Here in the Northeast, we get dry and chilly in winter. The ancient Ayurvedic practice of abhyanga, a massage using specific warm oils, can be done by an Ayurvedic professional, or you can do it yourself as a daily practice. Abhyanga has transformed the quality of my winter skin and made me feel calmer and more balanced.
This deeply nourishing ritual supports your body, mind and spirit. It promotes relaxation, detoxification, and metabolic health. Whether you’re new to Ayurveda or a seasoned practitioner, incorporating abhyanga into your daily routine can profoundly affect your overall well-being.
Just What is Abhyanga?
Abhyanga is a traditional Ayurvedic practice that involves massaging your entire body with warm oil. The word “abhyanga” translates to “oil massage” in Sanskrit (an ancient language). This holistic practice is rooted in the Indian system of medicine, Ayurveda, which emphasizes balancing the body’s constitutional energies (doshas) to promote health and prevent disease.
The oils used in abhyanga are typically infused with herbs tailored to an individual’s dosha type (Vata, Pitta, or Kapha). Sesame oil, coconut oil, and mustard oil are common base oils, each offering unique therapeutic benefits. The practice is believed to improve circulation, enhance lymphatic drainage, and rejuvenate the body.
Here’s what my abhyanga set-up looks like:
How to Perform Abhyanga
Doing abhyanga at home is simple and can take just 10-20 minutes (longer for your oil to soak in, which is ideal).
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:
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Choose Your Oil
Select an oil that suits your dosha. For Vata calming, warming sesame oil is ideal. Pitta balancing benefits from cooling coconut oil, while Kapha calming thrive with lighter oils like mustard or safflower. If in doubt, it’s hard to go wrong with Vata pasification (which tends to be calming). I use jojoba oil, which suits all doshas, and one infused with rose.
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Warm the Oil
Heat the oil slightly to enhance absorption. Place a small bowl of oil in a larger bowl of hot water to gently warm it. Or, use a plug-in coffee cup heater and a small Pyrex bowl to warm the oil for about 10 minutes.
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Create a Calming Environment
Find a warm, quiet space where you won’t be disturbed. Light candles, play calming music, or use essential oils to create a serene atmosphere. If you are in the bathroom, take a moment to look in the mirror and say to yourself – I am nourishing my nervous system with loving self-care.
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Begin with Your Head
Begin by massaging the oil into your scalp, beginning with the crown of your head, with circular motions. This stimulates blood flow and nourishes your hair follicles. Massage your outer ear, and ear lobes, gently massage your forehead, temples, jaw, chin and neck.
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Move to Your Body
Use long strokes on your limbs and circular motions on the joints. Apply light pressure on sensitive areas like your abdomen and chest and more vigorous pressure on thicker-skinned areas like the soles of your feet and palms. Do this massage lovingly, paying attention to your body and sending it good wishes as you massage.
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Focus on Your Marma Points
Marma points are sensitive energy points in the body (similar to pressure points in acupressure) in the Ayurvedic energy system. Gentle stimulation of these points can help release blocked energy and promote healing.
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Give the Oil Time to Soak in
After completing the massage, allow the oil to sit on your skin for 15-20 minutes. I massage myself naked, then put on old clothes to shuffle around in for a while while my oil soaks and softens me. This allows the herbs and nutrients to penetrate deeply.
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Take a Nice Warm Bath or Shower
Rinse off excess oil with a warm bath or shower. Use a gentle cleanser to avoid stripping your skin of its natural oils.
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Consistency is Key
When I am under stress or need to perform, I try to do abhyanga daily – it keeps me relaxed and energized. For the greatest benefits, perform abhyanga daily or at least three times a week. Ultimately, whenever you can do it is great!
What does the science of Abhyanga say?
From a Western clinical perspective, there are not yet large randomized controlled trials (RCT) for using abhyanga. RCTs are the gold standard when comparing treatments to see what works best for what.
There are however, several case studies and trials, including a pilot study funded by the National Institutes of Health (4). Some of the studies use abhyanga within a mixed Ayurvedic regimen that suggest substantial benefit for inflammatory and stress-related conditions (1-3). The NIH funded pilot (n=20) also suggested substantial stress relieving benefit. It is well established that massage has physiologic and psychological benefits, and that the aroma of warm oils has an impact.
