Marma Therapy in Ayurveda – Types, Benefits, Methods & More
There are many therapies through which a patient can be treated. Treatments which include medications and the treatments which don’t include medications both are mentioned in the Ayurveda. Every science is looking for the health solutions in this pandemic time which are new and advanced that are capable of treating diseases without medications like fasting, agni karma, swedan (sudation), kshara sutra karma and marma therapy, sun bath therapy, rakta mokshan etc. there is this marma therapy which is really effective in treating complicated and chronic conditions also so we are going to discuss this marma therapy in detail in this article.
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What Are Marma?
Marma are referred to as vital organs of the body, and any injury on the vital organs can lead to the loss of function of that particular organ or even death. The three most important marma which are mentioned in the ayurveda are heart, head, and basti (pelvic organ). Acharya sushruta has said that there are 107 marma in the body; basically these marmas are not divided on the basis of anatomical aspect but on the basis of energies in the body.
Types Of Marma
Acharya shushruta has divided marma in 5 subgroups on the basis of its result after an injury:
- Sadhya Pranhar Marma – Marmas when injured than it can result in death of the person instantly or within 7 days
- Kalantar Pranhar Marma – The marmas which when gets injured can result in death but after some time or within 15 days.
- Vishalyaghan Marma – After the injury of this marma it can result in death after the removal of the foreign body.
- Vaikalyakar Marma – This marma injury will not result in death but it can result in the dysfunction of the particular organ.
- Rujakar Marma – This marma when injured will not cause death but it will cause intense pain on the injured part.
Marma On The Basis Of Anatomy
There are a total of 107 marmas in the body which can be divided on the basis of anatomy like:
- Mamsa Marma – Marmas which includes muscles, these are 11 in number
- Sira Marma – These marmas are made up of the vital blood vessels of the body and are known as sira marma. These are 41 in number
- Snayu Marma – The marmas which includes vital organs made up of ligaments and tendons are known as snayu marma. They are 27 in number
- Asthi Marma – The vital organs which are made up of bones are included in this category. These are 8 in number.
- Sandhi Marma – This includes all the vital joints of the body. These are 20 in numbers.
Marma Therapy
We know marma theoretically by knowing their numbers, location, types, and their size now what is the use of knowing this information. As marma are the vital organs of the body any injury to them can be lethal so we should know how to treat them without affecting the health of the person.
These vital organs are also very helpful for the therapy of various diseases. These organs are important sites where the toxins, stress and negative emotions accumulate and for the release of these toxins we can use marma therapy. Marma therapy plays an important role in increasing immunity and decreasing the stress of a person.
For the marma therapy the marmas are to be stimulated for the release of blocked energies (prana) which are the main energetic centers where life forces accumulates and flows and serves like pranic switches which can be used to stimulate prana up or down, on or off at different places of the body.
There are Therapeutic marmas which are sensitive regions that can be used for direct energy and can be treated for healing purposes. The most important therapeutic marmas are the marmas of the arms and legs.
Diseases Which Can Be Treated With The Marma Therapy
There are a number of diseases which can be treated with the help of marma therapy, even some chronic conditions can also be treated with the help of marma therapy like:-
- Muscle and joint pains
- Stiff joints
- Muscle strains
- Respiratory diseases
- Digestion related issues
- Nervous system problems
- Headaches
- Aging disorders
- Psychological issues
- Low energy
- Migraine
- Paralysis like facial or bell’s palsy
- Carpal tunnel syndrome and many more
Various Methods For Marma Therapy
Marma therapy can be done by palpating and gaining knowledge of the marmas, and treatment can be done by stimulating marmas with the help of pressure (acupressure), heat (agni karma), oils (aromatic oils).
