CHAPTER
11

Ayurvedic Nightly Rituals

In This Chapter

Ahh, blessed night, when the sun sets and you can prepare your body for a night of deeply healing sleep. In Ayurvedic times, people came home from a long day of working in the field and spent the duration of the day in self-care, scrubbing their skin, oiling their bodies, and boiling healing elixirs. Then something happened in the past few hundred years that slightly changed things. Now, for many people, nights are filled with long commutes, heart-wrenching news stories, and binge watching Netflix. How much things can change in a few centuries!

But wait! You can go back and reintegrate these healing therapies in your life. It’s really quite simple, and all it takes is a little awareness. In this chapter, I teach you how to exfoliate, oil, and cleanse your body with easy practices that will make you feel like you’re at an Ayurvedic spa in your very own home. You’ll drift off to sleep feeling rejuvenated and relaxed.

Slowing Down for Sleep

The moment you get home from work, you should begin preparing your body for rest. Sleep doesn’t come the moment you turn off the lights but rather takes hours of what I like to call “sleep foreplay.”

Restful sleep doesn’t come easy. You must set the mood in order for your body to be whisked away into la-la land. Think of it as your own personal sleep seduction. In the following sections, I share my favorite Ayurvedic tips to create the atmosphere for a restful night.

Technology Detox

There’s nothing less sexy than someone on their phone, totally ignoring you. The same rule applies for sleep. If you are glued to your screen, the subtle layers of your mind won’t get the hint that it’s time to take off to dream world. Instead, you’ll awaken your fight-or-flight signals that say it’s time to go, produce, and perform. The last thing your brain will want to do is sleep.

I recommend scheduling a technology detox for at least 1 hour before it’s time for bed. When you are exposed to the blue light that emanates from a screen, your melatonin levels decrease, preventing you from falling asleep. Instead of cuddling up with your smartphone, choose a book instead, which doesn’t have the same artificial lighting as a screen.

Set the Scent

Turn off the lights, light some candles, and turn on your essential oil diffuser. Sleep doesn’t come easy, and you have to work to create the right atmosphere for it to come.

I recommend purchasing an essential oil diffuser and adding a few drops of lavender, chamomile, rose, frankincense, or neroli to soothe your nervous system and prepare your body and mind for sleep. We are so deeply affected by our senses, and practicing aromatherapy has been found to ease the mind, reduce anxiety, eliminate stress, and balance hormones, taking us out of the fight-or-flight response of the day.

Additionally, I suggest you avoid all artificially scented candles, such as the delicious apple pie or pumpkin spice candles available at the mall. According to a South Carolina State University study, the long-term use of paraffin candles may cause health hazards, including cancer, common allergies, and asthma. The candles contain alkanes, alkenes, and toluene, which are proven to have harmful effects on humans. Additionally, scented candles produce more soot than unscented candles, which creates indoor air pollution.

Instead of artificially fragranced paraffin candles, choose all-natural soy candles fragranced with essential oils. By-products of natural soy plants, soy candles generally are not harmful to people. Many homemade essential oil-scented soy candles are available online and in natural markets.

The Benefits of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

I also recommend purchasing pink Himalayan sea salt candleholders and lights. Sea salt is a natural negative ion generator and has been proven to increase the flow of oxygen to the brain, resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness, and more mental energy, according to Pierce Howard, PhD, author of The Owner’s Manual for the Brain. He states, “They also may protect against germs in the air, resulting in decreased irritation due to inhaling various particles that make you sneeze, cough, or have a throat irritation.” If you’ve ever noticed how grounded and pure you feel when you’re on the beach or by a waterfall, it’s because of the negative ions in the air from the water.

Wisdom of the Ages

Pink Himalayan sea salt lights make great night-lights because they provide a warm, pink-hued glow, similar to a campfire, easing you to sleep. Even better, they don’t have the harsh blue light that interferes with your melatonin levels and prevents you from falling asleep. They improve air quality, soothe allergies, boost mood, and offer light therapy, making them a great choice for those with seasonal affective disorder or anyone with a high-stress lifestyle. Himalayan salt inhalers are even used to treat asthma because the salt purifies the air, removing pollutants and allergens.

No matter what, completely avoid all air fresheners, including plug-ins, gels, and aerosols. These are highly toxic and have been linked to cancer and other diseases.

Nature provides us with so many wonderful smells available in essential oils, and it’s best to inhale them naturally, through essential oil diffusers and soy candles with pink Himalayan salt holders.

Dry Brushing

After you’ve detoxed from technology and introduced a soothing scent, it’s time to dry brush your body. In this ancient Ayurvedic practice, scrape the dead skin cells off the top layer of your skin by brushing your skin with a dry brush before showering. Dry brushing promotes detoxification and stimulates your lymphatic system.

