Dry brushing has been part of body and health treatments in Ayurveda for thousands of years. Called garshana, this traditional Ayurvedic dry massage is said to refresh and stimulate the skin, enhance blood circulation, and release accumulated toxins. Typical garshana treatment includes a full-body massage with a dry brush, avoiding sensitive areas such as the genitals, breasts, and face. The garshana is completed with a shower that alternates temperature, with a few cycles of hot then cold water. This treatment is not for anyone with contraindications such as heart problems or high blood pressure. A soothing, full-body massage with traditional Ayurvedic oils follows to rehydrate the skin.
Dry brushing is also an excellent practice for the kapha time of year, the season of winter and spring. This is the time of year when kapha can begin to accumulate in the lymph or the sinuses and create stagnation or respiratory congestion. Dry brushing helps to stimulate kapha in the body and encourage movement and drainage of excess mucus.
Benefits of Dry skin brushing are as follows:
1. Increases Energy Levels
Dry brushing can dramatically increase your energy levels. Do you ever feel tired, lethargic, sluggish, or lacking in energy, even though you are sleeping and eating well? In many cases, these feelings can be a strong indication that your lymphatic system has become blocked or overloaded with toxins and stress. Using abody brush stimulates and “unclogs” your lymphatic system, which helps increase your energy levels.
2. Detoxifies Your Body
Using a body brush stimulates and supports the proper health of your lymphatic system, which is an essential part of your circulatory system. The primary function of the lymphatic system is to filter and purify your blood. This is achieved with a complex network of lymph nodes, ducts, and vessels which are widely present in your body and transport a fluid known as “lymph” throughout your body. This fluid, which flows beneath the surface of your skin, has the effect of filtering, purifying, and purging toxins and pathogens as it travels throughout your body. Using adry brush stimulates natural lymph flow, which will in turn make it more effective at purging toxins and pathogens from your body. This promotes detoxification and helps eliminate toxins that can cause inflammation and illness.
4. Keeps Skin Health and Eliminates Cellulite Drybrushing is a great way to naturally exfoliate your skin. Brushing helps remove old, dead skin, unclogs your skin’s pores, and eliminates ingrown hairs. In addition, gentle stimulation of the skin’s connective top layers through regular dry brushing will improve your skin tone and promote the production of collagen and elastin fibres, which can dramatically reduce or even eliminate cellulite. After only a few sessions, your skin will be much softer, smoother, suppler, and brighter. Dry brushing can also help suppress varicose veins and skin discoloration.
5. Many Other Health Benefits
In addition to the many excellent health benefits noted above, using adry brush rejuvenates and revitalizes all of your body's systems and cells, promotes physical relaxation by helping balance opposing sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the nervous system, helps ease tension in the stomach and intestines, promotes the production of digestive enzymes which enhance digestion, helps normalize brain function and promote a sense of relaxation and calm, increases metabolism and helps maintain a healthy weight, improves circulation, and strengthens your immune system by promoting the production of globulin, which makes the body more resistant to illness.
Steps for a traditional Ayurvedic dry brushing:
So, go ahead and have a daily dry brushing ritual before your shower or bath. This natural detoxification practice gently flushes out toxins without disturbing the body’s balance, and it will help you feel energetic and vital! It’s an exhilarating breath of fresh air and anything but boring and dry!
Dry brushing is also an excellent practice for the kapha time of year, the season of winter and spring. This is the time of year when kapha can begin to accumulate in the lymph or the sinuses and create stagnation or respiratory congestion. Dry brushing helps to stimulate kapha in the body and encourage movement and drainage of excess mucus.
Benefits of Dry skin brushing are as follows:
1. Increases Energy Levels
Dry brushing can dramatically increase your energy levels. Do you ever feel tired, lethargic, sluggish, or lacking in energy, even though you are sleeping and eating well? In many cases, these feelings can be a strong indication that your lymphatic system has become blocked or overloaded with toxins and stress. Using abody brush stimulates and “unclogs” your lymphatic system, which helps increase your energy levels.
2. Detoxifies Your Body
Using a body brush stimulates and supports the proper health of your lymphatic system, which is an essential part of your circulatory system. The primary function of the lymphatic system is to filter and purify your blood. This is achieved with a complex network of lymph nodes, ducts, and vessels which are widely present in your body and transport a fluid known as “lymph” throughout your body. This fluid, which flows beneath the surface of your skin, has the effect of filtering, purifying, and purging toxins and pathogens as it travels throughout your body. Using adry brush stimulates natural lymph flow, which will in turn make it more effective at purging toxins and pathogens from your body. This promotes detoxification and helps eliminate toxins that can cause inflammation and illness.
4. Keeps Skin Health and Eliminates Cellulite Drybrushing is a great way to naturally exfoliate your skin. Brushing helps remove old, dead skin, unclogs your skin’s pores, and eliminates ingrown hairs. In addition, gentle stimulation of the skin’s connective top layers through regular dry brushing will improve your skin tone and promote the production of collagen and elastin fibres, which can dramatically reduce or even eliminate cellulite. After only a few sessions, your skin will be much softer, smoother, suppler, and brighter. Dry brushing can also help suppress varicose veins and skin discoloration.
5. Many Other Health Benefits
In addition to the many excellent health benefits noted above, using adry brush rejuvenates and revitalizes all of your body's systems and cells, promotes physical relaxation by helping balance opposing sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the nervous system, helps ease tension in the stomach and intestines, promotes the production of digestive enzymes which enhance digestion, helps normalize brain function and promote a sense of relaxation and calm, increases metabolism and helps maintain a healthy weight, improves circulation, and strengthens your immune system by promoting the production of globulin, which makes the body more resistant to illness.
Steps for a traditional Ayurvedic dry brushing:
- Massage your entire body, excluding your face, chest, and heart. Avoid sensitive areas and anywhere the skin is broken or inflamed.
- Use circular strokes on the stomach and joints (shoulders, elbows, knees, wrists, hips, and ankles), and long sweeping strokes on the arms and legs.
- Apply light pressure where the skin is thin, such as the underarms, and harder pressure where the skin is thicker, such as the soles of the feet.
- The direction of the stroke should always be toward your heart as this helps drain lymph back to your heart. Massage from your feet upward, continuing up to your torso and on to your neck. Also,massage from the hands to the shoulders. Continue for at least five minutes.
- Complete your Garshana with a shower.
- To enhance the release of toxins, end with a few cycles of hot then cold water. First turn the water to as hot as you can take it for several seconds, then to as cold as you can tolerate, then back to hot, and so on. This will stimulate the blood circulation and further invigorate the skin.
So, go ahead and have a daily dry brushing ritual before your shower or bath. This natural detoxification practice gently flushes out toxins without disturbing the body’s balance, and it will help you feel energetic and vital! It’s an exhilarating breath of fresh air and anything but boring and dry!