Quality Makers: Martha Soffer of Surya Spa

The first time I ever met Surya Spa’s Founder and Co-CEO, Martha Soffer, I heard the lyrics, “God sent me an angel / From the heavens above,” from Amanda Perez’s 2002 “Angel” run through my head. With her radiant energy, exuberant vitality, and sheer elegance, I was struck by Martha’s palpable wellness. “What elixir of life is this woman drinking?” I asked myself (and eventually her).

I soon found out that the energetic balance I was sensing was all thanks to the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, which—in spite of existing for thousands of years—people still don’t know much about it and its holistic practices. 

For years now, Martha has been spreading the gospel about the potent healing abilities of Ayurveda to some of LA’s most elite clientele (Gwyneth Paltrow and Kourtney Kardashian as mere soft mentions). Having been trained in every facet of traditional Ayurvedic modalities, treatments, herbal practices, and methods, Martha has imbued her passion for 360-degree healing in her cozy spa (that will honestly make you feel like you’ve just arrived home).

However, don’t get it twisted: Martha and Surya are not solely built for the rich and the famous, nor are her treatments and services trendy in any way. Surya is the real deal, with something for just about everyone—whether you’re a wellness novice just trying to get your feet wet for a day or the #DeepWellness queen looking to move the needle on her health.

No matter where you’re at in your health journey, Martha is hoping to provide education and support for every layer of what it means to be human—the emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental. For now, follow along as we peel back the layers on Martha’s journey to Surya-dom and ways to incorporate more Ayurveda into your daily life (even if you’re not in LA!).

TQE: Time for an origin story! Tell us how you got into Ayurveda in the first place!

MS: I moved from Bogotá, Colombia to Iowa to attend the Maharishi Institute for some graduate work in computer science.  One day in the dining hall, a group of glowing women with oiled and slicked back hair and a sparkle in their eyes sat next to me. I was struck by the way they looked, smelled, and just had this aura about them—I had to ask what they were doing, why they were dripping in oil, and how I could learn more. They told me about the retreat they were on—a week of Panchakarma, and after I experienced even a single treatment, my life just changed in that direction, almost like I had no choice.

TQE: What was it about this ancient system that you found so compelling?

MS: Ayurveda is ancient, and reaches wide and deep. It’s a big, beautiful umbrella, and so much about life fits under it. We can talk about Jyotish, vedic astrology, or Vastu Shastra (Ayurveda’s version of Feng shui), or pranayama (breathwork), yoga asanas, diet, bodywork, herbal remedies—the list goes on and on. Ayurveda really captures my heart because of its connection and devotion to the healing power of the natural world and how that can help all of us.  My relationship to the natural world, seen through the lens of Ayurveda, is both a touchstone and a compass. 

TQE: What do you think Ayurveda has the power to do as far as holistic health-and-wellness are concerned?

MS: Ayurveda helps us come home to ourselves, our own nature, and to the natural world, which can really support us. “Health” and “wellness” must consider and contain the elements without and within us, the quality of the water around us, the purity of the air we breathe, the fire and vigor of the planet we live on. Sometimes, wellness gets a little far away from these roots. I think Ayurveda’s umbrella path can bring us back.

TQE: How did you get the idea to start Surya? How did it take off?

MS: It started for me at the Maharishi Institute in Iowa, with those glowing women, and soon, as I started studying Ayurveda, I became passionate about its power—the Panchakarma series in particular. Each person I worked on, day after day, changed (mind, body and spirit) right before my very eyes.  

When I settled into Los Angeles, I realized that 1) no one seemed to know anything about Ayurveda, and 2) there wasn’t a place on the West Coast that offered the chance for someone to experience true, deep, and transformative Panchakarma. 

I turned any empty bedroom in our house into a treatment room and, at first on my own, began offering PK. There’s no good explanation for this other than a little luck, but in a few months, the LA Times was knocking at my door. 

TQE: With so many of LA’s elite coming to you, what are some of the most common concerns that you see people dealing with?

MS: Many clients are dealing with fertility issues, mold exposure, PCOS, irritable bowel syndrome, lots of constipation, sleep, and psoriasis and eczema!  There’s another group of clients that are doing well and use PK as a preventive measure to detox, to deepen their spiritual experience, to go beyond the “ahhhh” of a spa experience and into something truly transformative. 

TQE: What advice do you have for people who are intrigued by Ayurveda, but find it super intimidating or overwhelming?

MS: It’s really very simple! You just have to start by considering three things: do I need to calm down, cool down, or energize?  Check with your own body at the start and end of the day.  

Keep the three doshas in mind—vata (wind), pitta (fire), and kapha (earth + water)—and take inventory of your temperature, your skin, and your mood. Notice the temperature outside, the season, how jam packed your day is, what’s present in your emotional body.

When we make connections between these things, we better understand our system in relation to the world around us. And then we know, today, for example, we’d better cool down—I’m a little irritable, I have a rash, I just feel hot-headed, so I’m not going to eat spicy foods, I’m not going to do hot yoga, I’m going to eat more cooling foods, and do more cooling things. 

That’s Ayurveda in a nutshell—noticing how we’re doing and how we’re interacting with the world we live in so we can stay in balance and excel from that state.  

TQE: What are some rituals that you stick to daily no matter what?

MS: It is true that Ayurveda can seem to have a lot of rules and restrictions, but that’s not how we approach it at Surya. For me, I have a few morning rituals that are satisfying and easy, and thread the productive values of Ayurveda into the cloth of my day.  

I tongue scrape, and use some of our Herbalized Pulling Oil. Toxins in our system accumulate on the tongue overnight, so it is so good to scrape this off and out of your mouth before you drink water or brush your teeth. 

I like to dry brush, do some self-abhyanga, and do my usual 20 minutes of Transcendental Meditation. Starting my day with these core Ayurvedic practices makes all the difference, all day long!

I also do a Panchakarma cleanse 2-4x a year. Oh, and my Balancing Collagen Cream…religiously!  I make sure my husband uses it nightly. My kids, on the other hand, don’t need to be told!