Ayurvedic Fertility, Pregnancy & Postpartum: Interview With Manju Kolli
- Joanne Smolders
- Aug 11
- 4 min read
What if the biggest obstacle to conceiving isn't your age or your hormones, but a digestive fire that's been quietly out of balance for years?
Manju Kolli spent 15 years as a clinical pharmacist watching Western medicine treat the body in parts before she returned to her roots in Ayurveda, the 5,000 year old system that treats fertility as a whole-body, whole-life practice. In this conversation, she walks us through the three phases of a woman+'s reproductive life: fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum.
"We're not going to be in a rush to bring that soul into this universe. We're going to bring soul into the universe with a lot of love." — Manju Kolli
What Is Ayurveda, Really How would you explain Ayurveda to someone who's never heard of it? I always describe it as an instruction manual. Every car, every gadget you buy comes with one, and this is the instruction manual for your body, your mind, and your soul. The best part is that it's based on root cause analysis. We're not just treating a symptom, we're asking what footsteps led this person to their current state of imbalance.
Everything you breathe in becomes your body. The food you eat, which comes from the earth and water around you, becomes your body too. Whatever is in the macro becomes the micro, because that is literally what becomes you.
Understanding Your Doshas What are doshas and why do they matter for fertility? Doshas are the bio-elements running your body. There are three:
Vata, the air and space element, responsible for movement
Pitta, the fire element, responsible for transformation and digestion
Kapha, the water and earth element, responsible for stability
When these are balanced, your reproductive elements move properly. When transformation is off, we see things like PCOS. When stability is off, that's when we see fibroids and cysts.
Agni And Ojas: The Two Concepts Behind Everything Why do you keep coming back to digestion in a conversation about fertility? Because Agni, your digestive fire, determines how strong your tissues are, including your reproductive tissue, which is actually the deepest and last tissue your body builds. If Agni is too weak, food goes undigested and ferments. If it's too strong, it burns through you.
Then there's Ojas, the OG of the body, the nectar of vitality. It's why some people are bubbling with energy and others feel depleted no matter what they do. Ojas depends on your food, your lifestyle, your environment, and even your thoughts.
Your Fertility Timeline Starts At Puberty When should someone actually start thinking about fertility? Much earlier than most people realize. You're born with more than a million eggs. By puberty, that's down to 200,000 to 300,000. By 40, you're working with roughly 10%.
A simple preconception cleanse you can do at home:
Boil one fistful of raisins in two cups of water until half a cup remains
Squeeze and filter the liquid
Add a quarter teaspoon of Triphala churna
Repeat for three consecutive days
The Four Elements Of Conception What does Ayurveda say you actually need to conceive?
Rutu, the right timing, seasonally and biologically. Days 8–14 of your cycle are considered most fertile.
Kshetra, the fertile ground: a healthy uterus, ovaries, and cervix, prepared through cleansing.
Ambu, nourishment and hydration, including cervical mucus quality.
Bija, egg and sperm quality, including hormone balance, AMH, and the absence of stress and toxins.
A Month By Month Guide To Pregnancy Can you walk us through what changes month to month? In month one, everything is tender, favor warm liquid foods, avoid exercise and intense emotion. By month three, we call it Dwi Hrudaya, having two hearts, your baby experiences the world through you. Month four is the "safe zone" where gentle movement begins. From there, each month builds through sensory development, bone growth, lung maturation, the hide-and-seek of Ojas in month eight, and full organ maturation in month nine as we prepare for birth.
Postpartum: The 40 Days That Matter Most Why do you emphasize the postpartum period so heavily? Because Vata spikes dramatically after birth. There's depletion, dryness, anxiety, and weak digestion right when your body needs to heal. I recommend starting with a warm rice broth with ginger, cumin, and ghee, daily oil massage for 40 days, deep rest, and community support. I didn't know any of this with my first pregnancy 19 years ago. By my second, I was meditating and staying active, and the difference was enormous.
Closing: Manju's approach treats fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum not as separate medical events but as one continuous process. Listen to the full episode for the complete breakdown.
#About Mahi
[Manju Kolli] is a clinical pharmacist and Ayurvedic practitioner from southern India, now practicing in California. After 15 years working inside the Western medical system, she returned to her Ayurvedic roots and now helps women+ navigate fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum through root cause healing rather than symptom management. Her work blends clinical precision with 5,000 years of Ayurvedic wisdom, giving her clients a rare, dual lens on reproductive health.
📺Watch the full Umaversity Podcast episode here:
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