An Ancient Remedy for Modern Day Stress Relief

Imagine yourself in a cozy, dimly lit room, no sounds except for a muffled trickle of oil hitting the side of a copper bowl. 

Warm sesame oil envelops your forehead and lulls you into a deep meditative state and a feeling of pure relaxation and bliss washes over you.

A recent client describes her shirodhara experience at Gaia Bodywork in Richardson TX by saying "Having the shirodhara treatment was absolutely intoxicating. The warm oil was very soothing and relaxing -after the treatment I felt a balance of calm and energized and had the best night’s sleep ever!"

The Shirodhara, a combination of Sanskrit words meaning head/flow, is an ancient Ayurvedic practice of gently pouring warm oil over the forehead specifically positioned on the third eye marma point in a slow stream by a free standing copper vessel.

This treatment is part of the system of Panchakarma, a detoxing program used to purify, nourish, & strengthen the body.
stimulation to the third eye, known as the root of the nervous system, is thought to have a profound effect on the body.


The ancient Vaidyas, practioners of Ayurveda used this type of "flow" therapy to treat many ailments from everyday stress to serious neurological disorders. Today, I use this treatment in my practice for relaxation and stress relief and find it very effective, a little messy ( in a good way) , and it makes one excellent scalp treatment!

In Ayurveda, (Ayur- Life; Veda- Knowledge), everyone has a Tri-Dosha, or three “constitutions” that make up all of the processes in our bodies and also correspond to earth elements. If one or more of these doshas become excessive or deficient, disease becomes evident.

The three doshas are described as Vata, Pitta, & Kapha

 The Vata dosha controls all movement in the body. The Earth elements that correspond with vata are air and ether.  The vata body is thin, prone to anxiety, constipation, and dry skin.

The Pitta dosha is the energy of heat and metabolism.  Earth elements that correspond with pitta are fire and water. The pitta body is medium build, prone to diseases processes of irritation/ inflammation, peptic ulcers, heartburn, and diarrhea.

The Kapha dosha is responsible for structure and stability. Earth elements that correspond with kapha are earth and water. The kapha body is sturdy as these people are very grounded and very nurturing. They are prone to lethargy and obesity.

Most people have imbalances in one or more of these dosha’s and this type of Dhara therapy can be used to create balance among them.

Once your constitution is decided, specific oil is chosen and used in the copper vessel to help calm your doshas and bring them back into harmony. This is exactly what a modern day human needs.



I've put together an awesome treatment that begins with a relaxing 60 min. Massage followed by a Shirodhara session. You can see it on my service menu.
Book yours today online


Question:


What other ancient health remedies intrigue you? 

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