[37:57] Martha Soffer

First: tongue scraping. When you wake up, toxins can come up onto the tongue. Clean it so you don’t swallow it back down.

Second: oil pulling—swish coconut oil, then spit it into the trash or toilet, not the sink. It supports gums and teeth and clears bacteria. Massage the gums too.

Third: asanas (yoga postures), and meditation.

Even better: start with Abhyanga self-massage. Choose oils based on what you need: calming, cooling, or energizing. Massage joints in circles, muscles up and down, moving from extremities toward the heart. Then shower.

This moves lymph and supports detoxification so toxins don’t lodge in tissues.

Then do asanas and meditation. It sounds like a lot, but once it’s routine, your life changes.

[40:49] Nicole Mixdorf

So true—life is built on habits. People say “I don’t have time,” but we’re choosing how we spend time. When you prioritize wellbeing, it changes your life.

I remember a quote: “I don’t have time not to meditate.”

[41:34] Martha Soffer

David Lynch would teach TM on set. Sometimes he would stop the set and everyone would meditate.

This device—the phone—takes time from us. Social media affects the brain. Those 20 minutes could be used to center and clear mental toxins.

I meditate every day—an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon, no matter what. My kids meditate too.

My daughter once called upset and I asked, “Have you meditated?” She said no. I said, “Go meditate and call me back.” She did, and she felt better.

Don’t forget your soul.

[42:46] Nicole Mixdorf

Yes. It’s so true.

[42:50] Martha Soffer

This is just a vessel. What’s inside is your soul. Care for it through meditation, through food, through your practices. Then you feel connected—to energy and to nature.

[43:08] Nicole Mixdorf

Yes. On mornings when I do my practice, I’m my best self: calm, focused, patient. When I skip, I feel it. Start small—tongue scraping, self-massage before a shower—pour love into your body as you do it.

[44:07] Martha Soffer

If you don’t have Ayurvedic oils, use coconut oil or olive oil. Olive oil is amazing for the skin.

[44:22] Nicole Mixdorf

Yes—just do something.

Martha, can you share what new projects you’re working on?

[44:30] Martha Soffer

People have asked for facials for years. I’ve seen harsh treatments that leave the face red. I want something gentle and natural.

I’m developing a facial—bringing together knowledge from different parts of the world, but rooted in Ayurveda. It will be called the Royal Facial. Everything used will be natural—something you could eat.

I’m also developing a chronic disease program.

[45:36] Nicole Mixdorf

I love it. And for listeners: Martha also has a skincare line featured in top magazines, and many people come to her for glow and healing from the inside out.

Martha—how can people find you and book?

[46:17] Martha Soffer

Visit suriaspa.com or call Surya Spa to make an appointment. If you’ve never done Panchakarma, schedule a consultation.

If you don’t have the time or money for Panchakarma, come for Abhyanga and Shirodhara—but be careful: Shirodhara is not just pouring oil on the head. You must know what kind of oil to use. If someone is too hot and you use hot oil, it can aggravate them.

Shirodhara works through points that control the nervous system. People can enter different states of consciousness. I’ve heard stories of how Shirodhara changed someone’s life.

[48:00] Nicole Mixdorf

Yes. And it all starts with healing ourselves. If you feel powerless about what’s happening in the world, turn inward: where can you heal within yourself? How can you elevate your vibration and be the change?

The collective feels it.

[48:32] Martha Soffer

Yes—meditation. Please meditate. Collective meditation raises collective consciousness and brings peace. Maharishi taught that. And TM is not the only way—there are many ways to support the nervous system and consciousness.

[49:02] Nicole Mixdorf

So beautiful. Thank you so much, Martha, for sharing your heart and introducing everyone to Ayurveda and how to restore the body, detox, release toxins, and return to harmony.

Everyone listening: check out suriaspa.com and learn more about Ayurveda. I encourage you to explore it.

Martha, thank you for being here. I honor you as one of the healers on my journey. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you’ve done for me over the years.