Quality of touch - the different levels in Ayurvedic and Marma treatments

The sense of touch (sparśa or sparśana) has special characteristics that make it rather 'special' among the five senses:

It is the most extensive sense organ, being localized throughout the skin. Touch is a fundamental faculty: one can live without sight, without hearing, or even without sight and hearing together, but it is practically impossible to live without touch.

Tactile perception is the only one that functions bidirectionally: one can see without being seen, hear without being heard, taste without being tasted, and smell without being smelled, but it is impossible to touch without being touched.

Tactile perception requires the cancellation of the distance between the perceiver and the perceived. One can hear and see from a distance, but one cannot touch without being touched. This characteristic makes touch a particularly 'intimate' and important sense in relations between living beings, human and non-human.

In the Sāṃkhya doctrine and Āyurveda, the sense of touch (śparśendriya) is related to the subtle principle of tangibility (sparśa), and the element of air (Vāyu).

What are the qualities (guṇa) that are perceived by touch?
According to the traditional view, they are the pairs of opposites hot-cold, smooth-rough, and soft-hard.
Thus, temperature, shape, and texture are perceived.

Air is the main component of doṣa Vāta; therefore the tactile experience is connected to Vāta and can influence the balance of that mood.

In Vāta disorders, massage is one of the first therapeutic modalities by the connection between the sense organ of touch, the skin, and Vāta. Different gradations of touch are provided.

For the doctor but more importantly for the ayurvedic therapist, plain and direct contact with the patient plays an important role in the management of the therapy.

In this workshop, we will see different kinds of touch related to different ayurvedic treatments and also different possibilities of touch in Marma therapy.
We will recognize the importance of guṇa valuation in every aspect: the guṇa of the therapist, the guṇa of the materials, the guṇa of the treatment, the guṇa of the environment, and the guṇa of the patient..all these aspects play different roles for successful therapy.