Heather Grzych, ADLC
NAMA President

Heather Grzych currently serves as the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association. Heather is Ayurvedic Doctor-Level Certified by NAMACB, serves on the faculty at Mount Madonna Institute College of Ayurveda, and was formerly the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. Her first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and she has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, ranks in the top 3% of podcasts globally.

Dr. Rucha Kelkar, BAMS, PT, DPT
NAMA President-elect

Dr. Rucha Kelkar, BAMS, AYT, PT, DPT is the Founder and Director of Ayurbliss Wellness Center. www.ayurbliss.com. Her clinic is located in San Mateo, CA, USA. Dr Kelkar serves as the Chair of Mount Madonna Institute- College of Ayurveda. She also serves on the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA), as a Board Member and is the President- elect of NAMA.

Dr. Kelkar is an accomplished clinician, educator, speaker and writer with an experience of over 23 years. She is a faculty for leading Ayurveda schools and has been a presenter at multiple National Ayurveda Conferences. She conducts various workshops and teaching programs on Ayurveda at her center in San Mateo, CA. She has mentored students of Stanford Medical School for their Integrative Medicine Clerkship. She is a published writer and has worked in Breast Cancer research at University of California San Francisco, a premier research hospital.

With an extensive clinical and teaching experience in Ayurveda, Panchakarma, Yoga and Physical Therapy, Dr. Kelkar is frequently invited to speak on Ayurveda and Integrative Health by clinics, hospitals, health care systems as well as at conventions and corporate locations. Dr. Kelkar is determined in providing quality service to her students and clients. With an extensive clinical experience in Ayurveda, Ayurvedic therapies, Yoga Therapy, Panchakarma and Physical therapy she incorporates the rehabilitative knowledge of physical therapy with the timeless wisdom of Ayurveda and Yoga at her clinic.

Dr. Julia Arnold, PhD, MS (Ayurveda)

Dr. Arnold currently serves on the NAMA Board of Directors and on the NAMA Research Committee as Co chair. She also serves as a Special Volunteer with the NIH-National Cancer Institute, Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCI-OCCAM) focusing on projects in Ayurveda related to cancer.

She has 40+ years of cancer research experience in cell biology, cancer prevention and mechanisms of tissue microenvironmental regulation of cancer cells. Dr. Arnold received her PhD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and did her post doctoral studies at NCI and at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Her 22 years at the NIH include 11 years in the intramural laboratory at the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM; now NCCIH) and 11 years of as a Program Director in the Translational Research SPORE Program at the NIH-NCI.

She received a master’s degree in Ayurveda from MIU in 2021. She is interested in promoting education and research in Ayurveda and increasing evidence-based preclinical and clinical research relating to cancer mechanisms and care. Dr Arnold has published 2 book chapters and over 35 peer-reviewed manuscripts including a comprehensive 2-part review on “Integrating ayurvedic medicine into cancer research programs”. Dr. Arnold served as a Guest Editor for the Journal of Ayurvedic Integrative Medicine (JAIM)-Special Issue on “Integrative Approaches to Cancer Care and Research”.

John Kepner, MS, MBA, C-IAYT Treasurer, National Ayurvedic Medical Association

John served as the executive director of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) from 2003 -2020. There he focused on developing the many pillars required to support Yoga therapy as a recognized and respected emerging health care profession, including all elements of the standards.   He worked closely with NAMA on many of the same issues.  He also led connecting IAYT to the wider integrative health community, especially the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health.

NAMA President’s Corner: Together We Rise, Shaping the Future of Ayurveda in the United States

January 30, 2025

 “Together We Rise: Shaping the Future of Ayurveda in the United States” with NAMA President Heather Grzych, where we’ll explore Ayurveda’s incredible potential to transform healthcare in the U.S. and how each of us plays a vital role in that journey. We’ll discuss why Ayurveda’s holistic, root-cause approach makes it poised to meet the growing demand for personalized, whole-person care—an essential need in today’s rapidly changing healthcare landscape. And we’ll talk about what you can do to get involved today!

President’s Letter to Members

December 12, 2024

A New Chapter for Ayurveda in the USA ~ A Message from Your New NAMA President

Conference Featured Speaker: Bhushan Patwardhan

April 9, 2021

Bhushan is Vice Chairman, University Grants Commission; Chairman, Indian Council of Social Science Research; Chairman, Interdisciplinary AYUSH R&D Task Force, Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India.

Conference Featured Speaker: Kevin Spelman

February 5, 2021

Kevin Spelman, PhD, MCPP, is a researhcer, clinician, and industry consultant who has advised the White House, the U.S. Department of Defense, and foreign governments on issues and policies concerning natural products. Spelman has focused on molecular techniques to elucidate the pharmacology of phytochemicals and their impact on human physiology and currently has 28 peer-reviewed publications on medicinal plants.

