355: Your Inner Climate: Ayurvedic Secrets Made Simple | Nidhi Pandya
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Each week, we'll dive into powerful tools, techniques, and approaches from both sides of the world to help you optimize your health and live with vitality. Let's bridge the gap between ancient practices and cutting-edge medicine. Let's get started.

Hey, friends. Welcome back. So glad that you've joined us for today's interview. I'm so excited to have a guest that specializes in an area that we talk quite a bit about in ancient health, and I'm excited to get her take. She knows Ayurveda so well. She's a doctor of Ayurveda. She's also a speaker. She's an educator for so many people in this space. So I am just thrilled to bring her on, get her perspective and wisdom, and hope

you guys will be blessed and have so much to take away from this. So our guest today is Nidhi Pandya. Did I say that right? Okay. You're right. Okay, good. I'm glad I didn't totally botch that in the beginning. But I am so grateful that you're here. I

you're so well accredited in this space and have so much to offer. So I want to give you the floor to be able to, to run with this and teach us the things that, you know, so many people that are struggling with chronic disease patterns, inflammation, all kinds of symptoms. I'd love to get your perspective since you come from this Ayurvedic background. What is it about your approach that is so different than what our culture really has created for health?

Yeah, and that's a great question, Courtney. You just really touched my soul with that question, to be honest with you. So I think what's broken about our system is the idea of relying upon experts for prescriptions.

I mean, from indigenous wisdom, you know, you call it ancient health, which is still technically not ancient. It's still applied to us. We've really come into this era where there's information available to us at our fingertips more than ever before. And yet we've never been confused the way we are today.

We all, we've learned to hack longevity, but most people are living with chronic disease. Figure that out. Like, that's crazy. So there's a lot of evidence to the fact that something in the system is broken. And that, what I've understood coming from an ayurvedic background, is the fact that, you know, there is information, there's lack of insight. There is information, there's lack of wisdom.

So we aren't relying upon what our body already knows, which is a lot. I mean, we see deer know that they're plant-based. They're not consulting anybody. Tigers don't get carried away and wake up at 5 a.m. because they've heard it's good. You know, babies know to eat from their mother's breast. You and I both know that. So we actually, there's a lot that we know that we're not tapping into because of our excessive reliance upon experts. That is a really fair, like,

and truthful statement. And I think that because we don't even understand how we got here in a lot of ways, we don't know how to get ourselves out of this mess. It's like we now only have the tools that we've established and we're having to un-

to unlearn things and relearn things at the very time we're trying to manage all the symptoms where we're not our best, which can be very hard. I mean, it's like having newborn twins and you're like trying to figure out how to take care of them, but you're sleep deprived and your brain fog and just like, I need help. But we're all in this situation where we're trying to figure out how did we get here? Because we can't really fix the problem without even understanding what the choices were, what

what roads we actually took that created the dysfunction and the breakdown. So what is it from a foundational perspective that you feel like is the most valuable? Like if you had to teach someone a foundational concept of looking at their health or evaluating the health of their body, like what is it that's going to be the first thing that you feel like is going to make a difference?

You know, and so I think, Courtney, I'm going to jump right into this method that I've created, which is called the inner climate method, because honestly, that's where I will start. And this concept, you know, the inner climate method identifies that wherever there is life that exists anywhere on the planet, that life is supported by a certain climate, right? For example, cacti won't grow in Florida and vice versa. There are things that won't grow on the North Pole and there are things...

So everywhere, climate supports life, right? And our body is home. It's the universe to these trillions of microorganisms. There's a certain climate inside our body which allows for life to exist and for life to thrive. But how do we discover this climate? I mean, it's much easier today to get a plant and say, this plant grows in this sunlight and this kind of watering, right? But if you've forgotten, what does our body thrive in?

So I kind of take people back to that idea that there is a point of homeostasis that you can understand, that you don't have to get a vital exam. You don't have to get blood work. You know it. But what is that point, right? And I'm going to jump right into that, Courtney. And that is that our bodies thrive within when it's warm and moist. And let me just elaborate upon that a little bit, right? So our breath, warm and moist. Our blood, warm.

warm and moist. Mother's milk, warm and moist. Our reproductive fluids, I mean, of course, comedians joke about this all the time, warm and moist.

We talk about the probiotic environment. Probiotic is nothing but good flora and fauna. It used to be known as good flora and fauna. Where do you find good flora and fauna? In places that are warm and moist. Compassion, gratitude, warm and moist. What are the people that we're attracted to? Warm people. Nobody likes to be with somebody who's hot-tempered. And a cold relationship goes nowhere.

So our bodies thrive in this environment. The reason why Earth is the only planet in this entire galaxy where there is life is because of the sun and the moon. The sun brings its warmth and the moon brings that moisture back on the planet. So warm and moist. I mean, if you look at Ayurvedic texts, while they don't articulate it that way,

you know, they talk about that health is when all three doshas are in balance. And in between those lines, well, unfortunately, I suspect it was at some point articulated that way, but in between lines, you can see all the recommendations bring you to a place of warm and moist. Now, how are you going to identify that in a way? You know, so this is why I saw people. Firstly, even if you don't know where you stand, right? There are bodies that have become hot and inflamed. Today, we call it inflammation. That

that are bodies that are completely dried out and depleted. And, you know, we say people who are bloating, anxiety, dry skin, they're just like really, really depleted and dry.

And then we have people who are super sluggish, you know, they become super humid, marshy, their bodies have become like marshy land, nothing really grows in it. And like these are kind of the three main imbalances and people experience, people who have inflammation will also have some other skin condition, will also feel heat with food and heat in their digestion. So there are all these group of symptoms, which are basically climates where life doesn't thrive. Your first responsibility is you come back to warm and moist.

