The Ayurveda Experience Blog
Ayurvedic Oil Massage for Busy People?! Yessssss.
In Ayurveda we looooooove the benefits of a good daily oil massage.
Great. Now, raise your hands if you are thinking, “Yeah awesome for the people who who have time for luxury but pssshhht, there’s no WAY I can do that daily! I’m so busy — I can’t even remember to bring my lunch much less do a massage before work. Monica B, you are crazycakes with this suggestion!”
Um. Perfect!
That’s why we are talking about oil massage, or abyhanga, for busy people!
Because that’s you—and that’s me!
In my busy world with my job-job and hideous 3 hour commute, I still do it and I’ll tell you how.
YOU’LL NEED
- Sesame oil (for vata)
- Almond oil (for pitta)
- Sunflower oil (for kapha)
- 1 small plastic squeezy bottle. Like a travel size shampoo bottle or a mini ketchup bottle with a tiny cap
- 1 towel you don’t care about
HERE WE GO
- Put your oil in the squeezy bottle.
- Keep the oil in the bathroom near your shower.
- Stand on the towel you don’t care about.
- Apply the oil from toe to head. We want absorption, not an oil slick, but also no tugging on the skin. Should take 3-5 minutes. Start with your feet and legs. Use long strokes on the bones with some pressure up toward the heart, then go back down with less pressure, then back UP toward the heart. Clockwise circles around the joints. Clockwise circles around the belly and belly button with some pressure. Don’t forget your booty. Get your back the best you can, upward toward the shoulders. Long strokes on arms up and toward the heart/shoulders. Get hands starting from the base and Clockwise again around joints. Upwards on the neck. And don’t forget your face.
- Get in a nice warm (not scalding*) shower. Wash your hair (optional), pits, bits, and feet. Don’t scrub anything!
- Get out and DAB yourself off. The oil will be absorbed into your skin, leaving it super soft!
- Finish getting ready with your busy self 🙂
Your bod will feel really smooth, warm, and you’ll be calm in the mind! It will set the tone for your whole day, I promise! Even if you are super busy, you will really benefit from this simple practice as it tells our entire being that we CARE enough to nourish it, daily.
Try it for a week and I bet you’ll LOVE it! Let me know how it goes. XOXO!
*Note: Scalding water is very drying to the skin.
I’ve been struggling with the logistics of doing abyangha so I’m happy to see this article. But I still have some problems with it and maybe you or someone else has suggestions. The main problem I have is the oily bathtub afterwards! Ours is plastic (I live in South Korea, it’s normal here) and I use natural cleansers – a combination of baking soda, vinegar and a little eucalyptus oil – to clean my bathroom. It doesn’t seem to cut through the oil. The tub is still sticky from it even after multiple washings. Maybe I need to use a ton more baking soda and vinegar than usual? And do I have to scrub my tub daily? How do other people handle this? Is this not a problem for other people? P.S. I’m using a high quality sesame oil.