Abhyanga is an extremely low-risk intervention – if you have sensitive skin, don’t do full abhyanga until you’ve tested the oil on a small patch of skin. Be aware of just warming the oil so that it’s pleasant and comfortable.
The bottom line is how it feels and how it benefits you in your life as a self-care practice. If you have an inflammatory or stress-related condition or are at risk for one, if this appeals to you, check it out!
How Abhyanga Manages Stress & Balances
One of the greatest benefits of abhyanga is its ability to help manage stress. Chronic stress is almost universal today, is associated with health problems, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, and metabolic disorders, and makes almost every health issue worse.
Here’s how abhyanga can help:
- Activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System: The gentle, rhythmic strokes of abhyanga activate the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the “rest and digest” side of the autonomic nervous system. This helps calm your mind and body, reducing the physiological effects of stress.
- Improves Circulation: This massage enhances movement and blood flow, promotes the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tissues while helping to remove toxins. Improved circulation also supports lymphatic drainage, helping the body eliminate waste more efficiently.
- Balances the Doshas: According to Ayurveda, stress can cause imbalances in the doshas, particularly Vata. Abhyanga helps ground and stabilize Vata energy, reducing feelings of anxiety and restlessness.
- Promotes Better Sleep: Lack of quality sleep is an epidemic in our busy culture. By calming the nervous system and relaxing the body, abhyanga can improve your quality of sleep. Restful sleep is essential for managing stress and maintaining metabolic health.
How Abhyanga Benefits Metabolism
Metabolic health refers to the body’s ability to create and process energy – to maintain optimal levels of blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure. Poor metabolic health can lead to conditions like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, thyroid imbalance and even some cancers.
Abhyanga offers several potential benefits for those struggling with metabolic issues:
- Reduces Inflammation: Chronic inflammation is a key contributor to metabolic disorders. The herbs and oils used in abhyanga have anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce systemic (body-wide) inflammation. In one small study using abhyanga within a combination Ayurvedic treatment, nearly 65% of a group with osteoarthritis reported significant improvement, and an additional 23% reported moderate symptom improvement.(1)
- Supports Detoxification: Massage can stimulate the lymphatic system, supporting the removal of toxins. A well-functioning lymphatic system is essential for maintaining metabolic balance.
- Enhances Insulin Sensitivity: Regular abhyanga can improve insulin sensitivity by reducing stress and promoting circulation. This is crucial for anyone with metabolic issues, including individuals with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes.
- Improves Digestion: According to Ayurveda, abhyanga supports agni (digestive fire), which is essential for breaking down food and absorbing nutrients efficiently. Healthy digestion is a cornerstone of metabolic health.
The Mind-Body Connection:
Abhyanga & Emotional Well-being
Beyond its physical benefits, abhyanga can have profound effects on your emotional well-being. The act of self-massage is inherently nurturing and fosters a deep sense of self-love and compassion. It encourages mindfulness and helps you connect with your body, promoting a positive self-image.
Additionally, abhyanga can help release stored emotions and trauma held within the body. The gentle touch and mindful practice create a safe space for emotional healing and self-discovery.
Incorporating Abhyanga into Your Modern Life
While abhyanga is traditionally performed daily, it can be adapted to suit modern lifestyles. Here are a few tips:
Remembrance of Rosemary
Who doesn’t love the piney scent of rosemary? Aromatic rosemary has been a beloved culinary herb since ancient times. Its integrative medicinal and spiritual uses may be less well known, yet are certainly just as compelling. Rosemary helps you remember – in every dimension from your body to your soul – who you are and your place in the web of nature and life.
This post takes you on a journey of remembrance – of rosemary’s ancient wisdom, modern science, and everyday uses of this health-enhancing herb.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through an affiliate link, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you. You can read my full disclaimer here.
Metaphysical and Symbolic Significance
Receive.
Receive what comes to you.
My plant spirit teacher taught me that plants that will heal me will come to me. All I need to do is receive. Receiving – coming into relationship and taking that in, however – takes a little preparation.
