Rediscovering Intuition Through Ayurveda - Your Body Already Knows
A Conversation with Nidhi Pandya
In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, I sat down with Ayurvedic doctor and author Nidhi Pandya, whose new book Your Body Already Knows just launched. We talked about intuitive health, perimenopause, fasting, and yes—protein.
Nidhi is a third-generation Ayurvedic practitioner based in NYC who grew up steeped in the traditions of Ayurveda—not as a set of rules, but as a lived philosophy. Her grandfather was a revered Ayurvedic healer, and she absorbed its wisdom through everyday life: when to eat certain foods, how to listen to the body, and why balance matters. After completing her formal Ayurvedic education, Nidhi found herself disillusioned by the way Ayurveda was being practiced—as another expert-driven, prescription-based system. This insight spurred her to reinterpret Ayurveda through a transformative lens, making ancient knowledge accessible and relevant in today's world.
Below is our conversation, edited for clarity and flow.
🌸 Your Body Already Knows—what do you mean by that?
Nidhi: Every species on the planet knows how to survive, thrive, and heal. A deer doesn’t obsess about counting macros when it’s eating grass every day. A tiger doesn’t worry about waking up in the morning because a new study says there are certain beneficial brain frequency patterns in the morning. A baby knows to nurse, even having never used its mouth in the womb.
That’s what I mean by “your body already knows.” But modern life disconnects us from this wisdom. We are so overly intellectual and lost in the web of information. This book is a guide to help people come back to their intuitive intelligence.
🌙 Hmm. What about people who say they’re night owls?
Nidhi: There’s no such thing as a truly nocturnal human. Before electricity, we didn’t just light lanterns and hang out because we “felt creative.” We went to sleep.
A lot of people who say they’re night owls are actually just overstimulated and distracted during the day. At night, when things are quiet, they finally feel grounded enough to think clearly—but that’s actually a sign the body wants to rest. Some creative juices are meant to replenish your subconscious mind during sleep, not fuel productivity.
🌡 You talk extensively about our “inner climate” in the book. How do you define it?
Nidhi: Imagine your body as a vast universe that is home to trillions of bacteria, which form a powerhouse called the microbiome. Just like every species needs a particular environment or climate in which to thrive, so does this inner army. Your inner army is a mighty force that helps you to digest your food, regulate your immune system, protect against bacteria that cause disease, and perform so many other important functions.
There’s a reason life exists on planet Earth—it’s because the sun comes out and heats and dries the planet, and then the moon comes in to cool and replenish it. That balance—the middle point—is warm and moist. The sun and the moon together do a beautiful job of keeping the Earth in that warm, moist state, especially around the equator, where days and nights are equal. It’s perfectly warm and moist there—and that’s where the best life, the best plant life, thrives.
Similarly, in our bodies too—it’s that warm and moist space where life thrives. That’s the state we want to come back to.
They need a certain environment to do their job well. That environment is warm and moist. Not hot and humid like the Amazon—more like Florida in March. When the inner climate is right, everything flows: digestion, immunity, hormones, body temperature, elimination.
“Anything that deviates from that climate can create disease.”
Even emotions follow this logic. Love and compassion are warm and moist. Anger is hot. Depression is damp. Stress is dry. We know these things intuitively—we just forgot to listen.
🌞 So how do we support that warm and moist inner climate? What does an ideal day look like?
Nidhi: Ayurveda teaches us to live in alignment with two core principles:
The circadian rhythm—the natural rise and fall of the sun and our body's corresponding cycles.
The inner climate—a warm, moist internal environment where our microbiome, digestion, and hormones can thrive.
When you honor both, you’re not fighting your body—you’re flowing with it.
Here’s what that might look like in a typical day:
🌄 Morning: Ground and awaken gently
Wake with the rising sun and open your curtains. Let natural light signal your body’s serotonin to rise.
If possible, step outside—even a glimpse of dew on grass, or the stillness of early morning, helps regulate your subconscious rhythms.
Move your body—even 7 minutes is enough. Don’t stress about long workouts; the point is to circulate energy.
