When I dry brush, my body tingles and feels vibrant and alive. The dead cells are sloughed off to make room for new dynamic skin cells to take over. My skin glows and reflects how I am feeling inside and out. The oil I use helps me mold and massage my skin while deeply nourishing the cells that are being rejuvenated.

I am beginning to appreciate and love my body with all its imperfections and flaws. Sometimes I tell my body things like, “thank you for nourishing and taking care of me for so long, but I now give you permission to release this cellulite/bump/scar because it no longer serves me”.

I have learned that self-massage and oiling have tremendously helped my mind, body, and soul. But oiling my body on the outside is not enough. Being a Vata/Pitta person, with a very dry constitution, I’ve learned that oiling from the inside is also crucial.

This dry constitution has presented a lifelong challenge, but things are starting to change. I no longer use commercially prepared lotions that use chemicals and artificial additives to moisturize. Instead, I seek out natural oils to keep my skin ecosystem find balance.

Self-massage and your immune system

Most people are unaware that, as your skin is nourished with self-massage and oiling, you are making your lymphatic system become more functional. This equates to an immune system that works for you…not against you. Who doesn’t want that? Self–massage also improves sleep, helps with joint mobility, improves your relationship with yourself, and just feels great!

As your practice of self-massage evolves, you become more in tune with your body, and the energy channels within your body also become more open. Confidence, stability, and body awareness take you to the next level. Sleeping better, feeling more confident, and having a bulletproof immune system are huge benefits, especially in these times.

How to self-massage

Start by dry brushing and oiling your body. If you don’t own a dry brush yet, use your hands. What better way to feel your skin and its contours than with your own hands. You will discover areas of tenderness, crunchiness, bumpiness; all these areas are stagnated channels. Know that your skin is there to protect you! Your skin wants you to take better care of it!

After you have dry brushed, get some oil out.  Experiment with what your skin prefers! A neutral oil like almond or sunflower oil is a good way to start. Sesame oil is warming and thick, and coconut and avocado oils are cooling. Buy organic cold-pressed, unrefined oils either at a natural foods store or online.

Start with a small amount, you can dry brush before you oil, or just start with dry brushing.

Rub some oil into your hand first to warm it up. Next, massage your legs—circling the joints and paying attention to any stagnated or stiff areas. Work your way up to your belly, chest and arms. I also massage oil into my lower back and buttocks.

Start Small

If you have never done this before, start with small steps to build the habit. Kaizen your way into this practice! Start with dry brushing every morning for 5 minutes. Once you have that habit dialed in, add a few minutes to oil either your whole body or start with one body part. Gradually increase the time you spend doing this until this is just part of starting your day right!

Your skin will thank you because you are supporting it the way it supports you.

What you’ll get out of tuning in:

• How to overcome fear and follow your dream.
• Why it’s okay to figure things out as you go.
• How the internet makes it easier than ever to do the work you want to do.

Links Mentioned in Episode:

• Have a Career Conversation with one of our Coaches!
• Order Cate Stillman’s new book “Master of You”

Show Highlights:

• Finding your true voice.
• Taking charge + sharing your message. 
• Not needing permission to play a bigger game.
• Getting over the fears of being who you are, in person, or on the web.

Timestamps: 

• 0:30 – Introduction. 
• 3:44-6:44 – Overcoming fear to follow your dreams.
• 6:44-11:57 – The history of women in healing and why we might feel fear when we put ourselves out there.
• 11:57-14:44 – Moving into voice and messaging and believing in yourself.
• 15:33-19:15 – Understanding that your individuality is your worth. 
• 19:15-23:44 – The value of figuring things out as you go. 
• 23:44-28:58 – Overcoming perfectionism and being in co-creation with the community.
• 28:58-31:11 – What happens when your yoga moves beyond poses and into your life.
• 32:32-35:19 – Finding your “why.”
• 35:19-38:37 – Overcoming limited mindset.
• 38:37 – Using the internet to find a community.

