The Wisdom of Marmani

Marma is a Sanskrit word with over 20 different meanings. A few examples: Vitality, Crucial, Important, a point of Creativity or Dissolution, a secret spot, mini-minds. Marma comes to us from an ancient Indian healers, and it is a tradition that has been passed down from teacher to student for ages. My teacher/Guru has taught me to see Marma as an entry point to life and death. This is not meant in a sinister way, but Marma points are where energy or prana flows which can also cause us harm when injured. Injury can be physical or even by another's use of words.

I like to think of all beings as more than just the flesh. We are more than what we can see and feel and are all connected because we are all made of energy. Take a moment and think of your energetic body as a mass of water which is trying to maintain balance and stillness. Now think of that mass of water and all the obstacles the water must face. Ripples begin with the small particles and waves by the larger objects. That is in essence what our energetic body is doing.

A Marma point is the bridge between our physical and energetic body. It starts as a vibration called Spanda which has two components: the Cosmic Mind and the Individual Mind. The Cosmic mind represents the divine—how we all have the divine within. The Individual Mind is not simply the brain but includes the intelligence of every cell. Every organ is designed to speak to us in its own way. The Spanda is responsible for the first ripple and is otherwise known as prana. Yogis know prana as the life force within us, and it is made up of Matter and Consciousness. These move through our seven Chakras and down through 72,000 Nadis Lines. The Nadis lines act as channels similar to the meridians in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). The Nadis lines lead to the Marma or Marmani points in the body. 

There are 107 classical points with 108th point being the mind. Marma is where the five elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether) are formed, where the three Doshas (Kapha, Pitta, Vata) are birthed, the meeting place of the three states of mind Gunas (Sattva-truth, Rajas-movement, Tamas-dark), and where the three essences of energy emerge (Prana-energy, Tejas-brilliance, and Ojas-resilience). Out of the classical 108, there are 44 which are considered therapeutically touchable, while the other 64 are helped through meditation, mantras/sound, and fragrances. Each Marma is made up of Intelligence, Consciousness and Matter.

As you start to work with Marma points, you will begin to connect with your own personal vibration. It feels as though you have a second pulse that doesn’t line up with your heart beat. The Guru Indu Arora, who I was so lucky to learn from, told us to “tune your body to the rhythm of health.” She pointed us to an Ayurvedic Scripture: “Nothing is new, it’s only a reminder to you.”

Our bodies are so very intelligent, and they speak to us all day long. However, sadly we are often out of tune with what they are saying. 

So I leave you with this thought... Next time you are working out, or at yoga, or at the ballet barre, or walking the dog, or anything else, notice the taste on your tongue. Try to describe it for yourself. Is it bitter? Dry? Sweet? Believe it or not, that is your tongue’s intelligence speaking to you about the situation or even mind set you are in. I challenge you to start noticing the small things. You may even start to feel your own vibration if you learn to listen.

I am forever a student and always learning, I write from a place of openness and hope to always continue to learn. I would love to hear from you, feel free to contact me with any thoughts, questions or if you would like to give Marma a try. I want to give gratitude to Indu Arora for sharing her knowledge so openly, without tethers of ego. I thank you for the love you share.

Happy Feet Happy Life.

Our feet tend to be the most overworked part of our body and at they same time they often receive the least amount of care. Throughout my life, I have had the pleasure of wearing many different hats during my many journeys, yet the only constant link has been my feet. I’m lucky to report that my feet have always carried me to exactly where I need to be.

Along the way I acquired multiple foot regimens. Some of these serve me well to this day, while others I do not miss. For instance, I use a simple yoga technique daily: I lift my feet up in the air above my head every night before bed to allow the blood to drain down my legs, decrease swelling from the day, and let my feet begin to rejuvenate as I fall asleep. This allows me to have a more restful sleep, and when I wake up, my feet feel much happier. However, I do not miss having to plunge my feet into a bucket of ice water every night after work to keep inflammation down from a long day of rehearsals. Now I reserve this technique for times of injury as a more severe therapy.

