Meet Nirja Gajjar | Physical Therapist, Yoga Instructor, and Private Trainer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nirja Gajjar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nirja, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My business was created with my younger self in mind. As a South Asian and Indian female raised in Mississippi, I had a hard time fitting in and struggled with my identity growing up. Eventually when I went to college, I met more people that I connected with and my community. I also found fitness. Fitness really helped me with my mental health and my confidence immediately. It became my stress relief and helped me feel more empowered despite the hard time I had fitting in when younger. While in physical therapy school, I learned of women’s health including populations like pre and post-partum and female athletes. After getting my yoga certification, I saw how powerful it could be to help my mind, body, and spirit, That is where I saw my passion of fitness, coaching, and women’s health merging. Nourish with Nirja is my business that helps all women feel more confident and satisfied inside out. I use movement, nutrition, mindfulness, and education to help empower women especially in the South Asian community!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am Doctor of Physical Therapy which is a 3 year program after 4 years of undergrad. While getting my doctorate was no easy task, having a community and support system definitely helped. If you put your mind to something and ask for help along the way – you can always achieve what you set out to do! Some of the most important lessons I learned along the way were to take breaks, ask for help, make time to socialize and travel, see family and friends, and don’t be afraid to fail – you’ll learn the most from your failures. Nourish with Nirja, my brand, was made in mind for women that aren’t scared to ask for help and are ready to feel their most empowered and confident self through movement and mindfulness.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would workout together at some of my fave studios like CAMP LA, Soul Play, Lift Society, P.volve, and Barry’s. Afterwards, we’d hit up a health food spot like Loco Coco Venice and then shop the shops at Abbott Kinney. We’d also get a healthy dose of Vitamin D outdoors doing some hikes near Malibu and spending time at the beach in Playa Vista. For lunch and dinner we’d definitely hit up Pura Vita, Elephante, Crossroads Kitchen, Gracias Madre, and Ysabel.

After we got sick of eating out, we would hit up a Farmer’s Market like Brentwood Farmer’s Market and buy some fresh fruits and veggies to cook homemade Indian meals!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Prana Yoga Center in La Jolla, San Diego, CA for helping me become a yoga instructor and Vinh Pham, Myodetox Founder and Physical Therapist. Kurt Hoverson, Myodetox Regional Director

Website: https://nourishwithnirja.com/

Instagram: @nourishwithnirja

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nirja-gajjar/

Image Credits
Raymond Eugenio