Definition

Dry brushing is the Ayurvedic practice of gently scraping the body with a dry loofa brush to remove toxins and dead skin cells and stimulate the lymphatic system.

Why Dry Brush?

Your skin is your largest organ, and one third of your body’s toxins are excreted through your skin. If your skin is covered with dead follicles, it cannot breathe and detoxify, causing inflammation and toxicity within your body. With daily dry brushing, you can increase oxygen flow, boost circulation, reduce appearance of cellulite, remove dead skin cells, and help your remaining cells and your body remove waste.

Dry brushing is extremely cleansing for your lymphatic system. Your lymphatic system is your body’s natural detoxification system. It collects, transports, and eliminates the waste your cells produce. When your lymphatic system is congested, you experience toxic accumulation. Kapha types are most susceptible to congested lymphs, although everyone is susceptible, especially in the cold and wet Kapha months.

This is where dry brushing comes in. Dry brushing stimulates your lymphatic system and allows it to drain out the built-up toxicity within your bodies that naturally accumulates over time, especially if you’re eating the wrong foods for your Dosha. Seasonal shifts, pesticides in foods, sugar, GMOs, and other factors increase toxins in your body, so it’s recommended that you detoxify once a season.

Dry brushing should be practiced daily, both as a preventative measure to keep your lymphatic system operating strongly before it becomes congested and as a treatment for when you feel like your toxins have already accumulated. Dry brushing only takes 5 minutes a day to do, yet its benefits are infinite. Best of all, it’s one of those things that feels just as good when you do it on yourself as when someone else does it on you—instant spa experience!

How to Dry Brush

If you’ve ever scrubbed your skin with a loofa, you actually already know how to dry brush. The process is quite similar, except you dry brush on dry skin, hence the name, to better remove dead, flaky skin cells.

You can use any natural, firm-bristle brush or purchase one specific for dry brushing. Strokes go toward your heart in long, slow motions.

Here’s how to dry brush:

 1. Begin on your arms, and using firm yet gentle strokes, stroke upward. Brush the various angles of your arms in long strokes, being sure not to press so hard that you break the skin, but not so soft that you aren’t really doing anything. If you have rough, raised bumps on the back of your arms, focus on those spots.

 2. After you’ve done both arms, move to your chest and stomach. These areas can be a little more sensitive, so use a lighter touch. Practice several long strokes, always toward your heart.

 3. Move toward your back. If you have a lot of accumulated dead skin cells on your lower back (many of us do), this should be another area to target.

 4. Head down to your feet, and perform several long strokes upward. Then dry brush all sides of your legs. This help reduce the appearance of cellulite, so pay particular attention to the back of your thighs and any other problem areas.

 5. After dry brushing, either bathe or follow up with abhyanga, or self-oil massage.

You also can dry brush your face, which helps cleanse dirt, dead skin cells, and clogged pores. However, I recommend having a separate, softer, smaller brush for your face so you don’t bring toxins from your body to your face.

Once a week, wash your brush in one cup warm water with 3 drops tea tree oil or neem. Lay the brush bristles down on a towel to allow to dry.

Abhyanga (Self-Oil Massage)

After you’ve sloughed away those dead skin cells, it’s time to oil your body in a massaging practice called abhyanga. You don’t have to go to a spa to get abhyanga done; you can practice it on yourself and still reap its wonderful benefits.

Just like dry brushing, abhyanga increases circulation, especially on nerve endings. Your skin is left dry and exposed after exfoliation, which is why it’s healing to hydrate it with oil afterward. Oil is recommended over water-soluble creams and lotions because your skin absorbs it better and it doesn’t contain any chemicals. Ayurveda states you shouldn’t put anything on your skin you wouldn’t eat; would you eat your chemical-laden lotions?

Definition

Abhyanga is the ancient Ayurvedic practice of massaging your skin with oil to hydrate your body from within. It enhances muscle tone, detoxification, and relaxation.

Oil, especially when warmed, penetrates the deeper layers of your body, lubricating your joints and hydrating from within.

The Benefits of Abhyanga

Abhyanga has many benefits, including toning your muscles, enhancing detoxification, softening your skin, calming your nervous system, releasing fatigue, aiding your sleep, and improving elimination. You also can practice abhyanga in the morning, but I normally practice at night when I have more time and use it to help me drift off to sleep.

The Charaka Samhita states, “The body of one who uses oil massage regularly does not become affected much even if subjected to accidental injuries, or strenuous work. By using oil massage daily, a person is endowed with pleasant touch, trimmed body parts and becomes strong, charming and least affected by old age.”

