Have you ever suffered from a monkey mind? Where your thoughts jump around from one worry to another – keeping you in a fairly constant state of stress and agitation. Where there never seems to be a break from your internal dialogues? Ayurvedic medicine – an ancient system of healing from India – has the perfect therapy to help quiet the mind. It’s a warm oil treatment called shirodhara.
Ayurveda has used warm therapeutic oils to calm the body and mind for thousands of years. The term shirodhara comes from the Sanskrit words shiro (head) and dhara (flow). It is where a steady stream of warm oil is gently poured over the forehead to help soothe and heal a frayed nervous system. According to Ayurvedic teaching, the gentle but constant application stimulates healthy blood circulation to the brain and pituitary gland, while certain added herbs can provide relief from symptoms such as headache and neuralgia. You’re left feeling deeply relaxed, which allows the nervous system to repair itself. Shirodhara works primarily on the mental sheath or “manomaya kosha” as it is referred to in Ayurveda. It is here that the mind clings to past impressions that create imbalanced desires and habitual patterns of behavior. These impressions are held captive in the limbic system of the emotional cortex of the brain
Shirodhara helps in clearing our mental fog and nagging thoughts, and allows the nervous system to calm down. Its other medicinal purposes include the treatment of depression, headaches, sinusitis, anxiety, allergic rhinitis, premature hair graying, hearing impairment, insomnia, Meniere’s disease, skin problems including psoriasis, tinnitus, neurological disorders and vision problems. Plus it’s also used non-medically for its’ amazing relaxing properties.
Most practitioners use warm sesame oil or a blend of herbs mixed with coconut oil, water, buttermilk or cow’s milk oil. The client lies supine on a massage or special Shirodhara table in a dimly lit room. A steady stream of oil is drizzled onto the forehead from a special metal pot held about 4-6 inches above the head. The procedure lasts from 20-60 minutes while the patient quietly relaxes. Soft, soothing music is often played in the background to help the client relax.
The oil moves from the forehead and runs off the head into another metal basin positioned at the end of the table. However, some oil remains on the skin and hair. Ideally, the oil should not be removed but allowed to penetrate the skin for the remainder of the day. To prevent the oil from staining clothing after the procedure is complete, clients can wear an old baseball cap or scarf.
Many practitioners offer Shirodhara treatments, either alone or in combination with other therapies such as ayurvedic massage (abhyanga) and/or a session in an herbalized steam tent (swedana). The Shirodhara treatment is fast becoming the most talked-about and most requested Ayurvedic treatment offered by leading-edge health spas and alternative medicine centers.
Posted in: Body Therapies, Nervous System