Eat a warm, light breakfast. No cold smoothies, raw fruits, or iced drinks—especially in colder months. Think: stewed apples, porridge, toasted sourdough, or sweet potatoes.
"It’s soggy outside in the mornings—your body mirrors that. Give it warmth to transition into the day."
☀️ Midday: Digest, focus, and fuel
Between 10am and 2pm, your Agni (digestive fire) is at its peak—just like the sun.
This is your ideal time for your largest meal. It’s when you’ll digest most efficiently and benefit from optimal insulin sensitivity and gastric function.
Work that requires your focus, collaboration, or mental clarity is best done during this window.
“Photosynthesis is happening. Your enzymes are awake. Your body is ready. Go for it.”
🌬 Afternoon: Slow the pace
Between 2 and 6pm, as the sun begins to set and the wind picks up, your body starts to crave rest.
That mid-afternoon slump? It’s not just in your head. Yawning, stretching, and a desire to disconnect are signs your nervous system is shifting into repair mode.
If possible, save lighter, less demanding work for this time. Your body needs you to start slowing down.
“Working hard into the evening is a sympathetic activity—it dries the body. Slowing down brings the moisture back.”
🌙 Evening: Lighten and nourish
Dinner should be warm, cooked, and light—soups, stews, broths, lightly spiced veggies. Avoid raw salads, cold beverages, or heavy starches.
Eat before 6pm, or as early as possible. After sunset, your digestion slows dramatically—it’s a completely different body receiving that food.
Wind down by 10pm if possible, or as close to it as you can.
“Sleep is when the moon re-moisturizes the earth—and your body. Don’t miss that window.”
✅ If I had to prioritize 3 habits in this lifestyle, what would they be?
Nidhi:
Heavy lunch, light dinner – “It's a completely different body that's receiving the food at dinner time.”
Eat cooked foods – “Cooked foods, good fats and spices maintain that warm and moist environment.”
Whatever your bedtime is, make it earlier by 10 minutes each week – “Even if you did nothing else, you would be well on your way from protecting yourself from chronic disease. ”
💪 How does Ayurveda view protein? Especially for vegetarians?
Nidhi: Ayurveda doesn’t isolate protein—it sees food in its whole form. In fact, how you digest protein matters more than how much you eat - if it’s hard to make, it’s hard to break. Isolate proteins can be heavy and leave behind metabolic waste.
The traditional approach is:
Cook it well (soups, dals, stews)
Spice it (to stoke digestive fire)
Add fat (for moisture and assimilation)
Or ferment it (like idli, dosa, tofu)
Traditionally, protein was made digestible by cooking it well with water, spices, and fat—like lentil soups or hummus with olive oil and garlic. Or it was fermented—cheese, soy, lentil crepes. In Indian food, even paneer was marinated and spiced, and ideally softened with yogurt.
“It’s not how much protein you eat—it’s how much you can break down.”
🧘🏽♀️ Where does fasting fit in? Is it Ayurvedic?
Nidhi: Absolutely—but not in the modern “biohacking” sense. Intermittent fasting was just life before electricity—we stopped eating after dark.
Ayurveda recommends fasting seasonally—especially during transitions like winter to spring—to give digestion a break. But it must be done wisely. Too much fasting can deplete you. Trust your body’s rhythms.
🥩 What is Ayurveda’s view on meat?
Nidhi: Traditional Ayurveda accepted meat—and even more extreme things—as medicine, if it brought balance and didn’t harm another person.
That said, today’s meat comes with a lot of issues: chemicals, stress hormones, and unethical treatment. I’m a lifelong vegetarian and believe in using high-quality dairy instead, like ghee. Ghee is fermented and deeply nourishing—especially when made from cultured butter.
🩺 How do you see conventional medicine compared to Ayurveda?
Nidhi: I think conventional medicine's understanding is very limited. It’s all information—none of it is wisdom. To me, science is something I can understand through my own experience and evidence. I love science, I love data, I’m a nerd, trust me—but to say, “If I can’t prove it in a lab, I don’t trust it yet”? That’s a problem.
