We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nandini Austin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Nandini, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
The Life of an Ayurvedancer: Dancing My Way Through Life with Ayurveda
From the moment I first heard the beat of the Ravanne—a tambourine-like drum crafted from goatskin used in the Sega music of Mauritius—I was captivated. At just six years old, I knew that dance wasn’t merely movement; it was magic.
Growing up in London and the idyllic paradise of Mauritius as the child of immigrant parents in the 1970s, my life was a vibrant mosaic of contrasts. In London, I was immersed in the rich traditions of my Hindu heritage, performing the classical Indian dance Kathak at temples and cultural events. Every movement told a story of devotion and culture. But in Mauritius, a different rhythm captured my heart. Beneath starlit skies, I watched Creole women sway their hips to the hypnotic beats of Sega, their bare feet moving effortlessly across warm, white sands illuminated by bonfires. The ocean breeze carried the pulse of drums and laughter, wrapping the night in a spell of freedom and connection.
Back in London, a new layer was added to my cultural kaleidoscope: the electric pulse of 1980s British pop culture. I secretly watched Top of the Pops, mesmerized by Madonna and Kate Bush, dreaming of a stage where I could blend the rhythmic storytelling of Kathak with the bold, expressive energy of pop.
But in our strict household, dance was a duty to preserve culture, not a career. My father, a Hindu priest, encouraged my Kathak training but expected me to pursue a “real” profession. I followed his wishes, earning a degree in Hospitality & Culinary Arts, a field that allowed me to explore my love of celebration, travel, and food. Yet, dance never left me.
It followed me everywhere: in salsa classes at Pineapple Studios, performing in a Sega dance troupe, and on the pulsating dance floors of London’s Ministry of Sound nightclub, conveniently next to my university. Dance wasn’t a hobby; it was my lifeline—a sanctuary during struggles with body image and a solace as I witnessed loved ones battle diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.
Eventually, I pursued a high-flying corporate career, traveling the globe as Director of Global Sales for Ian Schrager, the visionary behind Studio 54. My work immersed me in cultures, cuisines, and healing modalities, but dance remained a quiet companion. It wasn’t until the stillness of the COVID-19 pandemic that I truly came full circle.
When the world stopped, so did I. My family left the chaos of Brooklyn for the quiet beauty of the Hudson Valley. For a mother of two, the shift was both a blessing and a challenge. New faces, new routines, and a winter of isolation brought moments of profound loneliness. Yet, amidst the stillness, I found magic.
Our sprawling garden, blanketed in snow, became my sanctuary. Bundled in my snowsuit, I played with my children, feeling the crisp air and hearing the crunch of snow underfoot. The land seemed to call me back to myself, urging me to reconnect with my body and spirit. Dance returned like an old friend, this time intertwined with Ayurveda—the ancient wisdom of aligning with nature’s cycles.
From that stillness, my vision was born: to create a space where women could move, heal, and awaken their inner power. Today, my dance sessions are more than choreography—they are rituals blending the wisdom of Ayurveda with the rhythm of the soul. Each step is a journey, a celebration of life, and a path to rediscovering joy.
Through Global Dance Fusion, I’ve combined the structured grace of Kathak, the free-spirited movements of Sega, and the universal appeal of world rhythms with Ayurveda’s holistic teachings. Together, they form a powerful framework for healing, empowerment, and transformation.
My story is one of contrasts and connections: ancient and modern, cultural and universal. Dance taught me to tell stories, and Ayurveda showed me how to live in harmony with my mind, body, and spirit. Now, I help others find their rhythm and awaken their inner fire.
In every step, every beat, and every breath, there’s a chance to rewrite your story.
Nandini, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I believe that Ayurveda and Dance were written in my kismet (destiny) and foretold in my dharma (cosmic purpose). Why? Because my journey has been a testament to transformation, resilience, and finding harmony between the ancient and the modern.
Though personal health and wellness are now at the center of my life, it wasn’t always this way. As an obese child, I struggled with my weight and self-image, and I witnessed loved ones battling chronic health issues like diabetes, hypertension, and bipolar disorder. Deep down, I always believed there was another way to live—a vibrant life aligned with balance, joy, and purpose. That belief became the foundation of my mission.
As, a British Indo-Mauritian performer, speaker, and philosophical “edutainer.” My work bridges the wisdom of Ayurveda with the universal language of dance to empower women to rediscover their vibrancy, reconnect with their bodies, and elevate their ojas—their life force.
“I want this journey of health to be a fun one, to make healthy living a way of life, instead of simply just anoher chore to add to your daily to do list.” so I break down Ayurveda into digestible chunks, making it asesible to women all over the world.
My dance Journey Rooted in Culture and Transformation
Growing up between London, Mauritius, and New York, my life was enriched by diverse cultural influences. In London, I performed Kathak, the classical Indian dance, at temples and community events alongside my father, a renowned Hindu priest who instilled Vedanta philosophy in me. In Mauritius, I was captivated by the hypnotic rhythms of Sega, an African-inspired dance performed barefoot under starlit skies.