Diversity & Inclusion Committee

January 8, 2021

Come and meet our Diversity & Inclusion Committee and team and learn more about NAMA’s upcoming Diversity & Inclusion training series for members.

Conference Featured Speaker: Vandana Shiva

December 4, 2020

Come and meet Vandana Shiva who will be a Featured Presenter at our upcoming NAMA Conference. 
 

Welcome Dinesh Gyawali

November 6, 2020

Introduction to NAMA’s new Board of Director member and an overview of NAMA’s November 13th Special Public Event – Ayurveda for Building Immunity.

Learn About NAMA's Diversity and Inclusion Committee

October 2, 2020

The Diversity and Inclusion committee is NAMA’s newest committee.  Come and meet our chair, Tesia Love, and find out more about the work of this committee. 

History of NAMA

September 4, 2020

This Month’s talk with our President,Wynn Werner and Cynthia Copple Talk about the history of NAMA. How did NAMA come together back in 1998? What have been the overarching goals? Where are we now? Come to a discussion with two of the original founders and learn more about your organization. 

The Role of Integrative Medicine and COVID-19

July 10, 2020

This week’s talk with our President, Margrit Mikulis and Dhaval Dhru MD, AD, AYT will be discussing The Role of Integrative Medicine and COVID-19. We invite our members to join us for a quick 30 min discussion Friday, July 10th at 10:00- 10:30am PT.

The Role of Rasayana Chikitsa During COVID-19

July 3, 2020

This week’s talk with our President, Margrit Mikulis and VedAcharya Dr. Dhanada Kulkarni will be discussing The Role of Rasayana Chikitsa During COVID-19. We invite our members to join us for a quick 30 min discussion Friday, July 3rd at 10:00- 10:30am PT. View Supporting Document →

Yoga Practices for Immunity

June 23, 2020

In this talk we will discuss how the various practices of yoga can help build immunity, reduce stress and strengthen both the physical body and the mind. Arun Deva is a registered Vinyasa Krama teacher, a registered Yoga Therapist and the Chair of the Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy Committee of NAMA. He believes that yoga, when coupled with Ayurveda, becomes a very powerful therapeutic tool. Here we will put the yogic practice into context of an Ayurvedic lifestyle and how, together, they help rebuild and sustain our immunity.

COVID Statistics, the Role of ACE2, and Perspectives on Ayurveda and the Importance of Personalized Medicine

June 16, 2020

This week’s talk with our President, Margrit Mikulis and J. Douglas Coffin, Ph.D., will be discussing COVID Statistics, the Role of ACE2, and Perspectives on Ayurveda and the Importance of Personalized Medicine. View Supporting Document →

Ayurveda, COVID and Women’s Health

June 12, 2020

This week’s talk with our President, Margrit Mikulis and Heather Grzych a NAMA Board Member will bee discussing Ayurveda, COVID and Women’s Health.

Top 10 Changes Needed to Run a Successful Post-COVID Business

June 5, 2020

This week’s talk with our President, Margrit Mikulis and Amish Shah a NAMA Board Member and business owner will be discussing the top 10 changes needed to run a successful post-COVID business. View Supporting Document 1 → View Supporting Document 2 →

Practical Ayurveda and Immune Boosting Foods

May 29, 2020

This week’s talk with our President, Margrit Mikulis and Susan Weis-Bohlen a NAMA Board Member and Author on practical Ayurveda and immune boosting foods.

Dravyaguna: Herbal Considerations with Infectious Disease

May 22, 2020

This week’s talk with our President, Margrit Mikulis and Jayarajan Kodikannath BSc., BAMS, AD a NAMA Board Member and Director of Kerala Ayurveda Academy about the herbal considerations with infectious disease. View Supporting Document →

Classical Ayurvedic Perspectives on COVID-19 Symptoms 

May 15, 2020

This week’s talk with our President, Margrit Mikulis and Anupama Kizhakkeveettil from the Southern California University of Health Sciences and Athreya Herbs will talk about the classical Ayurvedic perspectives on COVID-19 symptoms. View Supporting Document →

Immune Support Perspectives

May 8, 2020

Join us for a call with NAMA President and Suhas Kshirsagar, BAMS MD(Ayu) who will be discussing topics of Immune Support including Ayurvedic and Integrative Medical Perspectives. View Supporting Document →

COVID’S Impact on Mental Health Webinar

May 1, 2020

The session will look at the overall impact of COVID on our mental health and will cover some self-care strategies in general as well as specific vulnerabilities and will look at specific considerations for health care providers and counselors during these unprecedented times. 

Updates With NAMA President

April 24, 2020

Come to an open webinar call with NAMA President, Margrit Mikulis. This call will be the start of a series to keep our membership connected and up to date.  We hope to bring interesting speakers from time to time as well. Please join us on Friday’s at 10:00 a.m. Pacific/11:00 MT/12:00 CT/1:00 ET.  View Supporting Document 1 → View Supporting Document 2 →