Level Up Your Self Care with Abhyanga

This week’s blog is from a long-time YogaVibes teacher, wellness advocate, and Ayurvedic health coach Lillian Jacobs. She is covering a fundamental pillar of self care, taking care of your body. Read on to see how Lillian uses Ayurvedic wisdom to nourish her joints and ditch the wrinkle cream!

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The month of February is synonymous with the month of love. Thanks to Valentine’s Day we see hearts everywhere. I’m all about spreading the love — whether you’re partnered or not — but also feel that this month can serve as an important reminder to give yourself more love. How do we do that? With self care practices! 

When it comes to self-love I turn to Ayurveda for inspiration. This 5,000+ year old science excels at teaching the importance of making self-care part of our daily routine. One of the most luxurious self care practices that Ayurveda teaches is Abhyanga or self oil massage. The Sanskrit word for oil is sneha, which also means love. So there really isn’t a more appropriate way of loving yourself in my opinion! 

Abhya-what?

Abhyanga is the practice of rubbing warm oil over your whole body. It’s a little giggle-worthy at first, but trust me, it’s worth a try. According to Ayurvedic theory this practice is nourishing to all 3 doshas, but most specifically grounding to vata. Abhyanga is believed to:

1. improve circulation and lymphatic flow, beneficial for both detoxification and immunity;
2. lubricate the joints, say sayonara to snaps, crackles, and pops when you roll out your mat;
3. settle your nervous system, goodbye anxiety and hello restful sleep;
4. hydrate and soften skin, not going to need that expensive wrinkle cream anymore. 

With the above list of benefits, are you ready to try it out? Here’s how: 

1. Start by warming the oil. I like to warm mine by placing the glass jar in boiling water — whatever you do please don’t microwave the oil! 
2. Lay out an old towel on the bathroom floor and strip down to your birthday suit. 
3. Starting at the feet give yourself an oily foot rub. Make sure to get all 10 toes, bottoms of the feet, ankles, all of it! Then start to move your way up the legs. As you rub the oil into your skin (just like you would lotion) use long strokes up the limbs and circular motions on the joints. As you rub oil onto the legs and arms think about massaging in the direction toward your heart. 
4. When you get to your stomach rub the oil in clockwise circular motions. 
5. Make your way to your head. Gently give yourself a scalp massage with the warm oil (your hair will be so soft the following day!). You can lightly rub oil on your face, neck, even inside the ears and nose. 
6. Once your whole body is lathered, let the oil sink into the skin for about 20 minutes. This is a great time to pull up your favorite YogaVibes meditation and settle. 
7. After about 20 minutes take a warm shower to remove any excess oil on the top of the skin.  Don’t scrub or loofa here, just gently rinse. Most oils have gentle anti-microbial properties so you don’t need any soap on top of the oil. After you’ve removed the oil, towel off and bask in all the self love you just gave yourself! 

What type of oil is right for me? 

For abhyanga you want to use organic food grade oils because everything you put on your skin will be ingested into your body. Once you find an oil you love, you can stick with it. The general rule of thumb for oils is as follows:

• In the cold winter months use a heavy and warming oil like sesame oil or mustard oil.
• During the transition months (spring and fall) use a neutral oil like almond oil or sunflower oil. 
• When you’re in the hot summer months use a cooling oil like coconut oil. 

Now that you’ve made it this far — what are you waiting for? Grab some oil and give yourself some sneha! 

 

About the author: Lillian is an Ayurvedic Health Coach on a mission to health individuals optimize their health. To discuss all things Ayurveda connect with her at www.lillianjacobswellness.com.