The Vital Head Marma Points

The head marma points are, in the classical understanding of Ayurveda, among the most vital in the whole body, and the tradition treats them with corresponding care. A marma is a vital point where, in the words of Sushruta, the five tissues meet: mamsa (flesh), sira (vessel), snayu (sinew), asthi (bone) and sandhi (joint). At these junctions, the texts hold, Prana, the vital breath, is especially present, so an injury there carries weight far beyond an ordinary wound. The head, as the seat of the senses and the mind, naturally carries several of the most important marma of all.

What a marma is

The classical account of marma is set out most fully in the Sushruta Samhita, in the sixth chapter of the Sharirasthana, and echoed in the Ashtanga Hridayam. Sushruta counts one hundred and seven marma in all, spread across the limbs, trunk, back and, at the summit, the head and neck. They are the anatomical points a surgeon must know so as not to harm them, and in later tradition they became points of gentle therapy as well.

Marma are classified in several ways. By tissue, a marma is named for the tissue that predominates there. By region, they are grouped across the body. And by gravity, Sushruta ranks them by what their injury brings about:

• Sadyah Pranahara, those whose serious injury is most grave.
• Kalantara Pranahara, those whose harm tells over time.
• Vishalyaghna, those tied to a lodged foreign body.
• Vaikalyakara, those whose injury brings lasting impairment.
• Rujakara, those chiefly associated with pain.

The head and neck hold the greatest concentration of the most guarded, Sadyah Pranahara, marma, which is why the tradition regards this region as the most delicate of all.

Why the head matters most

Ayurveda calls the head Uttamanga, the highest and best part. Charaka names it the seat of the senses and of Prana, the point where the channels of the sense organs gather. The mind, the intellect and the sense faculties are all connected, in the classical view, with the head. It follows that the vital points of the head govern not only the body’s life but the working of the senses and the clarity of the mind. This is the reason head marma are approached with such gentleness in therapy: they are understood to touch the finest and most important functions.

The chief marma of the head

Several marma sit on the head itself. These are the ones the classical texts name most often.

Adhipati

Adhipati marma sits at the very crown of the head, near the point where an infant’s fontanelle closes. Its name means “the lord” or “the ruler”, and it is fitting: Sushruta counts it among the Sadyah Pranahara marma and describes it as ruling over the mind and the senses. It is the single point at the summit of the body, and in therapy it is treated with the lightest possible touch, warmed and oiled but never pressed with force.

Sthapani

Sthapani marma lies at the centre of the forehead, between the eyebrows, at the point later traditions associate with the “third eye”. It is linked with the mind and with steadiness, and it is the classic point over which Shirodhara, the steady pouring of warm oil on the forehead, is directed. The tradition connects Sthapani with a settled, quiet mind, which is why the gentle warmth of oil there is so prized.

Shankha

Shankha marma sits at the temple, on the side of the head above the ear, where the bone is thin. Its name means conch, for the shape of the temple region. Sushruta places it among the most vital marma. Because the temple is delicate, it is protected and only softly touched, never struck or pressed hard.

Utkshepa and Avarta

Utkshepa marma lies just above the temple, near the hairline, and Avarta marma sits above the outer eyebrow. Both are counted among the more guarded points and are worked, if at all, with a soft, careful touch. The tradition treats this whole band around the temple and brow as sensitive.

Phana and Apanga

Phana marma sits on either side of the base of the nose, at the flare of the nostril, and is connected in the tradition with the sense of smell and the passages of the nose. Apanga marma lies at the outer corner of the eye and is connected with sight. Both belong to the group whose injury the tradition links with impairment of a sense, so they are handled gently.

Around and just below the head, the Krikatika marma at the junction of the head and neck, and the Vidhura behind and below the ear, are also of great importance, being the points where the head meets the neck and the senses of hearing pass.

The head as a Trimarma

To grasp why these points are guarded so carefully, it helps to know that the head is not merely a region with several marma on it but is itself one of the three great vital regions. Ayurveda names the Trimarma, the three supreme seats whose integrity the whole body depends on: the Shiras (head), the Hridaya (heart) and the Basti (bladder). The head holds the senses, the mind and, in the classical view, the confluence of the channels that serve them, and Adhipati at the crown is treated almost as the head’s own governing point. Injury to the Trimarma is regarded in the texts as the gravest of all, which is why the whole head is approached with such care and why its marma are worked, in therapy, only with the lightest and stillest of touch. This is also why the tradition places the daily oiling of the head so high among its practices: tending the seat of the senses gently is, in the classical reading, tending something the body cannot do without.

How the head marma are classified by tissue

The classical scheme also sorts each marma by the tissue that predominates there, and this shapes how a point behaves. Sushruta names five types by tissue: Mamsa marma (flesh), Sira marma (vessel), Snayu marma (sinew), Asthi marma (bone) and Sandhi marma (joint). Several of the head points sit where bone is thin or where vessels and sinews gather, which is part of why they are counted among the most vital and are so easily harmed by force. Shankha at the temple, for instance, lies where the bone is notably thin, and the points around the eye and nose sit close to fine vessels and the channels of the senses. Knowing the predominant tissue of a point is, in the classical account, part of knowing how deep and how firmly it may ever be engaged, which for the head is: barely, and only with warmth, oil and a soft hand.

How head marma are used in therapy

In later Ayurveda, and especially in the southern marma chikitsa tradition, the marma became points of gentle therapy as well as points to be guarded. On the head this work is soft by nature, because the points govern the mind and senses. The main ways the head marma are engaged are these.

Shiro-abhyanga. The oiling and light massage of the head is the everyday way the tradition tends the head marma. Warm oil is worked gently over the scalp, the crown, the forehead and the temples, and the tradition connects this with a settled mind, sound sleep and the well-being of the senses.

Shirodhara. The steady pouring of warm oil over the forehead is directed at Sthapani between the brows. It is a therapist’s treatment, associated in the tradition with a deeply quiet, settled mind.

Gentle touch and warmth. In marma work the head points are engaged with light, still touch, warmth and oil rather than deep pressure. Force on a vital point is precisely what the tradition warns against; the aim is to soothe and steady, not to press.

Precautions

The head marma are classified among the most vital points in the body, and this is the heart of the caution. Gentle oiling and light massage of the head, as in daily Shiro-abhyanga, is a normal, soothing practice. But deep, forceful or striking work on the vital points of the head is not a matter for home practice. Marma therapy on vital points belongs with a trained practitioner who knows the anatomy, the depth and the touch each point allows. Anyone with a head injury, severe headache or neurological concern should treat it as a matter for a qualified doctor.

This entry describes the classical Ayurvedic understanding of the head marma points and is for education, not medical advice. Speak to a qualified practitioner before undertaking any marma therapy, especially if you have a health condition.