Meet Nina
Board-Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner • Clinical Herbalist • Chef • Founder of Living Ayurveda Hawai‘i & Nina Cucina
Aloha, I’m Nina. I’m honored to have you here!
I’m a board-certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, clinical herbalist, and founder of both Living Ayurveda Hawai‘i and Nina Cucina — my plant-based kitchen rooted in healing through food. I help women return to rhythm with their bodies, intuition, and the Earth — not through trends or quick fixes, but through deep, steady transformation.
My path began over a decade ago, when a dear friend was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. I stepped in as one of her primary caretakers and advocates, helping her bridge the worlds of Western medicine, naturopathy, Chinese medicine, and a healing whole foods diet. I witnessed the profound impact this integrated approach had — not only in supporting her treatment, but in easing the side effects of chemotherapy and shrinking the tumors themselves.
This experience taught me how critical it is not to wait for a diagnosis to make changes. It awakened a deeper sense of purpose in me, motivating me to turn my passion for healthy living and advocacy into a lifelong profession. It was the spark that set me on the path to become a health advocate for others, and ultimately, led me to the study and practice of Ayurveda.
Over time, Ayurveda gave me the framework and wisdom to support women in even more profound ways — helping them not just heal, but reclaim their power, wholeness, and connection to the Earth.
My Lineage of Study
I’ve trained and studied under master teachers in both Ayurveda and Lāʻau Lapaʻau, the traditional plant medicine of Hawai‘i. My work is deeply informed by these ancient & living systems of medicine — rooted in nature, seasonality, and ancestral wisdom.
Board-Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner (National Ayurvedic Medical Association)
Graduate of California College of Ayurveda
Trained Clinical Herbalist with extensive experience in custom herbal formulation
Ongoing student of Lāʻau Lapaʻau under the mentorship of Kumu Keoki Baclayon & Kumu Leinaʻala Bright
Ayurvedic Chef and Certified Detox Guide
Founder of Nina Cucina, offering seasonal, plant-based meals inspired by Ayurvedic principles
My practice is grounded in mentorship, formal study, and a decade of hands-on experience. I believe the truest wisdom is both learned and lived — and I am honored to carry forward these lineages in service to women’s healing.
My Work Today
Today, my work is about helping women reclaim their power through subtle but profound reconnection with their bodies.
We live in a culture that teaches us to outsource our knowing — to look outside ourselves for answers. My work is about reversing that.
I guide women back to their intuition, their cycles, and their inner medicine.
Through years of practice, I’ve learned that true healing doesn’t happen in a matter of days or weeks. It’s a slow unfolding — a peeling back of layers, a deep remembering of what’s always been true.
Even after a powerful cleanse or breakthrough, the real medicine is in the integration and the daily devotion to yourself.
That’s why I created the Wild Woman Collective — a year-long community and support system designed to hold you through every season of your evolution, embodiment, and healing.
This is the heart of my work: walking alongside women as they rediscover their own rhythm, honor their intuition, and remember that true healing starts within — all through the wisdom of Ayurveda.
My Everyday Life
Life is full — but when I carve out time to myself you’ll find me sipping rose tea with my kitties in the garden, tending to lāʻau herbs, flowers, vegetables, and fruit trees, or visiting the freshwater streams and waterfalls of the Koʻolau mountains.
And you can always find me in the kitchen — experimenting with new recipes and playing with unique local ingredients, letting the seasons (and my cravings) guide me.
Soon, there will be chickens joining our garden family — a new adventure for our ever-growing little ʻohana.
I’m deeply devoted to a life lived in rhythm and connection with the Earth — and to helping women remember that they hold the medicine they’ve been searching for.
If you’re feeling called to reconnect with your own rhythm, I’d be honored to walk beside you.