And I tell people, even if you don't know where you stand, there is a way of coming back to warm and moist in your foods, in your attitudes and mindset, in your exercise. So I say, this is all you do. And Courtney, I've practiced for the last 10 years and it doesn't matter where people come to me, you know, where their imbalance lies. I just bring them back to warm and moist in all of these three areas. And the...

They may come for digestion, but they go back not with better digestion, fertility, sleep, moods, all of that. Because it is warm and moist where life thrives. And that is all that we have to do. I mean, I feel like living in South Carolina, I've just got like a, you know, a win on the board. It's like...

150% humidity and it's 100 degrees. We nail the warm and moist climate, like exterior climate. But this is such an interesting approach. I actually have not thought about it like that, but you're right. There are certain things that only thrive in certain environments. And so realizing that maybe you're trying to put a square peg in a round hole and expecting things to flourish, it might just be the completely wrong approach. You're not going to yield

the benefits or the outcome that you're hoping for. So in that, you know, how do you establish, you know, or what are the areas that you need to evaluate, assuming say you have digestive distress, or you do have something like infertility, like, what are the things that you're changing in people's lifestyles that are bringing them back to that warm and moist environment?

Yeah, amazing. So that's a great question, Courtney, because I mean, you know, conceptually, this sounds great, but it seems like practically, how are you going to put this in place, right? So there are two things that we first do. First is that understanding that, you know, with this warm and moist comes this

assumption that we function with the cycle of the sun and the moon right because it's when they function well it's warm and moist i mean global warming look at global warming outside and inflammation inside is the same thing so i tell people two things the first thing you want to fix with your life is live according to the circadian rhythm right and that's not just eat with the like that's not just wake up with the sun and sleep early at night that's also you know eat when the sun peaks

Because when the sun gets hotter, your body also has its metabolic forces getting on. So that's the first thing. But the second and the most direct way to get it warm and moist is, let's break this into three parts. So A is your foods. And if you look at all Ayurvedic foods, the two essential components to Ayurvedic foods are spices and fats.

The spices bring the warmth and the good fats, whether it's ghee, whether it's olive oil, whether it's sesame oil, brings the moist. It's always cooked. Ayurvedic foods always talk about being cooked. So I tell people, let's start there. Yes, eat with the sun, rise with the sun, rest when the moon is out.

But keep your foods warm and moist by cooking, by spicing, by adding good fats. It is actually literally as simple as that. And I see people try about that. And which means there's a lot of fats, Courtney, that go out of the window, whether it's apple cider vinegar. So you just simply bring everything. And if you notice, all traditional foods actually have this idea of warm and moist, even if they were not ayurvedic, by the way. We can go into that as well.

But I also talk about identifying our mindset, right? For example, and I call it solar and lunar. People who are excessively stressed, working all the time, being overproductive, doing extremely intensive workouts, chronic stress. That's very solar. It's very heating and drying to the body.

And it's not a surprise that all of those people, when they come to me, and for example, if they come to me, fertility, usually their bodies have become like a desert. So hot, so dry, just like a desert. Everything, all juices in the body have dried out, cannot conceive. Estrogen levels are low. You know, androgens, which are male hormones, are higher. And they're just feeling very, very intense in their life. And that's where fertility has gone up. And we kind of bring them back to these good juices, good flow.

The other side, right? And then there's the other side of the spectrum. There are people who've gone completely lunar, very sedentary, very sluggish, very depressed, overnourished, eating too much. I bring them back as well to warm and moist. We introduce some movement. We introduce some stimulating foods. So you want to bring warm and moist in your mindset. I also teach people to identify triggers. So Courtney, if you think about the fact that whenever we are triggered, we feel this hot rush inside.

Yeah. It's burning your insides, triggers burn your insides. So we work with people with tools that how do you come back in every moment to this warm and moist place? And that's all you need to do. You really don't need a million things because from single cell organisms on our planet Earth, we became these evolved human species just because the climate was right. Like nobody really did anything. Four and a half billion years, we've only thrived because the climate was right. Right, Courtney? So

Warm and moist in your foods, with the sun and the moon, warm and moist in your mental attitudes. And then we also kind of go over people's lives, right? Like their entire lifestyles, how are they working out? For example, I see people, Courtney, burnt out at work, going for hot yoga, sweating, releasing all their juices, right?

And then not being able to sleep at night because they've gone so solar in their mind and body. So according to each person, you know, our work is my work is to identify. Are you learning more of a solar life, more of a lunar life or are you learning a balanced life? Because it's the balance of the two. And then there is a lot of tools that we use from food to breath work to pranayama to yoga.

And then people start identifying it. Once you learn this hack of your inner climate, you identify your own inner climate. It's like this. If you're going on vacation and you know the climate, you know how to dress for the climate. So once people understand their own inner climate, they know how to eat for it. They know how to exercise for it. And we teach them. Yeah. I mean, it's so it's simple. Like, it makes sense. It just, you know, again, a lot of times this is just foreign, like where these concepts are new.

It's not something that we're used to. We just haven't been trained to think this way. And honestly, my opinion is that in a lot of ways, we've just been trained for convenience.