1. Abhyanga (Massage)
Different types of massages can be done on the vital marma points to treat various disorders like;
- Snehan – Massage with the oils
- Gharshana – Massage with dry powder
- Udvartan – It is further two types:-
- Ruksha – Used in obesity like coarse trifala powder used for the massage in obesity
- Snigdha – It is done with the oily paste
- Pizichil – Squeezing the oil which is soaked in a piece of cloth
- Kizhi – Massage on the marma is to be done by the thumb on the marmas
Precautions To Be Taken For The Marma Stimulation
For proper stimulation of the marma points various precautions are to be taken care which are like:-
- Exact location of the marma should be known by the clinician
- Nails should be trimmed off the clinician
- Patients should have a healthy and light diet
- Clinician should have an ample level of the positive energy so that he can transfer the positive energy to the patient.
- 6-8 pounds of pressure should be applied on the various marma points
- Direct pressure should not be applied on the soft areas but can be applied on the hard areas. In areas of bony prominence it can cause dizziness.
- If the patient is having strong satva then the marma therapy should be done while in sitting position and patients with the low satva marma therapy should be done while in lying position.
- Only hands are used for the stimulation of the marma.
- For the stimulation of the internal organs, massage should be done in the clockwise direction and for the detoxification massage should be done in the anticlockwise direction.
- Massage should be done for 30 minutes after the meal with 20-25 rounds for at least 3-5 minutes.
Choice Of Oils
For different disorders and sites different oils should be taken for the maximum benefits.
- Vataj Disorders – Sesame oil, Almond oil
- Pittaj Disorders – Coconut oils, Mint oil, Saffron oil, Rose oil etc.
- Kapha Disorders – Mustard oil, Corn oil etc.
2. Shirodhara Marma Therapy
It’s a type of oil massage on the sthapani marma by pouring oil from a certain height. Oils can be made according to the dosha involved. Warm oils can be used for the kapha and vata disorders and the cold oils can be used for the pitta disorders.
3. Marma Therapy By Herbal Paste (Lepa)
This method is helpful in reducing pain and swelling if this is applied to the proper marma area. This also gives strength and stability to bones and joints when applied to specific marma.
Different Marmas Where Paste Can Be Applied Are
- Sthapani, Shakha Marma – Here curcumin paste can be applied to calm down the hiccups.
- Nabhi Marma – Herbal paste of haritaki and hinga can be applied for constipation and flatulence.
4. Marma Therapy By Agnikarma
This includes the stimulation of the marma with the heat or heated shalaka. So it cannot be done on all marma points; some marma points are sadhyopranhara like the heart, head and basti (areas near the pelvis). All the marma points are very sensitive so direct heat cannot be applied on the areas so it is done by using an instrument known as agnikarma shalaka.
Method Of Agnikarma
- Agnikarma shalaka should be heated on the candle and the other side of the shalaka should be heated and this heat will travel to the side from where the Agni karma is to be done.
- The heat should be applied only to the level of skin (twak dagdha) not to the level of muscle (mamsa dagdha).
Agnikarma On Different Marmas
- Kurchashira Marma – It can be done on the sole of the growth of the excess bone which is known as vatakantaka in ayurveda (calcaneal spur)
- Kurcha Marma – Hepatic Coma – Right Kurcha, Splenomegaly – Left Kurcha
- Katiktaruna Marma – For the pain related to sciatica
- Janu Marma – For knee joint pain
- Karpura Marma – For the pain associated with the elbow joint
- Manibandha Marma – In the wrist joint pain
5. Marma Therapy By Blood Letting
Bloodletting is done by withdrawal of the blood from the capillaries. It is done by letting the blood out from the nearest veins to the marma. This is mainly carried out on the veins which are visible.
Advantages Of The Marma Therapy
- It is a no cost treatment
- Requires less medications
- Don’t have any side effects
- It is having really quick results
- It is a quick treatment so doesn’t require to stay at the hospital
- No anesthesia is required for the therapy
- Can be practiced self with some prior training
Conclusion
Marma therapy is a magical treatment which can treat many disorders without the use of medications. This treatment is really effective for some chronic and lifestyle disorders. It can be done by stimulating the marma points and these can be stimulated by many methods like massage, agni karma, and bloodletting. So using these treatments will be very helpful in treating painful conditions.