💕Ayurvedic Self-Massage (Free Guide)

We’re less than a month away from the fall equinox. Part of tending to our human body – and especially the rhythmic female body – is preparing for the seasonal shift. So I want to share with you one of the most important practices you can be doing this time of year, and especially as a woman: 

💕Abhyanga – Ayurvedic self-massage

Why is it so important? 

Abhyanga is the practice of massaging your body with oil (typically before you shower). Self-touch and oil pacify the nervous system, increase oxytocin (the main neuroregulator for women), stabilize the body and mind, nourish sex hormones, and build immunity. It’s most important for pacifying Vata dosha, which is the dosha that wreaks the most havoc in modern culture. Vata is composed of air/space elements. It’s light, dry, irregular, mobile, ungrounded, and cold. 

Common Vata symptoms in women are:

• Dryness
• Anxiety and nervousness 
• Irregular menstrual cycles
• Intense menopausal symptoms
• Erratic or painful periods
• Constipation
• Insomnia
• Joint pain
• Bloating and gas
• Scattered or racing thoughts, difficulty focusing
• Hair loss or brittle hair
• Cold Sensitivity

For the female body, abhyanga is a powerhouse practice…one of the most important. The vast majority of women’s health issues are rooted in a chronic increase in stress hormones, which create even more sensitivity and depletes our juicy, stabilizing sex hormones.

Also, as we age, we become more Vata. Menopause is the transition into the Vata phase of life, when we have more light, dry, irregular qualities in our body and mind. 

Abhyanga is a powerhouse because it:

• Creates a protective barrier between us and our environment, containing our energy, pacifying the nervous system and helping us to not get stressed as easily. 
• The moist, grounding qualities of oil are the same as sex hormones, so they help our body produce more sex hormones naturally. 
• Vata is responsible for aging. High Vata will cause us to age faster. Abhyanga is one of the best Vata-pacifiers so it actually slows the aging process! 

Seasonally, there are a few reasons why it’s SO important:

• When the season changes there’s roughly a 10-day window on either side of the solstice/equinox when the weather gets unstable, and so do the energetics of your body. This is called ritu sandhi. The weather’s hot. The weather’s cold. It’s windy. It’s rainy. Rapid change is always Vata.  During this seasonal change our digestion and immunity can be weakened, especially if we don’t shore up our system.
• The heat of the summer creates dryness at the end of the season. In the northern hemisphere things are about to get dry, cold and windy. Fall/early Winter are Vata season. 

There’s a lot of Vata instability, dryness, lightness and cold about to get kicked up. The basic principle of healing in Ayurveda is: Like increase like, opposites balance. So we balance these unstable, irregular, windy, dry, cool seasonal energetics with moist, heavy, nourishing, stabilizing energetics and practices. Abhyanga is one of the best. 

I created a free resource to tell more benefits of abhyanga and how to do it. Starting soon will help you get ahead of the Vata aggravation that can easily come up in the fall and cause some of the symptoms listed above (and more). 

💕You can get the simple Abhyanga guide here: https://courtney-lacava.mykajabi.com/abhyanga

One last word…some resistance can come up with this practice since it may not be something you’ve ever done. Maybe it feels weird. If you’re not ready to do your whole body, can you start with rubbing some oil on the soles of your feet before bed? Or maybe starting somewhere else? I promise…it’s incredible medicine and worth sticking with!

Much love, 

Courtney  

(P.S. If you’re looking for a way to simplify your healing and get to the root cause of your health and hormonal issues, I have a new self-guided course to help. Check out The Feminine Code: Hormones, The Nervous System & Your Female Body Rhythms.)