So because when I think of warming and moist foods, I'm thinking, OK, this is going to this is food prep. Like we've got to soak things like rice or beans. We're going to cook them slowly and broth. We're cooking vegetables. But I have always said, I mean, I had horrific gut issues. I've talked about this on other shows. But one of the things that was probably the most nourishing was doing kitchery and doing almost like

I mean, I did, that's pretty much all I ate for, for a while because it was so easy on my gut. It was an easy way for my body to get a lot of nourishment, to get the, you know, anti-inflammatory spices and things like that without it creating this like atom bomb. And what we see in America especially is like convenience things like smoothies and juice fasts and all of these like cold package things that are, you know, highly, uh,

process and a lot of preservatives, which are so hard. And then we all, you know, we're drinking iced coffees and all of these things. And so if you're saying that, okay, the climate in our body is, it needs warm and moist. I mean, I'm looking at probably like, you know, the vast majority of like healthy things that are marketed. Many of them don't fall into that bucket. And we've built these lifestyles, like you said, that are so busy and demanding that we'd want to do a 45 minute HIIT workout where we just like

throw ourselves through absolute torture, which I love a good workout. I love it, but there's absolutely balance in you just cranking out 45 minutes of complete body torture and then slamming down a protein shake while you're in the car running on the phone like

all of these things actually are not beneficial and they work against your body, like the actual design of your body. And so it's this like constant awareness of, okay, this may seem like a good fit, right? I worked out, okay, check the box. We know exercise is healthy. And then, you know, how'd my protein shake, got my protein in. I mean, there are a million ways to get the right pieces, but do them the wrong way. And I think now that's where we're seeing a problem is that

I mean, I'm sure you've probably seen this being in practice. Like, you probably have a lot of women coming to you with infertility issues. And it's like, okay. You know, and they're like...

frustrated because they're doing all the right things. Like they're doing everything they've been told. They're like, okay, I'm eating the protein and I'm doing the workout classes. And, you know, I have got the air filter and I'm taking all the supplements and I'm doing all these things and my body's actually getting worse. And there's no, there's nothing more defeating than when you're actually putting in all the effort and resources and you get a poor outcome. So what is your response to that? You know, as far as the people that are like, how do I even discern? Because now I feel like I've been, you

you know, I've bought into all of these ideas, but now I'm not really sure if this doesn't fit my body. Like, how do I bridge the gap so I'm not like overwhelmed by it?

And Courtney, to be honest with you, you've nailed it, by the way. You've completely nailed it. You've gone through every little thing that I ask people to like now evaluate for themselves. I will never prescribe, you know, but I kind of take them through a journey of evaluation as you did right now in your own mind and said, hey, like this cold shake, what is it doing to my metabolic warm gut? And, you know, what is my exercise doing? Is it drying my juices?

And I mean, eggs are only laid in moist places if we just look around anywhere in the world, like eggs are laid in moist places. In fact, and this is like one of the things, right? And I'm just going to say this before I go into what I tell them, is like the sperm lives outside a man's body, you know, in his testicles, which is safely placed inside

outside a man's body because it cannot survive in the hot, dry bodies that men have full of testosterone. But it comes in the woman's body and that same sperm, which would have been dead in the man's body, is able to swim to the egg because of this nice, gooey, warm, like moist environment that a woman's body has. So, I mean, that's how much we're designed for fertility, you know. And yet, and I think, you know what works for me, right, Courtney? You're right. I work with people in New York and they come to me frustrated because they're checking every box.

And they've been raised to check every box. And then they realize that their boxes have changed. And they're like, I don't know which box do I need to check. And that's when I bring them back to themselves. Fortunately for me, by the time they come to me, they have tested outcomes. And they have realized that there is something really wrong and broken with this system. All this IVF is not working. ABCD are not working. And they are willing to slow down and see how...

Globy warming outside, inflammation inside, like this whole correlation with their bodies and this burnout that they're experiencing. Most often they'll have acidity. They will have some skin rash. They will have dry red eyes that they're putting drops into and they'll notice more redness. So they notice this, right? And the minute I tell them it's like hot and dry and they look at all their symptoms and they can see everything is hot and dry. Yeah.

And then they're willing to come back. They're like, how do I become more lunar? And they start speaking my language very, very quickly, quicker than you would think they do.

And then we work out a plan, right? We go through their lives. And honestly, I'll tell you, even before they have the positive outcome that they first came for, they start feeling nourished for the first time. And nourished doesn't mean extra tissue on your body. Nourished is a mental nourishment. It's the moisture is back in your eyes. It's back in your mind. And you have more libido and you're living life at more ease. You're more in the present moment.

So we start out with the food, with the exercise, using tools like breath, using tools like music. I don't even, herbs is my last resort, Courtney, being an ayurvedic doctor. And I'm not saying I don't want to do herbs, but I don't want to do exactly this. I do not want to bring them the same disappointment that the system has, which I'll tell you what to do. You will never know what you should do for your body.

I want them to be able to make choices when they're not taking their earths. I want them to make choices when they're not working with me for the rest of their life. And, you know, when they come back to this type of living and they start finding joy in that, it is a transition. They cut out a lot of things in their life.

They're still exercising instead of hot yoga. Maybe they're doing a little bit of a jog and like, you know, restorative yoga for most of the time. Maybe instead of like drinking that black coffee and they still want to keep their coffee, they're having a cappuccino. They're putting a little bit of ghee in their coffee. They're bulleting their coffee instead of having that raw salad, which they detested and those big fat shakes. Maybe they're doing a soup in the evening and a cooked meal. Even if it's from outside, I'm fine.

I say, just keep it warm and moist. If Khichdi is warm and moist, you'll have your experience with Khichdi, you know. And then we say, we work it out. We make it accessible. You can live in New York. You can live in Timbuktu. It doesn't matter. I travel a ton. And no, I don't make my own food when I travel. I don't even carry anything.

But you can find Mormon ways. So it's a lifestyle and you train yourself and you find such ease. When you first hear it, you're like, does it mean meat bread? Does it mean, you know, clay pots and cooking? It doesn't have to. I will modernize it. I will make it easy for you so you don't have to move to the Himalayas.

Well, that's an encouraging word for those of us that already feel like we're stretched thin. And I mean, I, you know, raising kids and working and like you're traveling, it's, you know, running a business or practice. Like there's many of us that already feel stretched.

