"MARMA" is a Sanskrit term for sensitive or vulnerable points on the body.

Marma therapy is an important tool of both disease prevention and disease treatment in Ayurveda. It can be used to balance the dosha, to increase agni (the digestive fire), for detoxification (reduce ama), as well as to promote energy (vajikarana) and aid in rejuvenation (rasayana) .It can be part the clinical methods (pancha karma) but also part of self-care and our daily health regimen.

Marmas are special Ayurvedic energy points similar to acupuncture points. Marmas are also locations in which the  dosha of Vata, Pitta and Kapha can be held, along with their subtle essences of prana, tejas and ojas .As sensitive zones, marmas can hold various emotion like fear( vata), anger (pitta) or attachment (kapha), as well as the gunas or primary qualities of sattva (calm), rajas (aggression) and tamas (inertia). In this regard the concept of marmas goes beyond modern medicine and its purely physical definitions to the principles of mind-body medicine.

Marmas are of various composition relative to the tissues that make them up, defined as bone, tendon, muscle, nerve or vein, including relative to channels that carry the doshas and channels that carry thought and emotion. Many Marmas are on peripheral regions of the body like arms and legs.

The treatment of marmas, though having many methods, is primarily a matter of therapeutic touch. Ayurveda employs massage and pressure to marma points. Ayurveda use special medicated massage oil, generally herbs prepared  in a sesame oil base.