These early experiences planted the seeds for my love of movement, culture, and storytelling. My grandmother’s Ayurvedic practices—like cooking with healing spices and embracing the rhythms of nature—further shaped my understanding of health and wellness.
While I earned a degree in Hospitality & Culinary Arts and built a global career as Director of Sales for luxury boutique hotels, dance and wellness remained my lifeline. Traveling the world, I immersed myself in various dance styles, cuisines, and healing practices. My work at the David Lynch Foundation deepened my holistic journey as I practiced Transcendental Meditation and curated wellness retreats.
Global Dance Fusion: Movement Meets Ayurveda
Today, I bring all these experiences together through Global Dance Fusion, a joyful class blending dance traditions like Kathak, African rhythms, and Belly Dance with the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda. These classes aren’t just about movement; they’re about awakening your inner vitality, celebrating life, and reclaiming the power within.
Global Dance Fusion is more than a fitness class; it’s a celebration of life. Drawing on the rhythms of Kathak, Belly Dance, African movement, and more, GDF blends joyful expression with Ayurveda’s wisdom. These classes are designed to awaken your ojas—your life force—and stoke the fires of self-love, confidence, and vitality.
This Dance exercise class is rooted in simple choreography derived from. a mishmash of Indian Kathak & Belly dance, Bollywood, and African dance. Using an exhilarating global soundtrack that features 80.s pop and House music, I weaving Ayurveda nuggets of wisdom (the sister science to Yoga), together we awaken our five senses, uplift our spirits, and enliven parts of ourselves that may be dormant.
In my classes and retreats,( I have one coming in next year July4th at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck called Temple Goddess where I invite participants to channel their inner goddess, inspired by figures like Parvati, the Hindu deity of power, nourishment, and creation. We replace self-criticism with compassion, honor our bodies’ unique rhythms, and remember that beauty and health aren’t one-size-fits-all.
I hope you can join us for a transformative 2-day Dance & Ayurveda retreat, designed to help women connect with their inner goddess, embrace their power, and radiate confidence and vitality in every aspect of life. This immersive experience blends dance, Ayurveda, and digestion-focused healing to elevate your physical fitness, mental clarity, and self-care. Expect a dynamic fusion of movement, holistic healing, and luxurious movement. Perfect for women looking to spice up their wellness routines, lifestyle, and diet. This retreat will rejuvenate your body, uplift your mindset, and awaken your higher self—leaving you feeling vibrant and empowered.
“The best way to get out of your mind is to get into your body.” ~Nandini Austin
Get Ready to Ignite Your Inner Goddess! Welcome to the Global Dance Fusion Women’s Dance Retreat featuring a special event, the Temple Goddess Experience—a soul-enriching, body-awakening journey through dance, Ayurveda, and self-care. Designed to spice up your wellness routine, this retreat empowers you to connect with your higher self, embrace your inner goddess, and live with more confidence and vitality.
This retreat invites women to embrace their body as a temple, harness inner power, and leave with a renewed sense of self and wellness through Dance & Ayurveda
I also curate holistic self-care experiences for women, promoting a “Healthy Hedonist” lifestyle that embraces balance, pleasure, and purpose. Through Ayurvedic principles, spice-infused recipes, and mindfulness practices, I empower clients to feel radiant and confident in their own skin.
What Sets My Work Apart
My philosophy is rooted in the belief that wellness isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every woman has her unique rhythm, her own essence, and my work is about helping her find it. Whether through dance, Ayurveda, or storytelling, I guide clients to:
Reconnect with their bodies and unlock their vitality.
Build resilience and strengthen their immunity.
Maximize their health and radiance at any age or stage of life.
What I Want You to Know
Wellness isn’t just a trend—it’s a way of life that you constantly have to work at, that when in flow, allows you to feel sexy, fulfilled, and truly alive. Imagine glowing from within, radiating confidence, and embracing a life where you shine inside and out. That’s what I want for every woman I work with: to reconnect with her essence, harness her unique power, and live with joy. but Im also very real about it, we cant be in balance all the time and life will always have its shadows, twists and turns, but its up to us to keep ourselves energetically buoyant and Ayurveda gives us the knowledge and tools to live a vibrant life 80 % of the time, if we are really conscious about our daily decisions…
In the words of one of my favorite Women artists, ‘ Chaka Khan
“ I am every woman” It’s all in me ……As women, we play so many roles from lovers, sisters, caretakers, spouses, mothers, grandmothers and the list goes on.
Often and unknowingly we leak and give away a lot of our vital life force (Prana) to others, whether at work, or at home, and deplete our natural Ojas vital energy which can result in us feeling unbalanced, burned out, foggy, fatigued, depressed and so much.
I believe that no matter how unbalanced we may feel, using the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda and the powerful movement of dance, ‘every woman’ can learn to harness the vibrant health that lives within – yes its all in me – within us, we are the authors of our lives, we make our happiness and can take charge of our health and empower our immunity. If we learn how to work with our maximize our energy – then so many beautiful things can happen.