Like we're tethered and pulled in so many directions. And, you know, and many of us like our value is that we would take care of our bodies, but then we don't have the margin oftentimes to really evaluate what our body really needs. So it's helpful and it's encouraging to realize that small things go a long way. And ultimately, like, guys, I feel like the discipline aspect of our lives is really,

I'm really starting to believe and understand that, you know, the way I've always thought about discipline is like, okay, it's withholding and restricting. And it's really not. It's really about giving yourself, really valuing the things that are most important. The disciplines are the boundaries. They're the bumpers and the guardrails around what you believe is the most valuable. You'll know what to say no to when you know what is not worth compromising over and

And that to me is a completely different way to think about it. Because when you start realizing, you know what? I only have so many years. I only have so much time with my children. I only have these opportunities at specific points in my, in my life. I don't want to miss out. So what is it that I'm unwilling to compromise on? And those are the things that will now establish and help me establish the guardrails around my life so that I can, I don't feel like I'm just chasing something like anything.

I think it's sad that in a lot of ways, like we're just trying to, we're so like rattled emotionally because we live with people that are sick around us and we're seeing breakdown and then we're feeling and experiencing it ourselves. And we feel like we're just chasing a runaway train. Like this thing already went off the tracks and now we're just trying to hold it together until what, the end? Like that's not the way that we're intended to live and you're never gonna fulfill all the potential on your life that way. So I think just like,

And this was my next question is, do you just have people stop entirely? Because I'd love to get your take on supplements because here's the thing. Most of our listeners, they are subscribing to everything that is out there that they're like, okay, that seems worthwhile to me. They're willing to make the sacrifice to invest in it because they value their health.

But then when you come back, when you're doing all of these things and you start getting frustrated because they're not working, do you just say, listen, we need to step away from all of this for a moment? Because at this point, we don't know what's helping, what's hurting. We just know that we're not achieving your desired outcome here. So what is your position on that when people are doing red light therapy and all the different supplements and, you know, cold plunge and sauna and all these different things?

So, so, so quite to be honest with you, the first time when people come to me, I ask them to keep, I'm like, keep whatever you want, you know, but we're going to fight the biggest battles first. People want to take their supplements. They're married to it. They're ready to like therapy. I will stop the cold foods, right? But I take people to an education, like a self discovery process.

And without that, I would just be another expert and I would not be serving, being fulfilled and doing that, you know, really fulfilling my life purpose, which is to get people to become their own experts, to take them back to the intelligence that their body knows. I tell them every cell of your body has intelligence. You just want to tap into it. So how do we make the journey? Technically, I do a 21 day program, Courtney.

And the first many days of the program is a self-discovery process. And it's actually remarkable because all I ask people to do is write down their symptoms in their mind, in their body. What are they feeling? Their patterns, right?

And then I have this word association chart. And I say, start circling the words that you associate. For example, somebody will say, my symptom is acidity. My symptom is, you know, insomnia. And then they'll mark it out on a word association chart, which they had no idea what that chart is, but they'll say dryness, heat, sluggishness. So they end up marking and they realize by the end of it how connected all their symptoms are with their mind or body.

And then the third exercise is they start singing on a spectrum. And the people who realize my entire life makes sense to me. Look, I've been hot and dry my whole life. Or I've been just a sluggish, sedentary, dense person my whole life. And it's in the mind and the body. So once you go through a self-discovery process, right, Courtney, you're much more inspired. And then my motto is let's fight the biggest battles first.

Do you want to still subscribe to a life where you don't know what you're putting in your body, but you've been told that it's nice and it's changed every year? What's good for you has changed every year? Or do you really want to take charge? Do you really want to look at people in the blue zones who just lived in this kind of flow, right? Where you're doing and you're being at the same time. You know, we've just learned to do, we've forgotten to be. So we've lost that present moment.

And even discipline, right? I'm so glad you brought it up, right? Because there's so much like hard work, discipline. I'm all about soft work and less about routines and more about rituals. It's like when you start understanding, you feel such profound love for your body of how it's held it together, of how much it tells you. One of the things that people tell me, Courtney, by the end of a 21-day program is like, that was effortless. Like, I don't have to make effort. Like, I have my true north star.

Self-discovery is where it begins. And once you dumb the hard people, automatically people who are obsessed with supplements and, you know, sleep medicine, they're like,

We just forgot to take it. We just didn't feel compelled enough to take it because everything else that they're doing part by part by part starts to feel aligned. I absolutely refuse to work with people now in one-time consultations for the last many years, actually six, seven years, because I've realized it's a journey. I don't want to be that one more practitioner that's been added to their curiosity list. Unless you're willing to commit to

to a transformation because it is a real transformation just learning to do and still be right there stops the process of aging like really makes it slow and I personally don't believe it's stopping the process of aging but I'm like it slows it down it elongates every moment you thrive in each moment as an opportunity because aging happens when you're doing more than being

more action than just, you know. That's really profound, actually. And it's true because, I mean, I think even our mental thought processes around aging, you know, it's, I know, at least speaking from a female perspective, I mean, it's like we've just, it's like aging is like the worst thing ever. Like, avoid at all costs. Like, we just want to preserve, you know, our 36-year-old self forever. Yeah.

And, you know, the breakdown is just looked at as like this horrible process. And I'm like, this is we just have to reframe that because ultimately, like your body is just going to it's going to start to express the thought process. So if you are unhappy with the way that your body is changing over time, like I mean, these vessels are not here forever. Like the more I really just start to appreciate the fact that like you got one vessel, you've got one like and

And you've only got us. Everybody's got their clock. And like, you can't do anything about that. You cannot negotiate that. Like it's your choices will influence it in a lot of ways, but we all have a clock. Nobody's living forever. So it's just, it's, it changes your entire perspective because I'm like, I want to work with my body. I want to honor my body. Like this is the vessel that I was given. This is the, you know, the physical inhabitation that I get to dwell in and

But it's like, how do I not idolize it? How do I not like put it on this pedestal to preserve? Because the more I start idolizing this flesh, the more when it breaks down, the more disappointed I'm going to become in myself. I know that it's going to deteriorate over time. That is the natural progression. But again, it's like when you're when you view your body as like,

it's something to value, then you don't look at it with, okay, it's disappointing me. I wasn't able to work out as hard. I don't carry the same muscle mass. Like you don't punish yourself. And I think that's where a lot of us, it's just this yo-yo, like this up and down roller coaster of like,

all right, we feel really good. We stuck with the macros. Our body feels really good. And then it's like a week of vacation. And then we're just like criticizing ourselves all day long about how disgusted we are with ourselves. And like, that's a horrible way to think about your body because ultimately like you punishing yourself with those thoughts is only going to produce bad fruit. Like you will only ever see that turn out to be more poor outcomes. If you're not sleeping well, you are not alone.

