Introduction

Many experienced yoga practitioners gravitate to the martial art Kalarippayattu because of its common philosophical roots to hatha yoga. While India is home to many martial art styles, Kalarippayattu, which hails from the state of Kerala, is particularly comprehensive and vivid in expression. What makes this style unique is its combined emphasis on physical development, self-discovery, combat, and healing. In Kerala’s mother tongue, Malayalam, kalari means ‘place, gymnasium, battlefield,’ payattu means ‘martial exercise.’ Acknowledged to be one of the world’s oldest martial arts, with origins that date back to 200 BCE, Kalarippayattu elicits a similar psycho-spiritual experience in its practitioners as hatha yoga. Practitioners of the martial art focus on attaining a transformative state where they become doubtless and fearless, often described as that moment when ‘the body is all eyes.’