Inner Development

Today, the teaching of Kalarippayattu emphasizes inner development along with battlefield skills. By practicing the physical forms, students learn to value and actualize their inner strength and apply it in daily life. Just as hatha yoga, the physical forms affect the vayus or vital energies, which form the bridge between the gross body (sthula-sharira) and the subtle (sukshma-sharira) body. Flowing with correct postural alignment in Kalarippayattu controls and harmonizes these vayus within the body, and can result in an inner awakening. Ultimately, Kalarippayattu is about resolving conflict and developing a way of being where the participant learns to neutralize the negative energies within before they take control of one’s actions.
The practice of Kalarippayattu as a discipline for the body and mind, focusing on development of outer awareness and cultivation of inner strength, makes this martial art as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago.