About Abhyanga
Abhyanga is the therapy classical texts recommend doing every single day, and the one most people skip because it sounds too simple to matter. Warm oil applied with sustained, unhurried pressure does three things at once: it settles the nervous system, it lubricates tissue that has become dry and brittle, and it moves lymph. The oil itself is chosen for your constitution — sesame for Vata, coconut or sunflower for Pitta, mustard or lighter oils for Kapha. Done professionally it is an hour on a table. Done at home it is ten minutes before a shower, and the home version, performed consistently, outperforms the occasional professional session.
The sequence, stage by stage
Knowing the shape of it in advance removes most of the apprehension patients arrive with.
Oil selection
A base oil and herbal infusion chosen for your constitution and the season. The same oil is not right for everyone, and the wrong one can aggravate.
Application
Oil warmed to body temperature is applied from the scalp downward, with long strokes on the limbs and circular strokes at the joints.
Rest
Fifteen to twenty minutes for absorption. This pause is part of the therapy, not a delay before it.
Sudation and bathing
Gentle steam or a warm shower opens the channels and clears what the oil has mobilised. Soap is kept to a minimum.
What it helps with
- Calms an overactive nervous system
- Relieves stiffness and dryness
- Improves circulation and skin quality
- Supports deeper, less broken sleep
When it is not appropriate
- Acute fever or active infection
- Immediately after meals
- Acute indigestion or nausea
- Over areas of skin infection, open wounds or recent surgery
- During heavy menstrual flow
Afterwards
The recovery phase determines whether the therapy holds. It is not optional.
- Warm shower after 20 minutes; avoid cold water
- Warm, light food afterwards
- Avoid air conditioning and wind for an hour
- Repeat daily at home for lasting benefit