Abhyangam is Ayurvedic oil massage with long rthymic strokes,that relaxes the body instantly.Abhyanga means oil massage of whole body including head with oil.Its one of most powerful practices from scriptures of Ayurveda.Stilling the mind, reviving the spirits and releasing blockages – that’s what Ayurveda massage is all about.
Massage is not a new concept. Almost every culture has employed massage; including Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Japanese, Chinese and the Ayurvedic managed by Indians.
The body is compared to tree. If the roots of trees are given water regularly, then it lives for long time. In the same way by Abhyanga( Ayurvedic oil massage) the p Dhatus (tissues) becomes healthy.
In most situations, Tila Taila (Sesame oil) is recommended, as it can be applied to all body types .It is Tridoshaghana (Subsides all the three Doshas) and gives nourishment to the body. Tila Taila unique property is that it is a polyunsaturated fat which contains large amounts of linoleic acid which is well-known anti-inflammatory agent and is also known to inhibit pathogenic bacteria.
Benefits of Ayurvedic oil massage.
It wards off old age, exertion and aggravation of vata, improve vision, nourishment to the body, long life, good sleep, good and strong (healthy) skin. Oil application like abhyanga( Ayurvedic oil massage) , makes the body soft, controls kapha and vata aggravation, and bestows nourishment to the tissues, good complexion/colour and strength to the body.The practice of abhyanga ( Ayurvedic oil massage) pacifies vata, kapha, aliments, removes tiredness, improves strength, relaxes the body, brings in sleep and improves colour, complexion and softness of the body.The human body is having 107 marma (vital points). In marmas, the prana (energy) resides. By doing massage the vital points gets stimulated and produce positive energy, thereby protecting, rejuvenating and increasing the immunity towards environmental changes. It is scientifically proved that massage increases the production of white blood corpuscles and antibodies, which provide more resistance against the diseases. The soles of the feet are said to have marma points, which in turn stimulates the indriyas (sense organs). Thus massage is very important to lead a healthy life and to create a healthy society.
PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS: The therapeutic value of Ayurvedic massage lies in its numerous and combined physiological effects and technique dependent. Massage, be it manual or mechanical, imparts pressure and stimulates mechanically the various tissue approached at the time of application of a particular technique. It is the magnitude, duration, and the direction of force applied during a particular technique that determines the effects, produced by that technique on that body.
It helps in release of vasodilators,Activation of axon reflex,Decrease of venous congestion.
On the venous and the lymphatic flow:Ayurveda Massage facilitates the forward movement of the venous blood and the lymph.So it reduces the chance of stagnation of the blood and the lymph in the tissue space. The mechanical action of massage resembles with that of normal muscular contraction. The different techniques of massage alternately compress and release the soft tissue. This facilitates the venous and lymphatic flow. Ayurveda Massage facilitates the drainage, and reduces the stagnation of fluids and speeds up the removal of waste products.
On the arterial flow: Ayurvedic Massage improves the blood supply of the area being massaged. A definite vasodilation along with an increase in the peripheral blood flow is usually observed after massage. This moderate, consistent and definite increase in the arterial-flow may be attributed to the following events happening during massage.
Effects on the skin : It improves the nutritive status of skin and rises the temperature of skin. Massage facilitates the movement of skin over the subcutaneous structure. As a result skin becomes soften, more supple and finer.The dead cells are removed by the constant contact of the hand over the skin. The sweat glands, hair follicles and the sebaceous glands, thus, become free from obstruction and can function more effectively. Massage, by activating the sweat glands, increases perspiration, so that the heat dissipation is increased.
Effects on soft tissue :
Elasticity, Plasticity and Mobility of soft tissue enhanced. The tissues which can be affected by massage include muscles, sheath, ligaments, tendons and joint capsule sand superficial as well as deep fascia.
COMBINED PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ( AYURVEDIC MASSAGE) : Increases Venous and lymphatic flow. Increases Arterial blood flow to the muscle and skin. Increases Stagnation of fluid in tissue space. Increases Removal of waste products of metabolism. Increases WBC, RBC and platelets count in circulating blood.
Increases Nutritive exchange between blood and cells. Increases Tropic status of the part massaged. Induce sedation.
Decreases Pain.
Facilitate contraction in hypotonic muscle.
Increases Excitability of motoneuronal pool in neurologically health person.
Modulate autonomic response. Increases Electroderma response or GSR.
Increases Removal of secretion from lung.
Increases Gaseous exchange across pulmonary capillaries.
Increases Removal of dead cells from skin. Increases Activity of sweat and sebaceous gland.
Modulate psychosomatic arousal. Mobilise soft tissue.
Break the soft tissue adhesions.
Accelerate various metabolic processes.
Promotes lypolysis