Those of you who read my newsletter know that my family had quite a struggle through the winter with a life-threatening illness – happily we’re on the mend and the dark rider passed us by (sheesh!). Through that time I cut way back on work – we lived on air and the love of family and friends. We are resting and integrating that experience. This morning it dawned on me that my garden this year has serious messages for me and mine.
Is this obvious enough?
This mullein plant (the tall fellow in the back) sprung up smack dab where my usual sunflowers gather. Hi mullein. Guess what mullein does, on the energetic level? It is protector of home and supporter of abundance, among other things.
Other plants that have nearly overwhelmed us with no input from me are calendula – a beautiful healing fire plant (it’s the yellow-orange flower up front), borage (that blue fellow) a 5th chakra healer of communication for me, and dill. So much dill (again a protector of home an supporter of abundance). Oh, and a bumper crop of wild strawberries are right outside my office – food for my indigenous genetics. I could go on and on, but will stop there.
Get the message, Annie?
These plants are three feet from my front door. All I have to do is receive their support.
How to Receive the Support of Plants
So, how do you receive the support of the plants that make their way to you?
In order to participate in any ecological system (and plants belong to an ecological system along with you) meaning that there are complex dynamic inter-relationships, you first need to get out of a consumer mindset. We humans and certainly Americans get into consuming – eating as fuel or in a mechanistic way, for example. Instead, think of a plant as another being. A person, if that’s helpful. Or think of them as akin to a power-animal or guide. You might thing of eating as receiving – rather than consuming.
Then, get quiet and open your heart. One easy way to do this is to sit quietly, and lengthen and deepen you breath (without forcing it – let your breath deepen as in response to an invitation). You might imagine yourself seated in the velvety dark cave of your own heart. take a few moments to quiet and center yourself in this way.
Next, make contact with the plants. Be among them, breathe them in. Admire them. If they are edible, slowly and mindfully, as a meditation, taste them. Breath and relax, and notice how it feels to commune with the plants in this way.
The practice of receiving is simply the practice of being open and feeling how it feels to be in relationship. The practice of receiving is a practice of appreciation – of acknowledging, as my teacher would say, your place in the magnificent web of life and nature. All is well.
As you receive the gifts these friends, these guides have for you, expressing gratitude is an excellent next step if it feels right for you. Take a moment to appreciate what’s happened, a few notes in a journal may be helpful, and off you go on a blessed day.
You can receive the gifts of any part of your life – be it your yoga or meditation practice, the love of a friend, the good work you do, anything you enjoy or find interesting or challenging in your life – can you receive it? Can you slow down enough to take it in?
Benefits of the Practice
Learning to have a bit more of this in your life can help you to understand your place in the ecology – in the interactive web of life – in which you live, and that you have created. It may help you see aspects of life, or things in your life that no longer serve you or that actually injure or inhibit you. You can let go of those things. Learning to be a little more receptive can inform your next step.
Be well, and here are a couple other posts that may interest you:
How Mindful Presence Transforms
Mindful Eating: The Art & Science of Eating Better
There’s been talk in the integrative wellness world about coherence, so here’s a bit about that. It’s about vibration and the waves created therein. Some scientists say that all communication comes down to vibrational waves – light, sound, movement – how animals and plants, the cells within them and much of the world itself communicates.
Let’s talk about waves and how to begin to discuss them. A good place to start is with few definitions.
Wavelength: A wavelength is the distance between two similar points of two waves – crest (top) to crest or trough (bottom) to bottom, for example.
Frequency: The number of waves produced per second. Speaks to speed and length.
Amplitude: Half the distance from peak to trough. It can also be thought of the height of a wave from the rest position (the inflection point in the middle where the wave is not moving) to the peak. How big it is.
Wave Speed: How fast it is moving (in meters per second).
Period: The time it takes to pass a point, in seconds. Speed.
Some of these sound close in definition and they are, but I am going to leave it there for the time being. If you are curious, do a little more research. Thanks.
So, coherence involves two waves meeting – they can meet in a coherent way (speed and frequency are similar enough to become in sync) and increase amplitude, or incoherently and decrease amplitude. When waves are incoherent, the waves can actually cancel each other out, or go a little haywire and splat (not a technical term but I hope you get the visual – plop!).
