What Are Marma Points, and How Can You Use Them to Boost Your Health?

by Madeline Kim on Aug 24, 2020

For those who are interested in a natural, holistic approach to pain relief, improved complexion, and a boosted immune system, marma point therapy is an ideal solution. Through this ancient Ayurvedic healing practice, energy points on the body are massaged to treat a variety of ailments, from digestive problems to inflammation to body aches and joint pain. The best part? While you can receive formal treatment from a trained Ayurvedic practitioner, you can also tap into the healing effects of the marma points from the comfort of your own home with a Kansa wand. UMA even recently released our own Kansa Wand as part of our Ultimate Ayurveda Kit!

Here, we’ll outline the basics of marma points, and how you can use marma therapy to take charge of your own health.

What are marma points?

Before we dive into treatment options and benefits, it will be useful to understand what marma points are, and how they can influence our health and wellness. In short, marma points are energy centers on the body where various types of tissue meet, such as ligaments, joints, and bones. They reflect the balance of the doshas and circulate channels of the body’s inner life force, or prana. By stimulating specific marma points, marma therapies aim to bring the doshas into positive balance and to treat various ailments and conditions. Marma points are comparable to acupressure points in Chinese acupuncture, though marma points are linked to chakras while acupressure points are linked to meridians.

In ancient times, knowledge of marma points was used on the battlefield to target the weak points of enemies as well as in treatment and surgery. Today, marma therapies typically focus on stimulating a subset of 107 marma points through massages in circular movements, and treatment can be tailored to each individual’s needs.

What are the benefits of marma point therapy?

The range of marma therapy’s treatment possibilities is truly impressive—as one study demonstrates, marma therapy can improve circulation and strengthen digestive, cardiac, endocrine, and immunological systems. Marma therapy can thus be used as an effective treatment for a variety of ailments, ranging from back pain to inflamed skin. The benefits of marma therapy include:

Increased circulation and balanced pH levels for clear, healthy skin
Reduced tensions and stress in the muscles
Pain relief (including headache, backache, and joint pain)
Reduced digestion and elimination problems
Reduced stress and anxiety
Improved energy levels and mental focus
Better sleep quality
Boosted internal peace and tranquility

As you can see, marma point therapy provides a wide range of benefits for your needs, both physical and emotional. Plus, the stimulation of the massage will boost circulation and promote a sense of bodily relaxation almost immediately!

How can I practice marma point therapy at home?

In a formal marma therapy treatment, an Ayurvedic practitioner will assess your needs and stimulate the relevant marma points using circular massage movements. However, you can also conduct your own mini marma therapy at home using a Kansa wand! Using a Kansa wand, you can stimulate marma points around your face and neck in order to promote benefits that are especially healing for the skin, including a brightened complexion and lymphatic drainage for the purification of toxins. Below is a diagram demonstrating how to use a Kansa wand, and more information about the uses and benefits of the Kansa wand can be found here.

how to use kansa wand