More than five lakh medical cases from all over India have been treated with the help of varmam techniques at the initiative of Coimbatore-based Arts Research Institute (ARI), a public charitable trust which is into its 11th year now.

The institute, run by doctors practising alternative medicine besides allopathy, handles on an average 6,000 patients a year in Coimbatore with the help of about 50 volunteers who are behind its smooth operations.

Varmam or marmam (mystery)?

Common man’s interpretation of varmam is mystical and ethereal, but, Dr N Shanmugam, varma researcher and honorary advisor for ARI insists that varmam is an ancient art and is highly scientific.

“A special baby who was crying non-stop for more than 10 days was soothed after application of varmam and returned home with overwhelmed parents who wanted nothing more.”

Varmam is a subtle flow of energy that moves systematically, he said.

“A combination of different fingers are used to press, rotate, pinch and lift the points in applying varmam techniques. The focus is in the intensity of pressure applied and the time factor,” he explained.

“Varmam are points in the body where vital life force is seen in high concentration,” he said.

The spots (varmams), located on nerves, nerve joints, bones, muscles, ligaments and internal organs, function as vital force generators, which when blocked causes diseases, explained Dr Shanmugam, who has taught the technique to thousands of students, a good number of who are now volunteering their services at the institute and elsewhere in India.

“Varmams are rhythmically tuned by varma experts for curing various diseases like facial palsy, autism, hyperactivity, depression, arthritis, back pain, diabetes, spinal problems, fracture and post-surgical care,” said the researcher, who is by profession a Tamil professor, and has spent 37 years unearthing ancient varmam texts in the form of poems and formatting them into comprehensible language.

Dr Shanmugam, who coined the word varmology to lend a universal persona to the art, said it is connected with various disciplines like Siddha medicine, yoga, therapeutic massage, astrology, psychology, sociology, martial arts.

It’s a lifesaving technique while handling emergency situations till medical help becomes available, he said. Citing an example he said, it’s common for soldiers posted at high altitude locations to suffer from hypoxia –insufficient oxygen.

“I was invited by the Indian Army to share my knowledge of varmam techniques with soldiers in Leh and Ladakh. There I taught them how to help improve a victim’s breathing and stabilize his condition till he gets medical support.”

There are 108 varmams, which are classified under different categories. One such classification is based on 12 nerves (or a meridian channel) in the nervous system. Each meridian channel consists of one Padu varmam and eight Thodu varmam.

Traditionally practised in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, varmam is gaining importance all over the country and now even reaching out to countries like Germany, Canada and Singapore, thanks to the free training camps for parents of special children conducted by ARI under the guidance of Dr Shanmugam.

Through three helplines the camps have brought together parents who are taught individually specific varmam techniques needed to heal their children.

“A biological mother’s touch is more effective than any varmam practitioner,” says Dr Shanmugam. Next Sunday, a camp in Tirupur will see 100 doctors trained in varmam share their expertise with parents of 700 special children.

Following this, camps will be held in Trichy, Madurai with Chennai closing the year.

ARI’s 2016 calendar started with a camp in Chennai in February, which handled 500 children with the support of 75 doctors. Close on the heels followed the Nagercoil camp in April manned by 60 doctors and benefiting 317 children.

Besides the techniques, the parents are advised on nutritious diet that will reduce hyperactivity and other related disorders.

“We follow up individually on each case after the camp and increase or decrease the frequency of varmam application depending on the progress,” said Suresh Manohar, an ARI trustee.

“The parents have seen an amazing 60 per cent improvement in a month,” said the engineer who runs a textile dye business.

Social media has helped spread awareness besides by word of mouth, to the extent we managed to put together a big number for the Tirupur camp without any advertisements, he said.

A revered aasan (guru) for many, Dr Shanmugam says he started learning varmam when he was in the 10th grade and his mother was his first teacher.

His army of 600 volunteers from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, as he put it, fund and run the operations and their mission is simple – put a smile on as many as they can!