How to Practice Abhyanga

Practicing Abhyanga is very simple and quite intuitive. It’s very similar to applying lotion, but more deliberate. The Sanskrit word for oil is sneha, which also means “love.” When oiling your body, give love to yourself. Your body is your most prized possession, and you should treat it with the same love and care you would give a newborn baby.

In traditional Ayurvedic massage, the oil is warmed to make it more absorbable by the skin. You can warm the oil at home in a number of ways or even just rub it between your hands to warm it if you’re pressed for time.

The touch of your self-massage depends on what you need and your Dosha. If you’re feeling lethargic and heavy, like a Kapha, practice more vigorous, firm strokes to stimulate your body and get your muscles loosened. If you’re stressed and tight, practice a slower and more deliberate massage. Always balance how your body is doing with your treatment.

Typically, you’ll use between 1⁄4 and 1⁄2 cup oil during your self-massage, depending on how dry your skin is, so have at least that amount available. I recommend purchasing organic, high-quality oil from an Ayurvedic herbal company, like those listed in Appendix B.

Here’s how to practice abhyanga, self-oil massage:

 1. First you must warm up the oil. There are three ways to do this.

 2. The first way is to fill a glass bottle with the amount of oil you’d like to use and submerge it in a pot of hot water on the stove. The second way is to hold the glass bottle under hot running water until it is warm, which will take longer and also wastes water. The third way is to pour a tablespoon of oil in your palm and rub your palms in circular motions for 20 to 30 seconds, or until heat is generated between your hands

 3. Create a small pool of warm oil in your hands and begin rubbing the oil into your arms. Pay particular attention to any dry spots on the back of your arms, on your elbows, and around your wrists.

 4. Add more oil to your hands and begin gently massaging your abdomen in counterclockwise circular motions. This is the direction of your colon and the movement aids your digestion and elimination. Go up your right side, across your abdomen, and down your left side.

 5. Bring the oil up to your chest in long, slow strokes toward your heart. This helps you connect with your heart chakra and emotions (more on chakras in Chapter 21).

 6. Add more oil to your hands and massage your back, an area that holds a great deal of tension. It can be hard to reach your back, but try your best. Really massage the oil into your shoulders, lower back, and other areas where you hold tension.

 7. Pour more oil into your hands and massage it into your buttocks and down your legs. You may notice that your skin absorbs a lot of oil in these areas.

 8. Be sure to oil your feet as well, which are often dry and callused.

Put on socks after you oil your feet to retain the oil. When you’re finished, put on pajamas that you don’t mind getting a slight oil residue on as well.

Ayurvedic Alert

If you notice the oil is quickly disappearing as you apply it to certain spots (or all over), your skin is very dehydrated. You most likely have Vata skin, which is parched and dry. Frequently practicing abhyanga helps moisturize your skin from within.

You don’t have to practice abhyanga every day. The recommended frequency depends on your Dosha:

Vatas: Practice at least five times a week. During cold, dry, Vata season, you may need to oil your body every day.

Pittas: Practice at least three times a week, using a cooling oil like coconut. You do not need to oil your body as much in the hot, humid months.

Kaphas: Practice at least two times a week if you’re a Kapha because you naturally retain oil. Pay particular attention to the dry spots on your body, and add stimulating herbs to your oil. Sesame, almond, or olive oil are great choices for Kaphas.

I recommend oiling your scalp and giving yourself a head massage once a week. This enhances hair growth as well as calms the mind. If you have long hair, braid your hair and sleep overnight with the oil on your head. Place a towel over your pillow to keep it clean.

Some people practice abhyanga after a shower in place of using lotion, while others practice before showering so the oil can enter their skin during the shower. It’s really your preference. I recommend that those who have drier skin or live somewhere with drier weather oil their bodies after their shower because the warm water dries the skin. If you’re a Kapha type, are naturally oily, or just really dislike having oil on your body, you could practice abhyanga prior to bathing.

Types of Oils to Use

What types of oil you use for abhyanga depends on your Dosha type:

Vatas: Use a warming oil like sesame, which is considered the queen of oils. Be sure the oil is organic and untoasted. Almond oil is another good option because it’s also warming. You could purchase herb-infused oils that have Vata-pacifying herbs within them as well.

Pittas: Use cooling oils, particularly coconut oil, which cools the body temperature and also heals redness and acne. Sunflower oil is also recommended for Pittas. You don’t need to heat the oil.

Kaphas: Use warming oils, such as sesame or almond. Olive and corn oil are also good choices. You don’t need as much oil as Vatas and Pittas.

