We’ve talked about agni, panchakarma, and daily rhythms, which are all great avenues to achieve health through the body. Today, I am going to talk about something a little different. A key Ayurvedic principle states: “that which is subtler is more powerful and pervasive over that which is gross.” Because the mind and prana are subtler than the material body, they rule and pervade the body, playing key roles in maintaining our physical health. So, please join me in shifting our attention to these subtler forces as we explore the channel of the mind.

Ayurveda details the exact pathway of the mind. But first, a little background. There are 16 major channels for the major bodily functions — 3 for receiving (air, food, and water), 3 for eliminating (sweat, urine, and feces), 7 that correspond to the 7 major tissues, 2 that are specific to women (relating to lactation and menstruation), and 1 for the mind. Each functional channel has a root, pathway, and opening.

For example, the channel for receiving food has its roots in the esophagus and greater curvature of the stomach. Its pathway is the GI tract, extending from the mouth to the ileocecal valve, and its opening is the ileocecal valve, which empties into the colon. The channel of the blood has its roots in the liver and spleen, which we know are the embryonic roots of blood formation. Its pathway is the arterial system and its opening is the capillary bed. And so on for all the channels. Most of these make total structural and functional sense.

Coming to the channel of the mind, things get more complicated. Let’s break it down and try to understand it.

The Root

The mind is rooted primarily in the heart! Our emotions and thoughts share a common root, each affecting the other. If we don’t observe and process our emotions and thoughts into true understanding (i.e. love and compassion), they will create toxic emotional sludge (mental ama), which will make our hearts heavy. This sludge will be pumped forth, circulated, delivered to each and every cell, and lodge in deep connective tissue.

In Ayurveda, there is no such thing as “my mind was telling me one thing and my heart another.” The mind begins in the heart. It is only when we do not follow our hearts that dissonance arises, which impels us to compartmentalize our beings. Wholeness is feeling a unity of emotion, thought, word, and deed – when we compartmentalize these parts of ourselves, we can no longer be whole.

The Pathway

The pathway of the mind is the entire person. Ayurvedically, each of us is much more than the physical body with which we are most familiar. Our physical body is actually the innermost layer of our being, which also includes an auric field comprising a series of energetic sheaths. The channel of the mind pervades our entire being, extending through the auric field and our physical body. Where the traditional western idea is that the mind is contained in the brain or is somehow separate from the body, the Ayurvedic understanding is that the mind extends from beyond to include the entire body. In fact, the physical body, situated at the core of the auric field, is simply a crystallization of the mind!

Therefore, the connections between the functions of our minds and bodies are inextricable. As our unprocessed thoughts and feelings travel through our auras, they are effecting changes in our bodies. We can often sense someone’s sadness before we see it in their eyes – this is because we can perceive the sadness in their auric field. Similarly, when we are drawn to people who radiate a certain something, it is because we are magnetized by the purity and luminosity of their auras. Because the body is crystallized mind, illness often exists in a person’s auric field before it manifests in the body. So, we can definitely improve our physical health by cultivating healthy minds.

Each and every cell is bathed with what we think and feel. We know that a cell carries memory in the form of DNA, and scientists are learning that environmental influences turn certain genes on and off. In doing so, they are confirming the Ayurvedic idea that our cells are intelligent and carry the memories of our life experiences.

The body is constantly renewing itself. We have entirely new skin cells every 30 days, new blood cells every 120 days, and new liver cells every 6 months. Because our thoughts influence our DNA, we have the power and the responsibility to create intelligent tissues composed of healthy cells. If we start now, we’ll see the results in our physical bodies in the coming months.

The Openings

The openings of the mind channel are located all over the surface of the body at 117 energy points – the marmani. This means we can directly impact our neurochemistry by applying pressure to these points on our bodies! Many of the marmani are located at the intersections of nerves, arteries, and veins, and there is a significant degree of correspondence between the location of marmani and acupuncture points (except there are no needles necessary in marma therapy!). By applying pressure to a marma point, a practitioner can dissolve ama, reestablish the flow of prana, and kindle the agni of an underlying organ. The therapeutic effects of this practice are immediate and build with repetition. Interestingly, marma points get tender when there is mental ama clogging the free flow of prana through the associated organs. Thereby, marma point pressure can also serve a diagnostic role.

Marma therapy is powerful. I’ve seen intractable nausea resolve immediately during a single session and depression improve over several sessions, such that the client forgot there was a problem in the first place. Some people cry because the pressure breaks up and releases crystallized emotions lodged in deep connective tissue. Universally, my clients report profound relaxation similar to that of a deep trance state.

Ayurvedic literature also describes the potential for one to experience divine bliss through marma. Prana flows from the practitioner to the receiver, and as per Dr. Lad, “through marma therapy, new pathways are opened within the mind channel which allow particular mind to transcend its conditioned state and expand into universal mind.” The experience depends on the intent of the practitioner, the openness of the receiver, and the clarity of pranic flow.

Indian funeral rites actually reference key marmani! This speaks to me of their role in traversing the gap between individual and universal consciousness and the merging of the individual spirit with the universal – jiva with Shiva.

Although receiving marma therapy from another is preferable because it creates the space for such a flow of prana, you can also do self-marma and receive immediate relief for common ailments such as headaches, heartburn, nausea, anxiety, insomnia, and pain.

Practical Tips

Now that you have a better understanding of the channel of the mind and the nature of its connections to our physical body, let’s summarize the key points about how to apply this knowledge.

Follow your heart to feel whole. The concept here is one of integrity — unity of thought, emotion, word, and deed. Be honest with yourself about what you want and how you feel. Don’t artificially compartmentalize your mind and heart. When our mind and heart are one, as they are meant to be, intuition flowers.

Examine your thoughts. See if their nature is consistent with achieving your health goals. Do we have angry, frustrated thoughts or bumper to bumper thoughts that leave no space for bliss to unfold? Do we harbor deep sadness and hopelessness or feel lonely and anxious? We are what we think; there’s no escaping it. Our bodies are the physical manifestation of our minds. A healthy body is only possible with a healthy mind. And we can start reshaping our bodies with our minds today!

Express your thoughts and emotions. If you bury them, they will block the flow of prana in your body and will show up later as disease. Here is where we use the tool of awareness. We witness what we are thinking and feeling fully without judgement, just allowing it to be until it dissolves. The absence of anxiety, loneliness, frustration, hate, jealousy, greed, sadness, and attachment is love and compassion. So when we allow ourselves full expression and dissolution, we end up with love.

Remember your connection to the universal. This can be through prayer, meditation, mantra, yoga, service etc. Practice thinking less about “me “ and more about “we.” Thus, the division between universal consciousness and individual consciousness disappears and profound bliss and healing are channeled from the universal mind into the body.

And when we fail at points 1-4, nature has afforded us a means to access and alter the mind directly and immediately through the body, at the marmani. Take a look at today’s video to learn some marma basics and about how to heal yourself through pressing some key marma points.

The channel of the mind is not a structural entity. It is a continuous flow of consciousness that connects the universal to the individual and the individual to the body. Matter is crystallized consciousness, hence the mind/body connection. It is through the mind and awareness that we shape the body; practicing emotional integrity, awareness, and full expression are our key tools. And, when we connect with the universal, we tap into the bountiful bliss and radical healing stored in the universe at each and everyone’s disposal.

– Nisha Khanna, M.D.

The Anatomy of the Mind: You Are What You Think