My #1 Ayurvedic Self-Care Technique for Stress, Burnout, and Fatigue
Usha Anandi. 07 | OCTOBER | 2024
In a world that thrives on our disconnection from ourselves, self-care is a form of rebellion.
While I’m a big fan of taking time to lavish yourself in love (Leo Sun here!)… but I also have a nose for marketing-y bullshit.
You know?
Programming that convinces us that taking care of ourselves means spending hundreds of dollars on the latest skin care routine?
Capitalism has taught us to equate self-care with spending more. But my question is this: how many face creams, massaging tools, and body lotions does a girl ACTUALLY need?
I’m exhausted of the overconsumption-core trends that have taken the internet by storm and convinced us that we NEED a shelf-full of products for skin cycling.
Through studying Ayurveda over the past decade, I’ve learned that true self-care is every decision where we choose ourselves.
Self-care is all about helping you realign with the natural rhythm of your body.
That’s why I want to invite you to my Wise Womban Way mentorship.
In this year-long Ayurvedic mentorship program, I’ll share everything I’ve learned about living in alignment with the seasons over the past 10+ years, and help you rediscover the innate wisdom of your womb that lives inside of all of us.
Join the waitlist and be the first to know when doors open next time.
Lathering your breasts in oil and sitting in circle in a Greek oasis isn’t the only way to practice self-care either (although it’s gotta be one of the BEST ways)…
In this blog, I want to introduce you to my favorite at-home self-care practice that I’ve been doing (almost) every single day for over 10 years now.
This was the practice I did everyday before I got pregnant with my daughter (because a relaxed body helps with fertility) and the practice single-handedly helped me rebuild tissue and deepen my connection with my own body after a period of deep depletion, and now – I want to pass it onto you…
Introducing Ayurveda’s Self-Oil Massage
In Ayurveda, the word ‘snehana’ means both oil and love… and for good reason!
According to one of my herbalism teachers, oil for the body is like love for the soul. Yup – that’s how good it is.
If you’re like me, you grew up in a world where running on fumes is the norm.
A world where the women in your family put others first, before even thinking of caring for themselves.
Where starving yourself from food, disordered eating, or yo-yo dieting was viewed as “healthy living”…
And where taking naps, eating nourishing food, and listening to what your body needs was seen as a luxury…
If you’re feeling the exhaustion, burnout, and disconnection that comes with all these, you NEED to integrate this simple practice into your routine to…
- Help decrease stagnation (bye bye brown menstrual blood and pesky period cramps)
- Bring your uterus into optimal alignment (because a tilted uterus is NOT normal, no matter what you’ve heard)
- Encourage life changing stillness and relaxation (which is shockingly hard to come by nowadays)
Ayurveda recognizes the skin as a pathway to the vital organs, so in taking care of the skin with daily oil massage, we care for the health of our body overall.
I could sit here and type out the benefits of self-oil massage all day, but maybe this video will better convey my passion…
This is an exclusive tidbit from one lesson in my private mentorship, Wise Womban Way.
For Moms
During pregnancy, self-oil massage can be used to reduce water retention, encourage skin elasticity, and strengthen the Mother’s experience of their mind-body connection – a bond that is essential for an empowering birth, postpartum, and beyond.
In postpartum, self-oil massage is traditionally used to support the pathway of elimination for ‘old’ hormones associated with pregnancy that are no longer needed.
The nourishing, grounding, and lubricating quality of the oil also supports the Mother in creating a protective barrier between their body and the cold, which will increase ease of overall physical, mental, and spiritual healing in a time where they need it the most.
The Ayurvedic Explanation
Like many other indigenous forms of healing around the world, Ayurveda recognizes the mind and body as one. If there are physical benefits to a practice, there are mental ones, and vice versa.
Physically, self-oil massage penetrates the tissues and lubricates nerve endings, which may help cultivate an overall feeling of calm in the mind.
Ayurveda associates feelings of anxiety, depletion, and ungroundedness with the elements of ether and air.
Excess of these elements can hang out in our digestive tract, our joints, and even in the subtle qualities of our mind.
Enter the life changing properties of oil to the rescue…
The moist, grounding qualities of oil help balance the elements in the body, resulting in a calmness, ease, and clarity in the mind.
Want to integrate the self-oil massage and other invaluable practices into your daily routine? If you’re on the precipice of transforming how you live to achieve TRUE, long-term balance, this blog is divine intervention.
I think you were meant to be one of the women to join me in my annual Wise Womban Way Mentorship – and if you agree, now is the time to save your spot. We’re starting soon…
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