About Us
Empowering Underserved Women
Rising out of hardship can be overwhelming. Dealing with poverty and homelessness can take an extreme toll on one’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Well-being is crucial in trying times, but many women in these positions don’t have the resources to help them manage their holistic health during this time.
We created Akhila Health to empower underserved women by promoting their wellbeing. The word Akhila means ‘whole’ or ‘complete’ in Sanskrit—and that’s how we help—through holistic health practices, training, and mentorship. We treat the entire person: body, mind, and spirit.
Our goal is to give these women an opportunity to take pause, reflect on information provided, and harness inner wisdom to make transformational changes to enable a more balanced and empowered life.
Our Mission
To provide holistic health programs that empower underserved women to harness their inner resources and create change for a brighter future. We are committed to promoting wellness at all levels - body, mind, emotion, intellect, and spirit.
Our Vision
To bring greater awareness of a holistic approach to health and wellbeing to underserved women. Our transformative program empowers women to take ownership of their lives for long-lasting change.
Our Values
Service
Compassion
Dignity
Humility
Integrity
Our Story
The quest for happiness is universal. Health can impact happiness and good health in the truest sense is not just physical health but includes mental, emotional, and spiritual health and wellbeing. This philosophy guides Dr. Prema Rao, through Akhila Health, to support a pathway to complete, holistic wellbeing at all levels.
Dr. Rao brings a holistic view through her experience as a scientist and Ph.D. education in Psychology, with an emphasis in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Her dissertation, ‘Treatment of anxiety disorders with allopathic and Ayurvedic techniques’, highlighted a holistic view of Eastern and Western medical perspectives.
Akhila was born out of divine inspiration in 2001. While volunteering at homeless shelters around this time, she was made aware of the prevalent stress of the homeless population and the lack of resources for them to gain resilience. Furthermore, during her Ph.D. program, she understood the immense impact of stress on chronic diseases. Dr. Rao left her career to pursue a life of service— to educate and empower underserved women to manage their situation through holistic health practices
The women were amazingly self-aware, intelligent, and hard-working. But unfortunate external circumstances left them in a challenging financial disadvantage, which often resulted in a compromised state of health and well-being. Dr. Rao made it her mission to give these women hope through holistic health. By teaching them the pathway through Akhila, she gave these women the tools they needed to manage themselves, and rise above their current circumstances to better their lives.