And I believe every woman has the power to reclaim her vibrant essence and embody her highest self. Through Ayurveda and Dance, I help women unlock that potential, showing them how to live fully aligned with mind, body, and spirit.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Driven to succeed, I had the corporate job of my dreams, buzzing social calendar with great relationships.At first it was so much fun, yet soon the novelty began to wean. Life was going at 150 miles an hour, after a few years it became pretty exhausting.I fueled myself with caffeine, alcohol and eating at expensive restaurants. Exercise was considered a luxury, and sleep was for those who didn’t care about moving up the ladder. I was working ever more long hours in the city that never sleeps with no real sense of purpose. Yet I had the life that was supposed to bring me happiness, fulfillment and success, but inside a longing to do something else with my life .
After the birth of my first son, Revel. I realized I need to pivot in all directions of my line,. I struggled even more to find balance between being a mother and my full-time career as working in Sales Luxury hospitality . Working in a city that never sleeps, was not working any longer. And the hospitality industry was and shamelessly still today is brutal and unforgiving to anyone that wants any kind of balance in their life or indeed has a family. When I asked for a day working from home, when my son was 3 months old, I was told that in the last 20 years no one had ever asked for this, and I replied, well its about time then….
But it was only a matter of time…I felt a heaviness from the noise, pressures of life and energy of the city that once had been so enticing. I needed a change and a yearning to move. Nature was calling, I had no choice but to reexamine,
So I took some time out that year to disconnect and slowed down enough to realize that I had been running on the hedonic treadmill like a hamster, a wheel with no destination. I had been living life on fast forward, my diary had been full of countless events, with no time scheduled for reflection or relaxation. I was a constant planner, who was not living in the present but always looking to the future.
In order to unlearn all those bad habits, I took my own kind of sabbatical, to my favorite place at the beach, It was here I began dabbling with meditation,listening to Alan watts one of my favorite philosophers, doing Yoga, and dancing, writing and cooking all the things that felt nourishing for my soul. I recall hearing Bryan Ferry track’ Tara; which just moved me to tears, and recall thinking a new direction was needed.
It was during this time, I manifested a new career in Wellness. Yes I switched gears transitioning to the nonprofit world into working at the esteemed “David Lynch Foundation” alongside Bob Roth, heading up their Corporate Wellness Division, where I presented Meditation as a professional business tool to hundreds of CEO’s and business leaders and curated wellness days and retreats and so began my spiritual practice of Transcendental Meditation. It was another more rewarding exhilarating journey where I was lucky enough to visit to David Lynch at his house in LA with my team. I will never forget him saying that our mission was to get 10,0000 people to meditate at the same time, so that we could change world consciousness…. It was such a powerful thought which still resonates today…..
Once I learnt to meditate and it became a daily ritual, And it was about this time that Ayurveda found its way to me during one of my meditations. so I began studying this ancient wisdom. Life was beginning to fall back into place, and I began feeling like Edits Piath Song, La Vie en Rose… life was glowing in Pink… that was not too last, when my dad passed suddenly one night from type 2 Diabetes-related illnesses, I was devastated and I questioned my own mortality.
I was very close with my dad, Gaya, a witty, spiritual, renowned Hindu priest. His death reminded me how little time we have on this planet to make an impact. It spurred me to become a certified Ayurveda Holistic Counselor at the Kerala Ayurveda Academy. Through Ayurveda I set on a path of adventure and exploration to healing, to wholeness, and to receiving the transmission of both ancient and modern teachings of a preventative health and healing system that has empowered me through the challenges that come with current cultural views and methods of ‘wanting it all’.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and a certified Ayurveda and dance teacher is the freedom to be my most authentic self. In my previous corporate life in hospitality, I often felt confined, wearing a metaphorical mask to fit into a world that left little room for individuality or self-expression. Working full-time for someone else can be draining on the soul. It’s easy to lose sight of the fundamental job we all share: taking care of our bodies, minds, and spirits.
For years, I wore the corporate hat, chasing promotions and material success while neglecting my own well-being. It felt as though I was hiding the real me behind the veneer of work and professionalism. Now, as an artist and educator, I’ve reclaimed the power to live and create on my own terms.
What I find most fulfilling is embracing my true self—a multifaceted individual who thrives on movement, creativity, and connection. Ayurveda helped me understand my Vata nature, which is all about movement and fluidity, and it taught me to see beyond the layers of ego, makeup, and societal stories to uncover my authentic essence.
As a creative entrepreneur, I’ve learned to celebrate my “chameleon” nature. I can’t be just one thing; my imagination is too expansive for that. This freedom to express myself fully, make my own decisions, and share my unique vision with the world is what makes this journey so rewarding. It’s a rebellion of sorts, but a joyful one—a rebellion against conformity, in favor of a life aligned with passion and purpose. I now have the opportunity to leverage my hospitality expertise and business acumen in a way that truly inspires me, by curating corporate retreats that spotlight and promote other wellness professionals.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nandiniaustin.com
- Instagram: @nandiniaustin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nandini.austin/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nandininatashaaustin/