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This company is best in class. And if for some reason you feel differently, you can get a full refund on your supplements up to one year after your purchase. No questions asked. Again, go to buyoptimizers.com slash Dr. Motley and use the code Dr. Motley. Courtney, you're my sister. Like you're my soul sister, honestly, because everywhere I go, people are like, okay, you know what? How do you hack this? And I'm like, you know, I don't want to be obsessed with

longevity every day but fearing life every moment you know and that's not how you live and you know that's the other principle that we teach that everything has a building transformation decline everything

And it's like the fruit will grow. It will ripen. It's in its youth. And it will decay. And if you're a farmer, you don't want decayed fruit on your orchard. Similarly, the universe needs to make room for new life. And on the other side of our youth, unfortunately, it's time for us to kind of start shedding, you know, start shedding this body so that there is new room on our planet for like new organisms or new beings to happen.

So I really cherish that process of building transformation and declay. And I say yet, right, when you're going through that period and you're in your youth, which is the era of transformation, how are you going to go through this era of transformation to really make it juicy and fulfilling?

So when you finally reach that point of deterioration, it's sweet, you know. And like one of the other things that Courtney and I talk to people about is like write a letter. Like what is your last speech on earth going to be?

Like, how are you going to turn around and knowing that you're leaving? What is it that you want to turn back and look at your life as? And very often, you know, Courtney, people see that it's not like I looked like this, you know, this was my dress size. That's not what people see. People talk about what they've done. And then they compare it to what they're doing today and the things that they're worrying about. And it seldom relates to how they really want to leave this planet. And I think when they realize that disconnect,

they also realize that different things they need to work on. Yeah. And I really think that the more you can put your body in the place that it belongs, meaning that

who you're becoming, your identity, the value of the person you are in the inside is more than the physical. When you start to get the order right, all of a sudden your thoughts, you are thinking about other things and that changes your health outcome. Like when it's constantly like evaluating every single, and it's like, oh, well, look at this. I got to fix this. I'm just like, you're

Like in your mind, you may think I value, you know, my legacy. I value the purpose in my life being fulfilled. But if you're chasing, just like you said,

things that are for this moment only, there's no alignment there. And then there becomes confusion because when you're thinking in your mind, well, why are my relationships suffering and why am I not achieving more than I thought? Then all of that gets turned inward and then all the critical and negativity, it's like this judgment, this heavy cloud of self-judgment on ourselves.

And I just see these cycles and they can be really toxic. And it's so important. I mean, social media and everything is like,

I feel like, you know, it's really just fanning the flames of a lot of what the voice of culture, which, you know, for younger generations, like it's so important that we realize that we need to be modeling this in our own homes to our children because what they're seeing is like this display of things that never age, that never fall apart, that are always fun, that are always entertaining, that are always satisfying. And it's always in an instant.

Let me tell you, one, that is not real life. And two, if that's what you're experiencing, it's likely not the real thing. It's likely fake and counterfeit and it will leave you empty, dry and like starving. Like you will be spiritually malnourished because you focused and you partook of, it's like going to McDonald's, like feasting at cafeterias,

without having like a table of savory food. Like there's just a different level of satisfaction and nourishment that comes from that, that is more than just filling your stomach. And I also love that you use the word dry and exhausted, right?

Because what you're talking about is that solar lifestyle when you are experiencing, when you're feeling hot with those triggers and that cheese, which brings that, that does burn you out. I mean, like we all know somebody that we knew in college was going to do really well. And then we meet them again when you're 40 and they're all burnt out. Right.

Because that cheese had them running so hard that they lost their gas. They lost their fuel by the time they were 40. So it's like, are you refueling on the way? Are you like, are you just chasing or do you have a few moments of cruising, you know? Like, and that's what life is. I mean, I'm living in New York. I live in New York City with my two daughters. And I know that if it's possible to do it in New York City with two teenagers, I know it's possible to do it anywhere in the world.

Yes. And speaking of, I'm interested, you know, you have two teenage girls, right?

Okay. Yes. We were talking about a little bit about this pre-show and I am very curious, you know, how you are helping your daughters at this age, you know, because I have a 12 year old, she's my oldest of three girls, but, you know, it's, I really feel like it's taking a lot of intentional effort to create a home environment that is quite literally the opposite of what is out in the world.

And so it's, you know, and it's not to just be in opposition. It's because I'm really trying to protect those years that I have with them so that they are deeply rooted, not only in their identity, but in knowing the value of healthy practices in their life. That way, when they get out there, they are not tempted to partake of everything else that is going to just drain them because it can happen in a moment. And, you know, I just think that

Listen, if you're not working for this, then everything out in the world is going to take the position of authority in your child's life. It's going to tell them, this is what the picture of success looks like. This is the lifestyle that means that you've made it. This is how you know you're valued. And that's just not it. That's not truth in my opinion. And so...

you know, I'm curious, like what you're doing in your home, like, are there rhythms or even like nutritionally, like, are there things that you prioritize for your girls in this season that you feel like is supportive for them going into young adulthood? Right. And, you know, that's, that's a, that's a great challenge. It's a great question. And, and yet I've realized that it's actually easier than we think it is in ways, right? So the

So the first thing, right, I was raised Ayurvedically, which means, and yet I never heard the word Ayurveda like everyday spoken. So it wasn't like, according to Ayurveda, you should eat a heavy lunch and light dinner. That's not what I heard. But what I did hear is that, hey, like when the sun is out, you're going to digest this better. So why don't you eat that? So I made connections or connections.

