Last week I was experiencing extreme anxiety, the kind that makes you feel like you might explode. Moving abroad to a new country a dream, but it’s also shaken my foundation deeply. Having no steady work, no community, no family, very few friends and inconsistent access to nature and sunshine has me feeling ungrounded.
In the past I would have turned to substances to numb that feeling, but now I reach for my Abhyanga oil. This practice is always one that I can come home to and am instantly nourished by. It soothes my nervous system so sweetly, stops the negative chatter In my mind, brings me back to my breath, and melts away tension.
Abhyanga; anointing ourselves from head to toe with warm oil is a wonderful Āyurvedic practice. In Sanskrit, the word Sneha can be translated as both “oil” and “love.” So in Ayurveda, there is an inherent connection between enveloping the body in oil and enveloping it in love. Both experiences can give a deep feeling of stability, warmth, and comfort.
Both experiences can give a deep feeling of stability, warmth, and comfort. Sneha—oil and love—is sukshma, or “subtle.” This allows it to pass through minute channels in the body and penetrate deep layers of tissue (dhatus).
Abhyanga may seem like a complicated process, but once you’ve learned the basics, it starts to become second-nature. For me the effects are noticeable instantly, and they only get sweeter overtime with consistency.
I’m so grateful for the tools that Ayurvedic wisdom has gifted me. I now have an array of practices that I can turn to when things feel difficult or imbalanced. I am the creator of my own medicine. And you can be also!🌱
Please reach out if you’d to learn Abhyanga or begin to build your Ayurvedic wellness tool box 💛