The metaphysical idea is that we are each born with a certain frequency (my teacher says we each come in on a different color of the rainbow of light). Our wavelength and frequency determine, to a great extent, to whom and what we resonate. What’s coherent to us, the thinking goes, is what gives us a boost and makes us feel stronger. Philosophers in this area go on and on, spiraling deeper and deeper in the dance of energy.
The human heart – that strongest muscle in our body – is an oscillator – it creates electical waves, and some believe it creates the human energy field. Get where I’m going?
What Might It Mean?
- When we do grounding practices in yoga we become more coherent with the earth.
- When we show appreciation for a plant, we are becoming more coherent with the plant.
- When we seek to understand what another person is saying, or feeling – when we empathize, we are becoming more coherent with that person.
- When we cultivate gratitude we become more coherent with our own life and life itself.
Coherence is a basis for communication – it is a connection. My teacher says it is a communion.
I say it is a way of understanding energy. Of understanding our subtle bodies (meaning our energy bodies, our emotional bodies, the aspects of us we can’t see and have difficulty measuring) and the world around us. The idea that cultivating coherence leads to and is akin to following our bliss. These ideas are consistent with both yoga and with positive psychology and with plant spirit healing. They are energy-competent lenses for experiencing life.
Is This for Real?
Is there Western clinical science that might back this up? From what I’ve see thus far, there are many interesting possibilities, but I have yet to see a really well conducted study that proves this all happens in the way I’ve presented. I want one, believe me – intuitively it makes perfect sense. But the science, well, it’s so young it doesn’t yet speak.
And yet. It’s worthwhile to study energy. Knowing how to operate your own energy field, how to ground yourself, how to expand when it’s helpful – these are clearly helpful skills in this destabilized and chaotic time. So, let’s keep studying. With a clear eye and an open heart.
Through my programs this year – in Costa Rica, the March weekend (Every Bite Is Divine) , my week with Jeremy and the program I’ll lead in July (Subtle Body Nourishment) at Kripalu, I will be diving into the how of coherence – there are practices that can help you live more from, and funnel life through – this magnificent organ at the center of our being – our heart.
My garden right now is filled with the sweet green goddess known as tulsi.
Tulsi is a type of basil that originated in India. There are several types, like sisters in a family. If you ‘do yoga’, love botanicals, AND you haven’t met tulsi yet, I’m happy for you. Your future includes meeting one of the most sweetly powerful and healing herbs in the canon. I have great sisterhood with this plant and feel that I am introducing you to one of my coolest and best friends. When I refer to her, I am referring to the big T – the green goddess herself – tulsi.
A distinguishing feature of tulsi is its fragrance – it’s rich, buttery and flowery with an undertone of funk. Tulsi (which translates as “incomparable one” in Sanskrit) occupies an auspicious place in yogic/Ayurvedic tradition. It is thought to be an embodiment of the goddess Lakshmi, she of abundant good fortune, of being held in esteem in a community, and of generosity. In India, many homes have a tulsi plant at their doorstep, and women (and I’m sure men) have a tulsi plant near their bed so that the gentle breeze carries the scent of tulsi to them as they sleep, bestowing them with ageless beauty.
In the Garden
Much like the goddess, my tulsi seems to have a mind of her own. She goes where she wants, comes up really late (late June this year – thank goodness I held her space!). I have not been successful at growing her from seed so that I can get a jump on the season – nope, not how she’d prefer to roll. Yet, tulsi comes rolling back, year after year in her own preferred manner my garden. I often smell tulsi and then oh, there’s a plant popping up amongst the roses or corn.
I never needed tulsi seeds, though I’ve purchased many packets. My original tulsi plant came to me auspiciously – from Sweetwater Sanctuary in VT. Pam Montgomery gave me and my fellow apprentices plants (in 2013), and mine has happily multiplied into tulsiville.
Culinary & Preserving
I’ve tried for years to make a good oil infusion of tulsi but have been only modestly successful at capturing that unique fragrance in oil. Drying, I find, works best for me. I’ll then drink it as tea through the cooler months. If I have a gathering of gal herbalists I may attempt herbalist Brittany Wood Nickerson’s yellow cake which she served once incorporating dried tulsi….magnificent. She’s just come out with a cookbook filled with scrumptious herbal fare, but the way, which I strongly recommend.