Or for example, I would hear my grandfather saying to one of my sisters, you have more heat in your body, so you be careful when you get out in the sun. And we all saw it. We all saw her like burn instantly when she went in the sun. So we, you know, it was taught to us through self-awareness, through correlating the experiences that we were having and those being brought to words without us really, without it being really rigid and very clinical. So, yeah.

In my personal household, right, of course, that's the language that we use since my girls were little, right? Like, hey, like, you know, listen, it's dark and the bats are out. It's time for us humans to go back to sleep, even though there are no bats in New York. But, you know, basically it's mosquitoes are out or whatever, right? But it's like, it's tense. So we kind of, you know, I got that tuned into the cycles of the universe very early on. And to be honest with you, Courtney, it was much easier when they were younger.

Now that they're 12 and 16 and they're going to like these really busy schools in New York City,

And yet, I understand that it is their time for transformation, right? All these years were building years. And the foundation has been good, which means that they've made these connections. They know deeper truths about the universe and themselves, and not through prescriptions, but through connections, right? Because of the language we spoke in. Food is a culture in our family. It is not, food is not for discipline. Food is not for anything else. It is this

this lovely culture, you know, where we eat from our mother's breast. That's our first relationship with food. It's so loving. So we've created a food culture. Everybody gets together and makes menus. We always cook, right? Like I love to cook, even though I use an Instapot. Like, listen, I have a busy life. I will use the Instapot, but I will cook every single day. And there's a romanticness about that culture. So I will seldom say that you don't eat this or this is good for you or this is bad for you, right? Because I know that I'm still feeding them most of their meals.

And I just keep it at home. I keep it the way I do. And it doesn't have to be all Indian because Ayurvedic doesn't mean it's Indian. I do every cuisine. They participate in the menus. So I'll tell you, food has not been a challenge. And when they go out, they make their choices that my girls already know. That they'll have a chamomile tea with half the stuff that they eat outside the house, right? Like we're tea drinkers. We always have tea bags, my girls.

And that also, tea also became a culture because I realized, Courtney, that anything that I impose upon them, they will challenge in their time of heat, which is their transformation, their youth, you know, they will challenge. And it's good. They should challenge some of it. But, you know, it's brought it in. How you teach a concept, you know, is really determines how it's retaped.

So we've not taught any, everything is just passed on subconsciously. But one of the most important things, Courtney, that I think I've done with the girls is given them tools. You know, it's modeling by example, right? So tools, whether it's breath, whether it's music, whether it's exercising or dancing, but multiple tools, right? And we talk about our toolkits and we talk about what tool are you going to use? And sometimes they're like, mom, we cannot hear this anymore. And that's fine too, because they're at this age where they're like, mom, just, you know what? Stop, mom.

And that's fine too. But I know that all of these seeds are being planted. But as long as you keep it playful, I tell parents, keep it playful. Know that parenting is really about reparenting yourself.

It is, you know, if we go back to our childhoods, Courtney, the things that stuck with us are not what was told to us. Those stay with us as triggers, to be honest with you. Those are the things that kind of tighten our bodies, even if you're doing them. But things that really stayed and we internalized were things that we saw, that we made connections with, that we really felt, you know, sweet in our own hearts. So how do we create that environment, especially when a mother is triggered and she says something to a child?

that's going to be passed on as a trigger. That's going to be passed on as heat in their system. So I'm not going to say I get it right all the time, Courtney, but my house pretty much is, you know, a little spa-ish. It's very playful. I try not to make, like, I'm a little bit strict about sleep and my girls laugh at it because they're like, oh my God, like mom gets horns and claws when it's bedtime. And that's human too. But

But I've learned that it's really about me wanting to witness the journey of these two beautiful souls that were gifted to me and giving them this sunlight and water, warm and moist, and let them go where they go. Yeah, yeah. It's, I think maybe, you know, not overcomplicating, but

I think, you know, I have for sure just gotten off the rails with like, okay, you can't have that gluten and you can't have that sugar. You can't have, you know, and it's like, there could be so many things. And like, honestly, I think if you're just making real food most of the time, and like, I just think that there's so much about, there's so much value in making a meal and then sitting down together and eating undistracted. Like, I mean, I just think that we really have like,

zoned in, like our focus on, okay, was there a seed oil in there? Like, do we like, you know, it's just so we deconstruct things on like such a micro level, but then we eat standing up yelling at our kids. Like all the lights are on, like everybody's running around. Like it's very chaotic. It's very stressful. And having three kids and you having kids like, like this, you can't escape chaos to some degree, but like,

You can also establish rhythms and the rhythms carry far more value a lot of times than us being like splitting hairs with our meals. And I have had to unlearn that because I'm a control freak about most things. I'm like a self-proclaimed, you know, recovery and control freak. And so I'm like, no, we won't have that. You can't bring that in here and you can't eat that. And so I think like it can be a really good reminder for those of us that,

you know, have been consuming so much of all the different people in natural health that are like constantly telling us of all the horrible poisons that are out there that are killing us and our families. And we just get so over vigilant about like controlling everything. And then we're just, we're literally creating an environment where people don't feel comfortable living. It's like our household place. And like the kids don't feel safe in their own homes. Yes. That's an area of threat.

