Ayurveda has the most sophisticated, complex and powerful herbal and massage oils of any natural healing tradition in the world. In Ayurvedic pharmacology, numerous herbs are specially cooked in an oil base, usually sesame, following ancient formulations with centuries of experience behind them. Their main name is Tailam, from tila meaning sesame oil. Yet other oils are used may be used in their preparation including coconut oil, castor oil and ghee.
Ayurvedic oils, we must clearly understand, are not simply adjunct massage oils. Ayurvedic oils form an entire treatment in their own right that is one of the most effective herbal treatments, perhaps the best.
The skin has a special ability to absorb the oils along with the herbs and nutrients prepared in them, often more so than does the digestive system, particularly as many people today suffer from malabsorption and poor digestion. Taking the herbs externally through the skin with Ayurvedic oils circumvents the weak digestive system and brings the effect of the herbs to a deeper level of the body, musculo-skeletal system and nervous system, where they can be more effective.
External Usage of Oils
Used externally, Ayurvedic oils can be applied to specific regions of the body. There are a number of oils that are good for the head, not simply for improving the hair but for calming the mind, strengthening the nerves and countering the side effects of how our nervous system is being disturbed and debilitated by our information technology. Such Ayurvedic oils for the head can counter insomnia, stress and anxiety, or even calm anger, agitation and unrest.
Relative to joint or arthritic pain, or simply for stiff or weak joints, Ayurvedic oils can be applied directly to the site of the pain or weakness with excellent results. This is extremely important because there is often little that can be done for arthritis in modern western medicine. Yet besides bone problems, the same Ayurvedic oils are excellent in sports medicine for loosening and strengthening the muscles and joints and improving performance.
In this regard, Ayurvedic oils are very helpful for the practice of Yoga asanas as they help loosen the joints and promote deeper healing in the bone tissue, allowing for easier performance of the asanas and less danger of injury. Regular abhyanga or oil application to the body, particularly the head, neck, back, elbows, hands, knees and feet is an important Ayurvedic regimen for promoting positive health and longevity overall.
Naturally Ayurvedic oils have many applications relative to skin diseases, including skin rashes, irritations and inflammations of various types. Many Ayurvedic oils have significant cosmetic value. They have been used to help remove warts and dark spots from the skin, to counter dry or cracked skin, and to improve overall skin luster and texture, including countering the aging process that appears through the skin. This is particularly important today when cosmetics are expensive and often leave dangerous chemical residues on the skin.
Internal Usage of Oils
In addition some Ayurvedic oils can be taken internally and are not only for external usage. Check the specific oils involved. Some are specific for taking internally. This includes taking oils orally through the mouth, in the nose as nasya therapy, or through the rectum as bastis or enemas. Each avenue of application has its specific value and purpose. Taking Ayurvedic oils through the nose improves breathing, opens the sinuses, and promotes positive brain function. As enemas, Ayurvedic oils are good for debility, weak nerves, poor elimination and conditions like irritable bowel syndrome.The Sanskrit word sneha means both “oil” and “love,” and the effects of abhyanga are similar to being saturated with love. Both experiences can give a deep feeling of stability, warmth and comfort. Sneha—oil and love—is sukshma, or “subtle.” This allows it to pass through minute channels in the body and penetrate deep layers of tissue.
Ayurveda teaches that there are seven dhatus, or layers of tissue in the body. Each is successively more concentrated and life-giving. It is taught that for the effects of sneha to reach to the deepest layer, it should be massaged into the body for 800 matras, roughly five minutes. If we consider that the entire body needs this kind of attention, a 15-minute massage is the suggested minimum amount of time.Massaging oil into the human organism imparts a tone and vigor to its tissues in the same manner as water furnishes the roots of a tree or a plant with the necessary nutritive elements, and fosters its growth, when poured into the soil where it grows. The use of oil at a bath causes the oil to penetrate into the system… and thus soothes and invigorates the body with its own essence.Under the circumstances, massages and anointments of the body with oil or clarified butter should be prescribed by an intelligent person with due regard to one’s habit, congeniality and temperament and to the climate and the season of the year as well as to the preponderance of the deranged dosha or doshas in one’s physical constitution.