You can also make a pesto with tulsi.
To dry tulsi or any herb (I have mugwort, cilantro, lemon balm and mint drying now), gather a bunch of it, tie it into a bundle at the stem, and hang in a place that will be warm and dry. Attics are great if they are reasonably well ventilated, and you can find a place to hang your crop. After a couple dry weeks (challenging this year), cut the bundle down. For plants that I intend to use as a tea of spices, I pull the dry leaves off the stem and place them in glass jars. Between Mason and jelly jars, you have a jar for any quantity of herb.
Medicinal & Energetic
From a Western medical perspective, tulsi is an adaptogen and has been studied for a variety of uses. Adaptogenic activity means that, like ginseng, it contains a complex array of phytonutrients that act in different ways but tend to overall support homeostasis – or healthful balance. So, tulsi tea is a terrific drink through the fall when back-to-whatever stress and cool winds conspire to give us colds and other crud.
Energetically, I’ve done a number of shamanic journeys with tulsi and here’s what I learned. Tulsi embodies all the goddesses of tantra – she’s Lakshmi, Deva, and yes Kali and all the rest – all rolled into one. She just might be the MahaDevi – the mother goddess. This is my own perspective colored, no doubt by my study of the goddesses of tantra. I know and love them, and draw on them often. In my study, these goddesses represent parts of ourselves (even if you are a man – we each contain both divine masculine and feminine within us). So, interestingly, I’ve found tulsi is energetically adaptogenic as well. From my discussions with other herbalists in my tradition who work energetically with plants, my view is not unique.
You can increasingly find tulsi plants and seed at your local garden shop. If not, try Mountain Rose Herbal or Horizon Herbs.
Have a beautiful day.
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Updated: 5/16/2023
How many of you, when you look at how I describe myself, say to yourself “What the heck is plant alchemy?” Come on now, I know you do.
What Are Alchemists?
Alchemists were the scientists of the 16th century. They were a fascinating lot – a little scientific, a little more than a little out there. While they were the doctors and healers of their time, their obsession was transformation, most famously, the preoccupation of how to turn lead into gold.
Modern Day Alchemy
Alchemy today embraces the science, art, and spirit of healing. So, as a plant alchemist, I stay up on the science of plant-based diets for health, and the advantages and disadvantages of eating in this way. I also embrace the art of plants – of growing, cooking and living with plants, learning from them as they are our ancestors. I love herbalists and Ayurveda practitioners, as well as clinical nutritionists and naturopaths. Then, there’s the energetics of plants and nature. I’ve been diving into how we can use plants as an entree into ecstatic healing, and the many medicinal plants, including the astounding array of psychoactive plants as well as the much less dramatic, ones available to us for health and healing.
So, that’s plant alchemy, and that’s what I do – the science art and spirit of green beings. It’s very very good work if you can get it.
Energy Hygiene Practices
Within plant alchemy, energy hygiene has made a big difference in my life and I teach it all the time. For years now I’ve been doing a daily smudge with Paulo santo (a wood from South America) and I’ve fallen in love with the ritual and of course, I love love that beautiful smell. The smudge, wherein I light a piece of wood and scrub my energy body, is the greeting of the day “Hello tree, good morning stones, hi birds.” I then move my spine and undertake some fiery belly pranayama practice – stomach pumping, fire breath, a “take the whole thing and lift and throw it over your shoulder root lock” (or subtle version – a fine thread lifting version) – depending on my needs and the season. I give thanks, I make blessings, then move on with my day. In the shower, I have flowers or plant matter whenever possible, and as I shower I intentionally clear my energy field. Often, I will head outside to stomp around barefoot, grounding. All these practices – the daily fare of clearing and charging my energy field – are energy hygiene practices.
We modern humans can learn how to live our days in harmony with the earth and with nature. The earth and nature are changing, destabilized, and we feel it at our very cores. We can learn how to navigate that – how to ground ourselves when we need it, how to charge ourselves when we need it – by learning the skill of energy hygiene.
Learn more:
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