Smita Daya

Smita Daya is an Ayurveda practitioner, educator and founder of AyurFlorence. Born and raised in Zambia, she later lived in England and the United States before making her home in Florence, Italy.

Before beginning her work in Ayurveda, Smita spent 25 years in the corporate world. For more than ten years, she has shared Ayurveda through consultations, teaching and hands-on cooking classes. Her work grows from a love of cooking and a belief that nourishment extends beyond the meal. She encourages people to understand their individual needs and develop practical habits that support wellbeing.

Smita trained as an Ayurveda practitioner at the International Institute of Ayurveda in Montepulciano, Italy. Her studies included clinical internships with Ayurvedic physicians in Goa and near Dharamshala, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Her further training spans Ayurvedic cooking, plant-based nutrition, nutrition and lifestyle counselling, and prenatal and postnatal yoga. She also completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training at World Peace Yoga Ashram in Rishikesh, India.

In The Everyday Ayurveda Guide, Smita connects classical Ayurvedic foundations with everyday life. Volume 1 explores Ayurveda’s core principles and approaches to daily and seasonal living. The forthcoming Volume 2 applies these principles to food, meal planning and practical cooking. A lifelong learner with a particular interest in women’s health, she writes to make Ayurveda approachable while encouraging curiosity, thoughtful self-observation and respect for the depth of the tradition.