What Is An Abhyanga Massage And What Are Its Benefits?
By Urban Company
4 min read
Apr 05, 2024
Abhyanga treatment is a traditional ayurvedic therapy with surprising benefits for your mind and body. Ayurvedic massage therapies have been practiced for thousands of years as an integral part ...
Abhyanga treatment is a traditional ayurvedic therapy with surprising benefits for your mind and body.
Ayurvedic massage therapies have been practiced for thousands of years as an integral part of the Ayurvedic medicine and are known to offer a host of health benefits.
These massage therapies focus on balancing the body, mind, and the soul, and in essence helping the body heal itself. There are different types of ayurvedic massages designed to address the different needs of your body. And one of the most common and popular ones is the Abhyanga massage, an oil-based
full body massage.
What is an Abhyanga massage?
Abhyanga therapy is a traditional Ayurvedic massage for the entire body. The massage combines the application of the warm oils all over your body – from your scalp to the soles of your feet and friction-based strokes to massage your body.
The oils used in Abhyanga treatment are designed to balance the different types of doshas that oour body carries. Ayurveda believes that five key elements of the world: air, water, fire, water, and space, are present in our body in different combinations and referred to as doshas. Ayurvedic massage therapies promote balanced doshas and essential for a healthy and happy mind and body.
What are the benefits of Abhyanga massage?
Like most Ayurvedic treatments, Abhyanga massage’s benefits are many. Abhyanga massage provides holistic and therapeutic benefits for your body and mind leaving you rejuvenated and revived:
Reduces blood pressure
Fast-paced lifestyles and stressors from it can have a negative effect on your health and lead to signs of prehypertension or increase in blood pressure. Abhyanga massage has been known to lower blood pressure.
The massage techniques used in abhyanga treatment can regulate your circulatory system promoting expansion of blood vessels and reduction in resistance in arteries resulting better blood flow throughout your body.
Encourages lymphatic drainage
Responsible for removing waste and toxins from your tissues, the lymphatic system is a network of vessels and ducts that helps maintain fluid balance and fight infections.
Abhyanga treatment involves massage strokes that work on your lymphatic system in a similar fashion as they do on your circulatory system: improving the flow of lymph fluid resulting in better lymphatic drainage. You can expect to experience reduction in inflammation and swelling in your body.
Increases flexibility
If you are struggling with stiff muscles and reduced mobility – abhyanga treatment is just what your body need. Abhyanga massage’s benefits include loosening your muscles, reduces stiffness as a result increase overall flexibility of your body.
Nourishes Skin
The ayurvedic oils used in the Abhyanga therapy improves your skin’s smoothness and softness resulting in improvement of overall skin health. During the massage, the warm oil that are used in Abhyanga therapy get better absorbed by the skin leaving it feeling nourished and moisturised.
Lowers stress
Among the various health benefits, Abhyanga therapy is also helpful for reducing stress. For all of us who are busy juggling too many responsibilities in life, this is a perfect therapy to destress the mind and body.
Enhance Immune System
When your body has a good lymph flow, it can get rid of the toxins better. The better the lymph flow, the more toxin free your body is which will help strengthen your body’s immune system and ability to protect it against illnesses and ailments. Abhyanga massage therapy is especially beneficial in strengthening your immune system by ensuring good lymph flow.
Improves sleep quality.
A well administered Abhyanga massage therapy not only helps relax your mind and body but the carefully carried out friction-based massage strokes help improve blood flow and promotes production of melatonin in your body – a hormone that is found in your body naturally and is responsible for managing your sleep cycle. If you have been struggling to get a good night’s rest, you need to book yourself an Abhyanga treatment right away.
What kind of oil is used for Abhyanga massage?
The oil used in Abhyanga treatment changes basis the doshas of your body. Typically, the therapist will select natural oils to pacify your doshas.
There are three main types of base oils used in Abhyanga massage: Sesame oil (or Dhanwantharam Thailam), Coconut Oil (Chandanadi Thailam) and Mustard Oil (Karpasasthyadi Thailam). These base oils are infused with various Ayurvedic herbs to provide various benefits to your mind and body. The oil is always warmed before application and massage.
Where can you get an Abhyanga massage?
You can get yourself a Abhyanga treatment in traditional Ayurvedic centres. For those of you who may not have the time to find and go to one and are feeling too lazy to step out of your home – not to worry!
Urban Companyhas trained and experienced professionals who can come to your home with the whole set up and give you the complete experience of a Abhyanga massage therapy.
The best bit – they clean up before leaving so you are left with no mess to deal with.
What should you wear to Abhyanga massage?
Wear loose and comfortable clothes that you can take off and put on easily and don’t mind getting some oil on. For the actual, Abhyanga massage, you will be given disposable undergarments to change in to, as the massage is done by applying warm Ayurvedic oil, from head to toe.
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