Like all things in life, there will be ebbs and flows within one’s self-care. I believe that a big part of health has more to do with each individual’s needs and/or constitution. Learning to listen to what our bodies are trying to tell us is an important part of addressing these different conditions. This philosophy stems from my Ayurveda roots, and I will have much more to share on this topic in other blog posts soon.

Today, I would like to share some knowledge about the more structured systems of foot care which I find to have tremendous health benefits for those who use it. In case you love facts and history as I do: Did you know that the Egyptians had footwork drawn in their Hieroglyphics? This dates all the way back to 2300 BC—almost 5,000 years ago! This is just one documentation of foot care being used as a modality to help us live better. Other cultures such as Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Indian, Native American and African all have beautiful ancient techniques designed as foot care regimens.

My current favorite footwork modality happens to be Reflexology. If you are not familiar with this technique, it can be thought of as fingers and thumbs walking on your foot. Reflexology is a touch therapy that applies pressure to reflex points on the feet, hands, or ears. The reflex points correspond to organs, glands and other parts of the body, and there are two schools of thought on why it works.

The first is that life-energy passes through the body via energy pathways called meridians or zones. The pressure applied allows obstructions in this energy to be removed so that it can flow freely again. The second concept considers our nerve connections. We have thousands of nerve endings in our hands and feet. The pressure applied stimulates the nerve allowing it to induce its own balance throughout the body. There is also the lymphatic theory where the pressure applied encourages lymph activity. This theory is currently bigger in Europe. No matter which theory speaks to you, I encourage you to give Reflexology a try.

I will leave you with this fun take home nugget from my friend Sara Gray a licensed barefoot massage therapist, “The toes are a tool. I strengthen my toes and all the muscles in between my metatarsals by picking up tumbled stones. Strengthening your toes can help with balance issues and foot pain.”

Sustainable Choice

I’d like preface this post by saying that I am not an expert in sustainability. I am humbly writing today to say, “I can do better.” These are a few thoughts I’ve had lately to bring my own consciousness to this massive concept. I am here to learn and share my own experiences. It is never to judge others but to find a way to build a community to work together toward similar goals. It feels fitting for this blog I am creating to start from the earth and work our way up.

For a few years now we have been searching for an old farm door with the perfect specs for our home. This past Mother’s Day all I wanted was to complete this project and share it with my family. After another failed attempt at finding that old door, we thought maybe we will have to turn to a more commercial approach—buy something new. My heart sunk at the thought of spending a few hundred dollars and generating more waste, which as a planet we have so much of. According to the EPA, 548 million tons of C&D (construction and demolition) debris were generated in the United States in 2015—more than twice the amount of generated municipal solid waste. Demolition represents more than 90 percent of total C&D debris generation, while construction represents less than 10 percent. Now I know that is not all doors, but I do know that solving this problem starts with small steps and small changes in thought. Our door became a significant thought, and it just may be my catalyst to be more aware. We made a conscious choice: let’s not create more waste, as we can make this door a fun, cheery project and repurpose.

The universe always presents us with inspiring humans. They are putting sustainability at the front of their lives work. Their dharma will give our children a space on this earth to continue to live on. Talk about a beautiful life path. Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of walking through an exhibit from the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture. It was a collection of the students’ top work from the year, and my husband was among these creative thinkers. I was blown away by the way these minds care about the future. Why not make this a better place for us all to live?

Coming back to the door, which I know can sound trivial, I realized that for me it was a symbol of my mind and what I deem beautiful. The older I get, the more beautiful experience becomes, just as a wrinkle is beautiful for the wisdom it holds. Our homes can be similar, if we allow ourselves the opportunity to unlock the choices we are given for betterment. So today, I choose to care about my impact on this planet and hope to get better. I hope one day these thoughts will be reflected in all my choices that I make in life.

I’d love to hear your thoughts . What inspires change in you? How are you looking at the future of sustainability? Please share your own trials and wisdom below.

Welcome All...

This blog is designed to be a place to learn, play and grow with us. At Bindu + Body we invite all to enjoy themselves, take what serves you and leave the rest for someone else who may need it.

Looking forward to our adventures,

Eva