A sister science to yoga: Oil massage traditional part of ayurvedic lifestyle - Colorado...

[massage]

Caption + Shirodhara massage - close-up
I rolled off Sara Carson's massage table soaked in herbalized oil.

My bangs were greased up and back like John Travolta in "Grease." Oil continued to drain from my ear canals and I could still smell the aromatic concoction she poured into my nose and had me sniff up into my nasal passages. But most importantly? I was relaxed to within an inch of my life.

Carson, a local advanced ayurvedic practitioner, had just given me a professional ayurvedic oil massage, also known as abhyanga in Sanskrit.

Ayurveda is a traditional system of medicine used in India and is often called the sister science to yoga. It seeks to balance the body through diet, herbs and lifestyle choices.

An oil massage is considered grounding, balancing and detoxifying. It can help reduce insomnia, calm the accumulated stress of the day, minimize aches and pains in the joints and remedy the natural dryness that comes along with aging.

Carson likes to use a tree metaphor.

"If there's a dry limb, it breaks very easily," she said, "so the oil treatment, especially over time, helps prevent that sort of breakability of the tissues."

You don't have to visit a professional to do abhyanga, though it can be a nice addition to your self-care plan. An ayurvedic practitioner can also help determine your dosha, or body constitution, which allows him or her to choose the best herbalized oils for your body type. There are three doshas: pitta, vata and kapha. I have a pitta dosha, which means I carry a lot of heat in my body.

"The sense of touch has a powerful effect on the pranas of the body," Carson said. In ayurveda prana is considered life force energy. "Body work can balance the pranic flow through the body and the pranic field which gives people calmness, a luminous quality, happiness, all of those wonderful things. It's very relaxing."

Plan for a few extra minutes in the day to do your own abhyanga. Morning is best - that's when vata energies are prevalent. Vata is the dosha that governs movement in the mind and body.

A good quality, organic sesame oil from a natural food store or website (Carson likes Banyan Botanicals) is usually suitable for all three doshas. Heat the oil until it's warm, which helps the skin digest it, and begin to massage it in starting at your feet. Work the oil in upward strokes toward your heart. As you rub oil into your scalp and top of body, use downward strokes toward your heart. Hop in the shower after the oil is distributed on your skin, but don't be relentless about scrubbing it all off. The goal is to leave a light layer on the skin.

Want to take the abhyanga one step further? Try garshana, also known as dry skin brushing, which is traditionally done before a daily oil massage. Carson recommends using wool or silk gloves, also available online, and vigorously scrubbing the body in the same direction - toward your heart. Brushing can help with lymph and blood circulation, digestive function and dry skin and also helps your skin absorb the oil more effectively.

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