We also have to remember that we can be scientists too. You can do the experiment yourself: eat pizza every night and see how you feel. Stay up 10 nights in a row and notice your dry eyes, your sore throat, getting sick. You don’t need a study to tell you that.
Ayurveda values rhythm—it’s built on the idea that life is made of patterns: the rotation of the Earth, the seasons, the menstrual cycle, the day-to-night cycle, our breath.
“Everything is a rhythm. And every time something goes out of rhythm, it becomes noise—you lose the music.”
Ayurveda places high emphasis on keeping those rhythms steady—body, mind, and spirit. I love using Ayurveda as a hypothesis, and I’ll use science to back it up. But I don’t start from science. I start from what the body knows.
🌺 How should women think about perimenopause and menopause through an Ayurvedic lens?
Nidhi: In Ayurveda, we understand the hormonal journey of a woman as a process of gradual drying. We begin life like grapes—juicy, full of vitality. In adolescence, we’re like a hot oil lamp: full of fuel, energy, and moisture. That’s the juice of life—what makes us fertile, gives us supple skin, and keeps everything flowing.
As we age, we slowly use up that fuel. Perimenopause is like the last flickers of that flame—it becomes volatile. That’s when symptoms like hot flashes and dryness show up. And then, eventually, the flame goes out. What’s left is smoke. The body becomes dry: dry skin, dry hair, dry eyes, dry moods, even dry bones.
This is natural, but we can slow the drying process and preserve our essential moisture by being more intentional with our food, movement, and self-care.
Here are some key ways to support your body through this phase:
Don’t skimp on good fats – Ghee, olive oil, and avocados go further than water in replenishing internal moisture. Consume good fats while keeping an eye on your biomarkers like cholesterol.
Include seeds from your ancestral culture – Ayurveda has long used sesame, fenugreek, and flax. “Go back to how your ancestors used them—in laddoos, porridges, and bars.”
Eat early and light in the evening – “After your forties, dinner should be minimal. It’s a great way to support your Agni (digestive fire).”
Avoid intense workouts – “Drying yourself out with overexercising will only make things worse. Be consistent instead of extreme.”
Practice restorative breathwork – Not trauma-releasing, but gentle practices like alternate nostril breathing or resonance breathing. “They bring back subtle moisture to the system.”
Oil your body daily (Abhyanga) – “Sneha” means both oil and love in Sanskrit. It’s nourishment through the skin, a channel of consumption. “Use sesame oil or any clean, non-adulterated body oil before your shower.”
Try Yoni Pichu – A traditional Ayurvedic practice using a sesame-oil-soaked tampon for 20–30 minutes. “It’s like a natural, transdermal estrogen treatment.”
“This is the first time in life when women are out of the mating, dating, and nesting phase. You’re free. It’s a powerful time—just take care of the vessel that carries you.”
🌿 Free Download: Ayurvedic Bowls by Nidhi Pandya
As a special gift, Nidhi has generously shared her beautifully designed Ayurvedic Bowls guide—a practical and deeply nourishing approach to everyday meals. In this guide, you’ll learn how to build balanced, six-taste bowls rooted in Ayurvedic principles. It includes foundational tips on warming digestion, the role of the six tastes (Shad Rasa), and plenty of inspiration to create your own intuitive, seasonal meals using grains, lentils, veggies, and spiced dressings. You’ll also find 10 of Nidhi’s favorite bowl recipes—comforting, flavorful, and adaptable to what you have on hand. Whether you’re new to Ayurveda or looking to deepen your practice, this guide is a gem.
If this conversation resonated with you, I highly recommend Nidhi’s book, Your Body Already Knows. It’s a beautiful reminder that your body isn’t broken—it’s speaking. All you have to do is listen.
Have you been paying attention to your inner climate?
Comment on this post by clicking the 🗨️ below — I’d love to hear your thoughts.
xo,
Vasudha
Thank you for this interesting conversation.
I try to eat light in the evening, but why should the food be cooked, instead of a salad of raw vegetables?