Abhyanga

A SELF-CARE TOOL TO HELP YOU DE-STRESS AND FIND CALM

The pace of our modern life grants us very little time to slow down.

 You might actually be guilty of not allowing yourself to slow down, because you push yourself to meet your goals and strive to improve yourself, your work, and your life.

 As a result, you are always managing a neverending to-do list (as you to try be the best you can be) so you have very little time to actually take care of YOU.

You want to find a way to de-stress, center, and feel peaceful that is GOOD for you!

So, I am excited to share the Ayurvedic practice of Abhyanga with you because it is MAGIC and helps you in so many ways.

Abhyanga is one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE practices. There are so many amazing benefits for your physical and emotional health.  And, you can seriously throw away your lotion because this practice will hydrate your skin one thousand times better.

Abhyanga is an Ayurvedic self massage with oil that takes anywhere from 5-20 minutes (depending on how much time you have) and has many benefits:

  1. Nourishes, cleanses and soothes your body, including the nervous and endocrine systems

  2. The healing touch increases feel good hormones like dopamine and norepinephrine and oxytocin, the love hormone that is linked to longevity and happiness

  3. Calms your nervous system: decreases stress hormones like cortisol

  4. Benefits sleep—better, deeper sleep

  5. Increases stamina

  6. Lubricates the joints

  7. Increases circulation

  8. Stimulates the immune system and internal organs of the body

  9. Assists in elimination of impurities from the body

  10. Moves the lymph, aiding in detoxification

  11. Enhances vision

  12. Makes hair (scalp) grow luxuriantly, thick, soft and glossy

  13. Softens and smooths the skin; wrinkles are reduced and disappear

 

HOW TO USE ABHYANGA TO RECOVER FROM A STRESSFUL DAY:

  1. Choose your oil.  You can use oils that you find in your kitchen: almond, coconut, sunflower, or sesame are good options. You can also purchase oils that are specifically for massage.  My favorite oil is the Tri-doshic Oil from LifeSpa or the Vata Oil from Banyan Botanicals.  It is best to warm the oil first but it is not 100% necessary. 

  2. Prepare the space: Be totally ready to go to bed, have your room ready and all of your day’s activities wrapped up.  It is best to do Abhyanga in your bathroom, make the room warm, put a towel down, and decide if you are going to take a bath or shower after.

  3. Cheater Abhyanga: Put the oil on your body right before or even in the shower. Your body is getting the nourishment.

THE PRACTICE: 

First of all, you CANNOT mess this up. Practicing with love is the most important thing!

You will massage your body beginning with your head and work your way toward your feet. Spend extra time on those parts that feel good to massage and the parts of your body that you do not like (and send them a little love!).

As a general rule, you use the palm of your hands making long strokes back and forth over the long bones and circles over the joints. 

  1. Start with a head massage: Place a small amount of oil on the fingertips and palms and begin to massage the scalp. The massage for the head and for the entire body should be with the open part of the hand rather than with the fingertips. Since the head is said to be one of the most important areas to be focus on during abhyanga, spend more time on the head than you do on other parts of the body. (In all honesty, if I am not going to wash my hair after the massage, I skip my head, you will still receive the calming benefits).

  2. Face and Ears: Gently massage the face and ears.

  3. Neck: Massage both the front and back of the neck, and the upper part of the spine. Continue to use your open hand to rub the neck.

  4. Torso: You may want to now apply a small amount of oil to your entire body and then proceed with the massage to each area of the body.

  5. Arms, Hands and Fingers: Next massage your arms. The proper motion is back and forth over your long bones, and a circular motion over your joints. Massage both arms, including the hands and fingers.

  6. Chest and Abdomen: Now apply oil to the chest and abdomen. A very gentle circular motion should be used over your heart. Over the abdomen, a gently circular motion should be used, following the bowel pattern from the right lower part of the abdomen, moving clockwise up, over, and down towards the left lower part of the abdomen.

  7. Back and Spine: Massage the back and spine. There might be some areas which you may have difficulty reaching. I like to go in circles over my vertebrae.

  8. Legs: Massage the legs. Like the arms, use a back and forth motion over the long bones and a circular motion over the joints.

  9. Feet: Lastly, massage the bottoms of the feet. The feet are important, spend some extra time here.  Use the open part of your hand and massage vigorously back and forth over the soles of the feet.

  10. Allow the oil to sit on your skin for up to 45 minutes, preferably around 20 minutes, but if you don’t have that long it’s totally fine!

  11. Jump in the bath and soak or rinse off in the shower, careful in the shower your feet might be a little slippery. You do not need to use soap to wash the oil off, your pores will open and absorb all of it’s goodness. 

 

Be careful: The shower floor might be a little slippery from the oil if you would like, squirt a little dish soap on the floor and scrub it around with your feet to break down the oil. Finally, allow your warm and nourished body to sink into bed to enjoy a well-deserved night’s rest. 

Here is the PDF. I also made a video tutorial for my stressed out mamas:

Enjoy!!