Favorite Quotes:

• “So many of my students . . . they’re in denial . . . about even wanting to step into the role of a healer, or wanting to step into the role of the teacher. . . .” — Brett Larkin
• “We’re all battling fear at every step of our journey, no matter where we are.” — Brett Larkin
• “You can only change and evolve once you’re in action.” — Brett Larkin
• “Get in action and give yourself permission to figure it out as you go.” — Brett Larkin
• “For me social media has always been a conversation. . . , noticing what conversations were happening and what conversations should be happening, what conversations were missing.” — Cate Stillman
• “I think so many women, myself included, have this disease called ‘perfectionism,’ and it just kills your business. It’s lethal.” — Brett Larkin
• “The internet makes it so magical and easy to get on live calls and group calls in programs like Cate’s or mine where you get to be with a tribe of people who are working through the same things as you and using the tools of yoga and ayurveda to find a new way . . . and then really live up to your fullest potential.” — Brett Larkin

Guest BIO:

Brett teaches to a global audience where her classes are streamed for over 4 million minutes each month. She offers yoga and meditation to ignite your best life and open into your full potential on and off that mat. Her greatest privilege is to work daily with such an inspiring yoga community. Students hail her precise cues, compassionate support and warm sense of humor. She has twenty-five years of ballet and modern dance training and is also a Massage Therapist specializing in myofascial release and unwinding. In her IT career, Brett created movement and dance videogames. She co-founded and sold two successful health & wellness businesses before developing Uplifted™ Yoga as a successful global business. She’s taught yoga in studios and at Silicon Valley’s hottest companies. In 2016, she won Youtube’s NextUp award as one of the top emerging channels on YouTube. She holds a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and over 500 hours of yoga-specific training.

Time and again I hear from the Living Ayurveda Course students that self-massage has changed their lives.

The practice of self-massage is simple. In fact, here is a handout to print and post on your fridge until it becomes second nature. In Indian culture, where Ayurveda originates, it’s a daily practice that you would have first experienced in utero. Then, when you were born, you would have received “infant massage”. Infant massage leads to toddler massage. Toddler massage leads to small child massage. Etc. Etc. Etc. Soon you have cultivated an adult that knows how to take care of themselves by simply taking their health into their own hands.

What are the benefits of self-massage (abhyanga)?

What I recommend is to give yourself a massage (instructions here or below) and then assess how you feel. Sure, you can read this commonly printed list of benefits. While some benefits come from claims from the ancient Ayurvedic texts, studies are actually being done to qualify or dismiss these claims. Here is a list of claims commonly found on websites, substantiated byMAPI.

• Increased circulation, especially to nerve endings
• Toning of the muscles and the whole physiology
• Calming for the nerves
• Lubrication of the joints
• Increased mental alertness
• Improved elimination of impurities from the body
• Softer, smoother skin
• Increased levels of stamina through the day
• Better, deeper sleep at night

How to give yourself a massage:

Set aside some quiet time for your massage. 5-15 minutes is enough time to massage the oil on your body (preferably before you shower)– though if you have no time, rub the oil on your skin (instead of soap) in the shower. Do this daily.

You will need:

• Warm room: make this a comfortable and special time for yourself.
• Oil: sesame oil Vatas, sunflower or coconut oil for Pittas and olive or mustard oils for Kaphas.
• Squeeze bottle: for easy access throughout the massage fill a squeeze bottle with oil
• Hot water in a bowl or in the sink: put the squeeze bottle in the warm water and allow the oil to warm to at least body temperature
• Towel or mat: choose something that you don’t mind getting oily. You might want one to stand on and one to dry off with.

How to give yourself a Self-Massage (technique)

• Undress completely and stand on your towel or mat.
• Starting with a small amount of oil in your hands begin to gently rub the oil into your scalp. Massage the oil into your scalp and hair with your fingertips. If you would prefer to keep the oil out of your hair simply omit the use of oil for this part of the message.
• Vigorously work down your body until the oil has been massaged into every part of your body. Use long strokes on your limbs and circular strokes over all your joints, chest and abdomen. Cover every inch of skin, attuning to your bodily tissues with your hands.  Spend extra time on areas that are less integrated (for some this is thighs, buttocks, breasts).
• Take ample time to massage the soles of your feet as this can have a particularly relaxing and soothing affect.

Rinse off the oil in the shower. Take time in the shower to allow the oil on your hands to mix with the water from the shower to massage your face and ears. Use gentle circular strokes to massage your cheeks and forehead, move out towards the ears in stroking motions around the eyes and lips. Soap is drying to the skin, including to the anus; try switching to oil instead.

Print this handout and post on your fridge until it becomes second nature.

One of my children’s favorite family activities is when we give each other a foot massage.  As a Mom of four I am constantly looking for ways to replenish myself.  I also like to show my children that there easy ways of taking care of yourself right at home.  These self-care practices are a way you can make your body, mind, and heart healthy.  In fact, foot massage can have a direct impact on your immune system.  When your senses have time to soak in the relaxation of muscle, fat, and nerve tissue it can actually strengthen who you are. This sense of self is the base for cellular intelligence. In  Chinese Medicine and in Ayurvedic Medicine this relationship or understanding reinforces where you begin and the outside world begins.  There is superfine hormone like material that helps control your immunity.  It is considered the first physically recognizable matter in all bodily tissues.  In Ayurvedic Medicine it is called “Ojas”.

