Balance and Restore:The Power of Padaabhyanga
What is Padaabhyanga?
‘Pada’ means foot and ‘abhyanga’ means massaging using medicated oil. Acharya Charak has mentioned the importance of foot massage in our daily rituals and considered it as an important part of Dincharya.
When you can do Padaabhyanga?
It can be performed in any part of the day but, for the best results do it at night before going to bed. It can also be done during Sarvaanga abhyanga i.e., full body message and can be done on a daily basis.
What are the benefits of Padaabhyanga?
According to Charak Samhita, the benefits of padaabhyanga using medicated oil are:
Kharatvam stabdhata roukshyam suptischa padayoha |
Sadya evopshamyanti padaabhyanganishevanaata ||
Jayate soukumaryam cha balam sthouryam cha padayoha |
Drishtiha prasadam labhate marutaschaupashamyati ||
Na cha syadgridhrasivaatah paadayoha sphutanam na cha |
Na sirasnayusankochah padaabhyangen padayoha ||
The application of medicated oil in foot helps to get rid of roughness and dryness of skin of the foot. It takes care of stiffness, tiredness or fatigue, numbness and tingling sensation of the foot.
Regularly massaging your foot using medicated oil makes it attractive by taking care of the foot skin. It helps by strengthening the foot muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments and bones. It provides more stability in the feet and ankles.
According to different Ayurved Acharyas, there is a very surprising benefit of foot massaging which is ‘drishti prasada’ means it makes your vision accurate, improves and maintains eye health. It helps to control and balance the Vayu dosha.
It helps in conditions like Sciatica, cracked heels and fissures, constricted blood vessels and spasmatic conditions of muscles, abnormality in ligaments and tendons of feet.
What are the other health benefits of Padaabhyanga?
- According to Acharya Sushruta, it is Nidrakara i.e., provides sound sleep.
- It heals the various marma points.
- It relaxes various nerves and reduces foot pain.
- Calms the mind
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Improves the immune system
- reduces insomnia by promoting good and sound sleep
How to do Padaabhyanga?
- Firstly, evacuate any natural urges like urine, faeces and clean your feet thoroughly in lukewarm water.
- Dry it completely.
- Choose the massaging oil according to your health conditions (you can consult your Ayurvedic Physician). As in every condition, there is some specific oils which are to be used.
- Heat the medicated oil or ghee by using double boiler method (heating by hot water and not directly with the flame).
- You can massage by your hand or many massaging tools available. But the best massaging tool is Kansya Vati as it reduces the pain in very short period of time and gets rid of the toxins.
- There is a general rule that Abhyanga or any kind of massage should be performed in Anuloma gati i.e., in the direction of your hair growth. But this can be changed according to the vitiated doshas like for Kapha dushti it should be Pratiloma gati (opposite to the direction of hair growth).
- You can follow Ayurvedic marma massage or reflexology chart for massaging your feet.
- There are some of the specific marma points you should focus upon like Talahridaya, Kshipra, Kurcha, Kurchashira, Gulpha marma points.
- After massaging, either you can sleep as it is for overnight or you can wash your feet with lukewarm water and sleep.
What researches say about the Padaabhyanga?
According to one research article, it was found that Padaabhyanga can statistically alleviate
- the eye strain
- can make it moist
- reduces the hazy distant vision, etc
- it also slightly reduced the power of lens in Myopia condition.
References:
- Charak Samhita
- Sushruta Samhita
- https://doi.org/10.47552/ijam.v15i1.4153