Yes, that's exactly it. I mean, it's like, okay, the home is supposed to be the refuge and it ends up becoming like this war zone of like, what did you bring? And, you know, you walked across the lawn and there's probably like chemicals sprayed on it. And I'm just like, it just becomes so much. And I think that there is a very fine line of having to realize like, it's one thing being educated. It's another realizing like,

At what expense? Like, what are you are you driving this thing's home at the expense of your the climate of the emotional stability in your house? Because if that is what's being sacrificed for the sake of controlling, it's, you know, what are at the end of the day, what what is being accomplished? Like you're actually coming, you're you're experiencing an outcome that is far less desirable than what it is that you really wanted.

So true. You know, like one of my mantras is that the experience has to be more important than the outcome when it comes to different. Right. So it means if you're five minutes late, you're fine. But if you're going to be five minutes late and you go like this upset because I'm like, so honey, get out of the door.

oh what that does you know how solar that is courtney i just think about like that's going to dump more chemicals from their own feelings into that bloodstream that they can ever get in a packet of junk food you know so while i'm not going to bring junk food home at least with my own two hands but at the same time i'm like i'm not going to in you know i'm not going to create an environment as much as possible where this is they're dumping their own

on your transmitters which is going to burn them out which is so solar into their stream so it's like every time every time I know the experience has gone wrong I'm like no you know you guys it's

And you know, Courtney, do you know the result? The result is my girls are not late most of the time. Like they're particular about their time themselves. They have their own to-do list. They have their own madness. And because you know what? There is like when a human being wants to thrive, every soul comes on the planet to actually make good of their life here. Like that is your natural inherent desire. The conditioning can only hurt it. But when they're feeling safe and free, we all want to thrive.

We all want to do good. Like we only, when you're feeling disappointment and shame, we don't want to move. You know, disappointment puts you on the couch. It keeps you watching Netflix. But otherwise, you stay inspired. So anyway, I find that, you know, I also, by the way, had to unlearn it because I saw that Suhani was eating my older one when she was four. For the first four years of her life, ate everything right. Everything right.

But she didn't laugh as much as other kids. She didn't. And an aunt pointed it out to me that if she had, and that was a wake-up call for me. And then I've had to undo all of that. So I completely hear you. Oh, that's, I mean, but how valuable is it though, too, like even to have people around us? Because sometimes, you know, they can see. I mean, I've had a friend too that's like pointed stuff out and they're like, you know, I'm just seeing things and I'm like, man, I didn't even see that. You know, it's, and again, like,

As a parent, as a mom, we only want the best for our kids. And a lot of times we don't even see the blind spots because we're putting so much effort into creating an environment that is healing, that is restorative, that is building them up, that is drawing out the best in them. But sometimes the tactics...

that we use may actually be coming at the expense of more valuable things in them. And what's complicated is that you can have multiple children. And again, like the parenting techniques, this is why it is like you do have to learn. Like we learn as parents so much because you could have two children and be doing the same thing and have two totally different outcomes with your kids. Yeah.

It's like one is thriving, the other one is depressed. And I'm like, okay, I am saying the same thing to you that I said to her, but you're falling apart and you're thriving. So I think that it takes a village, but it is wise to always be looking at that because you do have to change the tools. You do have to change the strategy and you have to

to be willing to not be so in a box and so rigid about everything. Just because you saw somebody else do it doesn't mean it's the right approach for you or for your children or for your spouse or for, you know, anybody else that's in your circle. Exactly, Courtney. And like, honestly, if your kids are not in the warm and moist, there's heat in their system. They're bringing too much heat in their minds, too much heat in their actions.

And it's when your parenting style has contributed to that, you've got to work on it. And then even physically, right? Like one of my daughters, my older one is more hot and dry in her mentality. She's intense. She's like super solar. She wants to get everything right. And my younger one is more, a little bit more balanced. But I tell you, it helps so useful for even just assessing their own inner climates.

makes it so useful. I know exactly how to talk to my older one. I know how to talk to my younger one. I know what suits. I know what weather is hard for her and I know what weather is hard for the other one. So it makes it very easy, right? That's why I work with people. I keep taking them back to the inner climate and they become experts of the inner climate and they suddenly are, they do what their husband is like, their friends are like and they understand everybody and once you, it's like once you know the climate of a place, when you go vacationing, you know exactly what, how to pack.

So like suddenly you become like this master hacker of everything, people's emotions, moods, foods, all of it. But I hear you. That's so true. I mean, just having this understanding, it's so good for ourselves. But I think knowing how we can best support those around us changes. I mean, when you're the environment in your home changes, that is a huge win. Like that, that

changes everything because when you have multiple people and you've got these contentious situations and people are frustrated, I mean, there is nothing worse because then you're, like I said, your home becomes a war zone. Nobody feels comfortable being there. Everything feels like there's friction and you want to be able to, you want to be able to cultivate a home of healing, a home where there is restoration and where, where there's connection because that's where the growth happens. You don't want it to be like this desert that is just like everything's

everything's wiry and prickly and feels like it's being starved out. So I think that this goes even beyond even having somebody what kind of walk through this, you know, there's so much benefit in you being able to help other people understand their body. So I love that you're teaching, like you said, you weren't working one-on-one because it's like, I want to be able to walk through and equip people with some of these tools of understanding so that they can replicate it because it's

That's really where the success, that's where things change. You know, it's like one person in one household now changes the climate of the house. Like you become the thermostat. Now you're going to what the overflow that really comes from this understanding touches so many other places that we don't realize. So I want to I want you to talk about this program because.

I know that we may have people that are listening that want to be able to do some of this self kind of evaluation and walk through some of this so that they can better understand how to support themselves, support their households and their family members. Talk to me about the program. How can people find out more about it? Give us all the details. Absolutely. Thank you, Courtney. So the, so I take people to a 21 day radical transformation program and

And I work with women, you know, so basically at some point in their women, women are designed to constantly show up even at the cost of saying shut up. But, you know, at some point anywhere I see between 30s and 50s, usually or 60s, women are like, what am I doing with my life? I'm carrying all of this. You know, they start feeling unwell. They can't show up as they used to. Usually that's when they wake up because they're like, I can't show up the way I want to show up.