How to Teach Massage to Kids

We can teach our children to “Love thyself” and to love their bodies at any age.

I find it interesting that “Ojas” means “essence of love” when translated from Sanskrit.  This matter is also known as your creative potential. Therefore, for your body to have immunity it must know itself deeply in its present moment and in the receiving of its future growth.  “Love thyself” is not just a way of treating yourself, but becomes your body’s code for identification.  This “Ojas” shows up in every cell of your body. When the body is producing and maintaining Ojas in its system it can give off a blissful state to the consciousness of the individual.    To build love, builds your immunity, builds your bones, builds your connection. No one can deny the love that little children exude on the planet. Self massage helps them to learn how to contain and cultivate their creativity and strength.  It will provide them with a lifetime of wellness.

I like offer times for foot massage when we are tired, feeling over- active, or at the changing over of a season.

How to do foot massage with your kids:

• Get out your towels
• Make the room cozy(you can burn some candles, incense, light a fire, turn down the lights)
• Take off your sox
• Take turns giving and receiving

If the feet are dry use oil(cooking oil is fine(sesame or coconut is recommended)- just keep it safe from your rugs and very little hands).  **Note- it is not recommended to use oil when someone has a fever.

First, I give them a foot massage so they can feel it or have them watch me give someone else a massage as I put it to a story.  You can make up your own.  I like to use a story so that the younger children have something to picture in their heads. I recommend using a story where the children are traveling so that they pick up the sense that they are needing to be gentle, quiet, and watchful when giving massage.

Kids Massage- Make it fun!

Telling a story is one of the best ways to make kids massage even more fun.

My oldest still remembers from when she was four and I taught her class about some astronauts landing on the moon.  That was five years ago and my kids correct me if I forget a part. This is a version of that story:

Pretend your hands are a rocket ship taking off. First, heat up the rocket boosters by rubbing your hands together until you feel the fire then blast off your ship (hands interlocked) into space.  Find a “moon” foot to land on making sure to take a slow approach so you don’t crash your ship.  Once landed, take out you first two fingers for these are the bravest of your astronauts. These astronauts will want to explore, but remember they have special boots that make them move very slowly.  They have to push off from one finger to the next to get around the moon.  The astronauts find a hill at the top of the “moon” foot and so they climb up and slide down landing on a toe.  This is great fun so they do this many times.

One time they slide so far they almost fall off the top of the moon and without any gravity they have to hold on to the toes to keep from flying away.  As they are hanging off the toes they discover the underside of the moon.  It is built up with rivers and mountains.  It looks so beautiful that they quickly run back to their ship to get all the other astronaut fingers.   They climb to the very top of the foot. All together with one giant push they slide down the foot and as they hold onto each toe they are able to make it to the other side.

They decide they would like to stay on this part of the moon for a long time.   Luckily they brought tents for the trip and their tools.  They would need to set up camp and then go out looking for food.  Twisting their knuckles gently along the bottom of the moon they are able to make holes for the stakes. Once they get the tents up they hammer each corner stake in case it gets windy.   The camp is all set up so they head out to find food.  First, they climb to the bottom and look around the heel. There is no food. So, they venture to climb up the foot towards the toes. Almost by accident they discover when they touch the tip of each toe out fall some “moon” apples. These were quite good.  The skin of the apple was a shiny yellow color and it made them feel strong.  They jumped up and down with delight.

They spent three days exploring the bottom of the moon and on the third night they decided it was time to clean up. They gently collapsed their tents. And, with their shovels this time they covered the holes they had made for their stakes. Once finished, they packed up their bags and made sure everything was picked up. Then, they swept up (using the tips of their fingers) and hiked back to the ship. Saying goodbye they warmed up their boosters and blasted away back for home.

Have fun creating your own foot massage adventure.

Sarah has recently moved to Harvard,Massachusetts with her husband and four children (Chloe, Jocelyn, Declan, and Violet).  Her approach in the pioneering field of mindfulness and wellness for children draws from more than twenty years experience working and playing with children of all ages as coach, teacher, wellness practitioner, and mother. After finishing her psychology degree at Providence College, she went on to become certified as a Neuromuscular Therapist, a certified practitioner of  Zen Therapy®, and is presently a student of Ayurveda.  Sarah cultivates a child’s innate vibrancy for a lifetime of wellness.  You can email her at Sarah@sarahwellness.com and check out her site www.sarahwellness.com.

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