All about love
Did you know that Snehana, the Sanskrit word for oil & fat also means LOVE ?
That’s because oil is deeply nourishing and grounding to your mind and body - just like a hug.
Within Ayurveda, there are two seemingly simple therapies that produce extraordinary results when they are used in conjunction: Snehana, or Oleation Therapy and Svedana, or Sudation Therapy.
Snehana involves the oral intake of (medicated) ghee and the application of (medicated) oils to the body - oiling the body inside out ! Oleation helps to soften up tissues and cells so that the waste products that get stuck there become loose and are made ready for elimination through the gastro-intestinal tract or the skin.
Oleation balances out the dry and rough qualities of Vata dosha so it’s the antidote to stress.
Two of my favorites Ayurvedic oleation practices are:
Nasya = oiling the nasal pathway morning and/or night. Such a valuable practice for alleviating dry sinuses & allergies but also to address mental exhaustion, headaches & anxiousness !
Anuvasana Basti = the administration of oil through the anal or vaginal route. A gentle way to relieve hard stools / constipation, for instance. It is also one of the primary and special therapies to pacify Vata as it promotes a sense of grounding. The Ayurvedic alternative to sunning your perineum ? 🤔😅 (I will let you google that latest wellness trend)
Svedana involves making the body sweat by dilating the srotas (the body’s inner channels and pathways). It is a unique steam bath therapy that magically relieves your stiffness.
I also love to use diaphoretics - food and adjuvant herbs that induce sweating, often by dilating blood vessels close to the skin. Most diaphoretics are of the warming nature. They are generally hot, pungent herbs that decrease Kapha and Vata but increase Pitta. As a Vata person you will often see me have a generous hand on Pippali (long pepper).
Sudation works in conjunction with Oleation
Waste products & toxins (ama) which are residing either in the alimentary tract, tissues or which are lurking in the channels of the body are lubricated by oleation. They are then liquified by sudation, and the body is now ready to dispel them.
Let’s get hot and oily ! Contact me if you would like to experiment with easy methods of oleation and sudation - adapted to your Ayurvedic doshic type.