And then they wake up and they realize they have all this debris, this dis-ease that they didn't pay attention to that has now become disease. So now in their minds and their bodies, they're uncomfortable. And what I helped you to do is we go on a 21-day journey where we understand the debris that you carry in your mind and body. And we map out its journey. We see where you are. And it's a very simple process. We've like kind of created this three-day unlocking period.

And then you identify where your climate is at. And I support you to do that. You do work in a group and one-on-one. And then you say, now I know where I stand. What is my journey to worm and moist? Then I take people through a 14-day program. Practice by practice, we teach how you eat.

And it's simpler than we think because I don't add any prescriptions. We'll stay with you. You just make different choices. You know, sometimes the different choice is the time of the day. Sometimes the different choice is the type of the food. But it's always type. I would not make it prescriptive. But you go through that and in your mind and your body, you learn how to cultivate that.

that warmth and moisture. You learn how to come back home. By the end of the program, the last phase is called mastery, where people turn around, they're like, oh my God, 14 days and I've traversed a lifetime, you know, like, so that's usually the people experience people have. You also start manifesting accidentally because you're so in tune. You learn to be in flow that things just start happening. So that is the 21 day program. It's for women and I work in groups because

Women in groups are like geese flying north. Everybody does 10x, you know. So it's a beautiful experience. And that's basically how I work with women. Where people can find out about me is my website. It's nidhi.me, N-I-D-H-I, dot just M-E, or nidhipandya.com, one of the two. I also, you know, create a ton of educational content on my Instagram page.

which is my underscore Ayurvedic underscore life. If you don't find both places, just find one of the two and they'll route you to the other one. But my website has my information and my Instagram has my information. And those are a few places that are the easiest to find me. So great. Yeah, your Instagram is like loaded with incredible content. I actually love some of the reels that you've posted even more recently where it's kind of like your take on life

some of like the trending stuff that we're seeing, like biohacking or supplements and things like that, because I always like getting the perspective of those areas from somebody that is trained in, you know, more traditional methods because there's, you know, there is kind of a unique blend of being able to access some things, but also like

I think we just all, we have to, we have to just have a discerning eye with a lot of things, right? Because we can be very like shiny object and it's like, oh my gosh, like I'm going to get in the hyperbaric oxygen and then I'm going to go do my methylene blue. And I'm going to, I'm like, do we know why we're doing all of this? And I don't even say that critically because I've, you know, dabbled in a lot of, you know, trying different things too, because I, you know, I'm always interested like, okay, is this supporting, is this healing? Is this helping me, you know, with old viruses or whatever it is, but you know, all that

all that to say, I think that you've done a really beautiful job at adding a tremendous amount of value through your social channels and your website's beautiful too. And so guys check that out for any of her course information. We'll make sure we link it in the show notes for you. Um, but this has been a fabulous conversation, Nidhi. I'm so, you know, I'm just so blessed to have you here. And, um,

I, you know, I'm excited to see where these groups, I love how you said that the groups that you teach, it's like women that are like geese heading north. I actually love group training for women, especially because there's just some different level of power when women get together and commit and put their minds to doing something. It's like it happens. It just happens. So I love that you're fostering community within that as well.

Actually, you know, Koti, it's honestly genuinely been a super pleasure to talk to you. You're so aligned and I love how you bring like not only ancient wisdom as ancient knowledge, but real ancient wisdom is what you bring, which is very different from just knowledge and information. So I appreciate that. I just want to say one last thing, anybody who's listening and especially women, right? Like I just think it's such a wonderful time. Never before had women gotten a chance to undo themselves.

to really look at our mothers didn't have a chance, our grandmothers didn't have a chance. We have this opportunity to undo who we are and undo everything that generational trauma, everything that, so that what we pass on is different, never before. So it's an incredible opportunity, women, and we're blessed to be in these times as gory as they look, as scary as they look. This is an incredible time.

Yeah, 100%. It really is. It's a very, it's a unique opportunity and place in time where, you know, women have a lot of power to change the trajectory of future generations, too. So it's a, you know, drawing a line in the sand, like, what are we unwilling to compromise on now for the sake of the generations behind us? And we don't, you know, we get to choose, like, who's going to be the next generation?

we're not, you know, the trauma stops here. Like I'm not passing that down. Like we are not going to just inherit and just pass along things that have been sticking around for, you know, three, four generations or more. So I believe that there is like this tremendous level of responsibility and, and it's, it, it,

you know, it's a privilege really. And I think when you, when you see it as that, you know, look at the difference that especially women have in, in this place in time. So don't let it pass you by and, um, know that you always have great community here. We'll be supporting you and love what you're doing in this space to educate women and support them along their journey. So guys, thank you so much for joining us today. Love having you on as part of

our community, our family. We consider you family if you're listening. So, but thank you, Nidhi, again for having, you know, just such an open conversation with me and sharing your time with me today. Thank you so much, Courtney. It was my pleasure. We'll see you guys on the next one.

Before we wrap up, please remember that the information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. No doctor-patient relationship is formed through this podcast, and the use of information here or materials linked from this podcast is at your own risk. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Always consult with your health care provider before making any changes to your health regimen and do not disregard or delay seeking medical advice for any condition you may have. Thank you for joining us today on the Ancient Health Podcast. We hope you've gained valuable insights into the harmony between Eastern and Western medicine. If you've enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe, share, and leave us a review.

Remember, true health is about balance, mind, body, and spirit. So stay tuned for more episodes where we continue to explore how ancient wisdom and modern science can work together to help you thrive. Here's to your health, balance, and well-being. I'm Dr. Chris Motley, and I look forward to our next episode together.