Welcome to day 4!

The first “cleanse” day.  The cleansing process is a time for the body to repair and restore itself. Give yourself plenty of rest today, stay well hydrated, and listen to your body. You deserve this time you are taking for yourself. Today’s practice is a supportive, restorative yoga practice. Gather your props, and settle in. Savor this week and be gentle and tender with yourself.

fall self-care

Self-care is such a buzzword these days, and it’s often equated with extravagant, and costly items like massage, spa days, and beach vacations. But In āyurveda self-care is just simple daily maintenance practices and rituals that give structure and predictability to our days. The dinacharya practices you’ve been including in this process are self-care.

Yesterday you were introduced to abhyanga, the āyurvedic practice of self massage. Abhyanga can be a helpful practice any time throughout the year that you are feeling ungrounded, but it’s a particularly important routine for the vata season to promote grounding, prevent dryness, and nourish the tissues.

Vata’s qualities are dry, rough, and mobile, so our daily routines during vata season should promote moisture, smoothness and stability. Āyurveda uses oil to promote these qualities. If you don’t have time for abhyanga in your daily routine 7 days a week, try to set aside time one day each week to give yourself this full body massage, but on the other days, use your massage oil for a loving foot massage.

Benefits of foot massage include:

  • Deep relaxation

  • Improved sleep

  • Relieves anxiousness by instilling a sense of stability and rooting

How to:

Place a towel under your feet. Pour a small amount of oil into your hands and rub all over the tops and bottoms of your feet, including your ankles and toes. Massage the entire sole of your foot with firm pressure in circular motions. Then one toe at a time, massage from the base of the toe to the tip. At the tip of the toe press firmly into the base of the toenail and the under side of the toe with your forefinger and thumb. Massage along the top of the foot, firmly pressing into the crevices between each bone. Place socks over your feet until you go to bed.