Garshana - Ayurvedic Art of Dry Brushing
Dry Brushing is an ancient Ayurvedic practice.
The Sanskrit word Garshana, (pronounced gar-shun-uh), translates to ‘friction by rubbing.’ This practice involves a stimulating massage to detoxify your lymphatic system, refresh your skin and revive your mind. You can use many different tools to perform garshana: raw silk gloves, sea sponges or our favorite - a dry bristle brush.
WHY LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE?
The lymphatic system acts as drainage for the body, helping to remove toxins, waste and other unwanted materials. It transports lymph, a fluid containing infection-fighting white blood cells, throughout the body. In Ayurveda these toxins we remove daily are known as AMA.
The lymphatic system does not have its own pump like the heart - it does not move on its own. An unfortunate side effect of today's modern sedentary lifestyle is that the lymph can become inefficient or sluggish. To maintain proper function, the lymphatic system needs daily deep breathing, cardio exercise, yoga, and garshana or abhyangha massage - more about that next week!!.
Making garshana part of your Daily Ritual of self-care (Dinacharya) is one of the most beneficial things you can do for detoxification, optimal lymphatic drainage and an immune boost.
BENEFITS
Circulation Booster ~ You will notice a slight redness to your skin. Not to worry, this is simply your body pushing more blood to those areas.
Lymph Helper ~ Dry brushing speeds up the rate of blood pumping, which helps get the lymph through the body, therefore removing toxins and pathogens more quickly.
Exfoliates ~ Dry brushing gets rid of the day's dead skin cells. The result is increased cell turnover and glowing happy skin.
HOW TO:
According to Dr Vasant Ladd there are proper steps to Garshana:
Make sure your skin is completely dry.
You may choose to start at your head or start at your feet.
Always move your brush towards your heart. It is helpful to massage the bones in long strokes and your joints in a circular motion.
Massage your belly in the direction of digestion right to left.
Keep a slightly firm pressure as you dry brush - enough to wake up your skin but not too much!
As garshana acts as an excellent exfoliant it is recommended to do before your bath or shower and follow with a Moisturizer or Abhyanga treatment.
At NuPower we have beautiful Garshana Brushes made by YOKE AYURVEDA. Come buy one for you and one for a friend!