Abhyanga: Ayurvedic Self-Massage
What is Abhyanga?
Abhyanga is an Ayurvedic practice that you can do as a part of your daily health routine, or your dinacharya. It is a type of oil massage where you massage yourself head to toe, and can be tailored to help balance your doshas, the three energies of nature. This type of oil massage is an act of self care and self love. The Sanskrit word Sneha can be translated to either “oil” or “love”, and abhyanga is a part of the system of therapeutics called snehana, which translates to “tremendous love and immense tenderness”. In other words, abhyanga is a practice of self care through self love, enveloping your body in oil.
Abhyanga is a process that requires slow, methodical movements. It uses oil to reach through the seven dhatus, or layers of tissues in the body, to nourish you. And unlike the image of massage being a luxury, abhyanga is a daily practice, making every day special by taking out time to nourish yourself.
This self-massage can also be tailored to your dosha, the three energies found in nature. Each person carries a unique ratio of these energies, and keeping them in balance leads to optimal health.
However, abhyanga is more than just the act of applying oil. It is an intense and slow process, focusing on the dedication to taking care of yourself and your body. Since this is such a dedicated process, it’s recommended that you give yourself around 5-30 minutes.
Why practice Abhyanga?
There are many benefits that come with the practice of abhyanga, for both physical and mental health. As abhyanga is a sukshma, or subtle, practice, it allows for all benefits from the oils to penetrate the deep layers of tissues. Some notable benefits include:
Pacifying doshas
Increasing circulation and lymph drainage
Stimulating digestion
Nourishing the tissues, giving softer, stronger skin
Toning the muscles
The oils used during the self-massage can also have different effects, which is why choosing the right oils is important.
Choosing the Right Oils
Just like everything else in nature, each oil has different qualities. It’s best to choose an oil based off of your dosha or your imbalance. When choosing the oils for your self-massage, take the following into consideration: Your current balance: If you feel that one of your doshas is high, it’s important to try and pacify that dosha through abhyanga. So if you notice you’re feeling rather anxious, it may be that your Vata is high and a Vata-pacifying oil will be most helpful. Or if you feel particularly sluggish, your Kapha may be high, and it would be recommended to use a Kapha-pacifying oil. Pitta-pacifying oils are useful if you feel your Pitta is high, hence feeling irritable.
Your Ayurvedic constitution: When your doshas are in balance, the next step to determine what oil to use is your dominant dosha. Each person’s constitution, or prakriti, possesses a dominant dosha. So if you feel healthy, you may want to take into consideration your dominant dosha when selecting an oil.
Your weather and environment: Another factor that influences selecting the oil for abhyanga is weather! The doshas impact the seasons as well as your body, so it is also useful to consider the season you’re in. Vata season is considered to be during the fall to the early winter, while late winter through spring is Kapha season, and Pitta season is during the summer. So if your dominant dosha happens to be Kapha and you feel healthy and it’s around late winter or spring, you would want to pick an oil that specifies kapha.
Oils for Your Dosha
As important as it is to know what to consider when choosing an oil, it’s also important to know what oils do what. Oils have an important role in abhyanga, as the purpose of the self-massage is not only to give your body love, but also to love it through choosing oils that will help you.
Vata Oils
Vata is characterized as feeling dry, light, cool, rough, subtle, and mobile. It is like autumn and early winter, cool and crisp. As an opposite of oil, especially warm oils, it gives a wide variety of oils to choose from.
Plain, untoasted sesame oil, as the “king of oils”, is the preferred choice for its intrinsic warming and anti-inflammatory properties.
Almond oil has anti-inflammatory qualities like sesame oil, and is also useful to pacify vata.
Ashwagandha oil or Ashwagandha/Bala oils have warm, strengthening properties that are great for pacifying vata.
Kapha Oils
Kapha’s qualities are noted to be oily, cool, heavy, slow, smooth, and static, so it is very much like oil. When choosing oil for Kapha-pacifying qualities, it is important to consider herbal oils, using less oil, and doing a more vigorous massage.
The light, anti-inflammatory almond oil is also good for reducing kapha.
Mustard oil is a great, warm oil to balance kapha’s cool nature.
Pitta Oils
The Pitta dosha is characterized by oily, sharp, hot, and light qualities. Though Pitta also shares many qualities with oil, oil is a great carrier for herbs that can counteract high levels of pitta.
Sunflower oil is a cool oil that counteracts Pitta’s hotter nature. It is best to buy it in small quantities as it can go bad quickly.
Another cooling oil is coconut oil, which is rich in vitamin E and has soothing properties.
Bhringaraj oil, or oil infused with bringaraj, is also useful for pacifying pitta and has a soothing nature that is great for more scalp-focused massages.
Neem oil contains the cooling properties of the neem herb, which is also great for pacifying the warm Pitta dosha.
How to Practice Abhyanga
As mentioned before, abhyanga is a daily practice that should be slow and vigorous, a self oil massage that goes from head to toe. This intimate process should be given time, from around 5 to 30 minutes. Traditionally, abhyanga is practiced in the morning. You massage the oil on and leave it on the body for 30 minutes followed by a shower. It’s important to be slow and take your time, this process is intimate and about appreciating yourself, it is not just a physical aid but a mental one as well. Abhyanga is not just a self massage, it is self care.
Lightly warm up around 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of oil in a squeeze bottle in a warm water bath, testing to check that the temperature is right for you. Lay down a towel to sit or stand on before beginning. (It’s recommended to use a towel you don’t mind ruining, as oil will accumulate over time)
Apply the oil using the palms of your hands, beginning with the extremities or limbs, at your toes and fingertips, and slowly moving into your center. You should use slow strokes, long strokes on the limbs and circular ones around the joints.
Remember to spend time on each toe and each finger, carefully covering them in oil.
Massage your abdomen and chest in slow, clockwise motions. On the abdomen, follow the path of your large intestine, moving up your right side, then across, then down, then to your left.
Finish the massage by moving up to your shoulder, your neck, then face, with careful and gentle movements. Work the oil into your scalp with your fingertips in gentle motions to stimulate circulation, giving extra time to it at least once a week. You can allow the oil to soak in before washing the hair.