Meet

Manju Kolli

For over 15 years, Manju Kolli built a successful career as a Clinical Pharmacist in Long-Term Care Pharmacy in the allopathic world, moving through the ranks from clinical practice into supervisory leadership. Yet beneath the accomplishments, a quiet restlessness never left her. She had witnessed, firsthand and up close, the blinding shortcomings of the current medical system and the gaps between treating symptoms and truly healing people. When she raised these concerns with her superiors, the answer was always the same: "What else would you expect from this corporate world? You don't win against Big Pharma."

That answer never satisfied her. If anything, it deepened her resolve to become a true healer.

Manju has always believed that nature gifts us with whatever we ask for wholeheartedly. In her case, it showed her the path to Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old science that remains valid to this day, requiring no updated version. Paired with a deep-rooted spiritual practice, this discovery brought her closer to the holistic way of healing she had been searching for all along.

What began as a simple desire to complete a diploma and help her own family soon became something much larger. Manju never imagined she would leave a fulfilling career and, as a mother of two, restart her professional life to pursue Ayurveda full time. But that is exactly what her calling asked of her.

She went on to complete her Ayurveda Lifestyle Certification from the Mount Madonna Institute, followed by advanced classical Ayurvedic training, a rigorous five-year program equivalent to the Advanced Ayurveda Practitioner level curriculum developed by the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA). Throughout these five years, Manju had the privilege of not only studying the Samhitas (the ancient texts composed by sages) but also closely observing eminent Vaidyas (Ayurvedic physicians) across India and the United States as they treated patients through every stage and complexity of disease.

A month-long trip to India became an annual ritual, during which Manju visited institutes across Pune, Kerala, Kanyakumari, and Guntur, absorbing practical, hands-on approaches to treatment that shaped and refined her own clinical practice. Among the most formative experiences of her training was the privilege of studying directly under Maha Vidwan Dr. L. Mahadevan, one of the tradition's most revered scholar-practitioners.

Manju's commitment to Ayurveda extends well beyond her own clinical practice. She has served as President and now as Chairperson of the California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine (CAAM), where she has worked tirelessly to advance her vision of establishing Ayurveda as a recognized and respected medical science. During her tenure as president, she championed public events and community outreach initiatives designed to bring the wisdom of Ayurveda out of the shadows and into everyday awareness.

Beyond the clinic and the boardroom, Manju's heart belongs equally to the next generation. She has a deep passion for teaching children the ancient Vedic sciences, volunteering weekly with the Jeeyar Education Trust. She is also an active volunteer with The Art of Living organization, continuing to weave spiritual service into every dimension of her work.

For Manju, Ayurveda was never simply a career change, it was, and remains, an answer to a lifelong calling.