Kalari Marma Massage

Kalari Marma Massage is a practical manual therapy using specialised massage techniques with Kalari herbal oil. Herbal poultices (marma kizhi) and marma applications are also used to enhance the treatment.

Kalari Marma Massage is a form of massage in the Kalari Chikitsa system. Originating in Kerala in South India, Kalari Chikitsa is an ancient system of musculoskeletal treatments developed to benefit the warriors of Kalaripayattu.

Kalari Marma Massage was traditionally used by the Kalaripayattu warriors to treat and prevent their training and combat-related injuries. It was also used to treat the conditions that affected their ability to perform the martial art.

The techniques that were used to treat the ancient warriors, help a wider range of people today. Kalari Marma Massage is a highly effective form of treatment for injuries, chronic pain and movement dysfunctions.

Kalari Marma Massage is a practical manual therapy using specialised massage techniques with Kalari herbal oil. Herbal poultices (marma kizhi) and marma applications are also used to enhance the treatment.

The external application of warm herbalised oil plays a major role in Kalari Marma Massage. Kalari herbal oil is a transport mechanism for delivering herbs into the deeper tissues. When the warmed herbal oils are applied in a treatment, the pores of the skin are opened due to the warmth. This allows the healing properties of the herbs to more deeply penetrate the affected tissues. When herbs are used in this manner, they also help to pull impurities out of the body.

Kalari herbal oils are freshly made in our clinic by cooking selected herbs into a base oil, such as black sesame or coconut oil. The combination of ingredients is specialised for musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions. In Kalari Chikitsa, the herbal medicines are made from secret recipes passed down through the generations from Gurukkal to student.

Kizhi is a technique combined with massage to increase the pain-relieving benefits.

A Kizhi is a poultice that is densely packed with herbal ingredients and heated in warm herbal oil throughout the treatment. The Kizhi is massaged over the affected area or the whole body as required. The warmth of the poultices, combined with the active ingredients of the herbs and oils, improves circulation and reduces body stiffness and pain.

There are many varieties of Kizhi and the name is given based on the ingredients tied within the poultice. In this treatment we use Marma Kizhi. As Kalari Marma Massage was developed to prevent and treat the warrior’s injuries, this Kizhi is useful in modern day sports injuries and chronic pain conditions.

As with the Kalari herbal oils, the herbal ingredients in the Marma Kizhi are also made from secret recipes passed down through the generations from Gurukkal to student.

Marma applications are an important part of the Kalari tradition, both in the healing art and the martial art. For Kerala’s ancient warriors, their knowledge of marmas was used for both battle and healing purposes.

Marma (pressure points) are the vital energy points located throughout the body. They are often located at junction points, where two or more types of tissue meet such as muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, ligaments or bones.

Any obstruction to these points creates an imbalance that results in disease, pain and discomfort. The aim is to identify and address blockages in the marma system to restore the flow of energy in the body. This has the effect of boosting the body’s healing capacity.

Marma applications are done in a very particular way, and a specific technique is used for each point. In the Kalaripayattu tradition, one must know how to harm a marma to understand how to heal it with a counter-application.

The specialty of receiving a treatment with a Kalaripayattu Master is their practical and in-depth knowledge of marma. A Master knows exactly where the points are located, how to affect them in fighting, how to identify them if injured and how to manipulate them for healing.