Nasal Cleansing

Another Ayurvedic practice you could add to your nightly or morning routine is nasal cleansing. This is split into two practices: neti and nasya. Neti is the process of cleansing the nasal passages with salt water using a neti pot; nasya is the practice of lubricating the nasal cavities with oil. The two practices go hand in hand because one disinfects and then the other moisturizes and prevents the mucus from reforming.

Definition

Neti and nasya are the Ayurvedic practices of cleansing the nasal passages. Neti is rinsing out the nostrils with salt water. Nasya is administering oil in the nostrils to heal allergies, improve breathing, relieve headaches, and even improve quality of voice.

Why Cleanse Your Nostrils?

You are constantly breathing in toxins, from pollution in the air to the fragrances in perfumes, air fresheners, and candles. As a result, your nasal passages become filled with toxicity and benefit from being cleaned out from time to time. All airborne illnesses begin in the nose, and when you clean your nostrils, you can prevent and heal allergies, colds, and flus.

Ayurveda states that nasal cleansing also is important because the nose is the direct route to the brain and the doorway to your consciousness. By cleansing your nasal passages, you improve your breathing; cure headaches; release tension; and overcome sinus infections, colds, flus, and allergies.

Neti

Neti pots come in ceramic, metal, and plastic, but it’s best to avoid plastic. You can find neti pots in many stores, even supermarkets, and also online. (See Appendix B for some sources.)

Here’s how to practice neti cleansing:

 1. Thoroughly wash your neti pot to be sure it’s clean.

 2. In a pan, bring 1 or 2 cups water to boil to disinfect. Allow the water to cool to a warm temperature so you don’t burn your nostrils. When the water is warm, pour it into your neti pot.

 3. Add 1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt per 1⁄2 cup warm water and stir

 4. Stand over a sink, place the tip of the neti pot spout into your nostril, and tilt your head sideways without leaning your head forward or backward. The water should enter one nostril and flow out the other. Breathe through your mouth as you work. Use about half of the water in one nostril.

 5. Repeat the process with the remaining water and your other nostril. Now your nasal passages are cleansed!

This practice kills bacteria and other debris that cause allergies and illness. You’ll be amazed to see how quickly this practice clears up mucus.

Neti is not necessary for every day, but I highly recommend it during cold, flu, and allergy season. If you have a sinus infection or allergies, you can practice up to three times a day.

Nasya

Nasya is the practice of lubricating the nasal passages with oil, and it’s best performed after neti cleansing. The salt water from neti can dry out your nasal passages, which stimulates your body to secrete more mucus to protect the membranes. Nasya lubricates those membranes with oil so your body doesn’t create more mucus. It’s a wonderful preventative measure to overcome a stuffy nose and is the reason why saline solution alone is not enough; you need both salt water and oil together.

Nasya is said to improve the quality of your voice, improve your vision, promote mental clarity, release tension headaches, heal sinus congestion, and release stress.

Nasya oil is a specific type of medicated oil typically comprised of sesame oil and medicinal herbs. You can find nasya oil on many Ayurvedic websites. If you can’t find it, you can use sesame oil.

There are two ways you can practice nasya. In the first way, which is the most effective, you lie down on your back and administer the oil in your nose. You’ll eventually get used to it, but at first it might feel weird to have oil go up your nose.

Wisdom of the Ages

At my first Ayurvedic treatment in India, I was shocked when the practitioner suddenly squirted oil up my nose mid-massage. It felt like I had just inhaled water while swimming. When you practice nasya on yourself, you have more control and will be prepared for the oily splash.

If you’d like to go this route, here’s how:

 1. Lie down on your back, preferably on your bed.

 2. Tilt your head backward, either off the edge of the bed or by placing a pillow below your middle back so your head is leaning backward.

 3. With a dropper, release 5 to 10 drops of room temperature nasya oil in each nostril.

 4. Inhale deeply and lie still for a few minutes so the nasya oil can deeply penetrate your nasal passages. It will feel a bit strange at the beginning, but it’s definitely worth the benefits.

The second way is to put a drop of nasya oil on your pinky finger and insert it into your nostril. You won’t be able to get as deep as you would when you’re lying down, but it will still lubricate your nostril’s inner walls and is a great starting point.

The Least You Need to Know

  • Prepare your body for sleep by diffusing sleep-inducing essential oils or burning soy candles. Avoid paraffin and artificially scented candles, air fresheners, fragranced sprays, and incense.
  • Dry brush away the dead layers of your skin with a firm-bristled brush to remove toxins and stimulate your lymphatic system.
  • Oil your body with organic, unprocessed oil specific to your Dosha to hydrate and soften your skin.
  • If you have allergies or a sinus infection, cleanse your nose with a neti pot and lubricate it with nasya oil.