नवीनतम
Ayurveda Day 2025: Ghee massage builds immunity
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Today is Ayurveda Day. No longer observed on Dhanteras, the date has been set by the Government of India through official notification. The Ministry of Ayush wants the nation to understand that Ayurveda is not superstition, nor merely custom. It is a scientific, evidence-based, and holistic system of medicine, concerned with prevention as much as with cure, and with the subtle balance of life itself. And what better ritual, on this day, than to speak of ghee: the golden elixir that nourishes from within and without.
“In Ayurveda, ghee is medicine, ritual, and offering all at once,” says Stuti Ashok Gupta, Ayurveda practitioner and founder of Amrutam, adding, “It nourishes, cools and rejuvenates.”
The Body As A Map
Imagine the body as a landscape, with rivers of energy coursing unseen. Reflexologists see it in feet and hands; Ayurvedic physicians map it across the doshas. To anoint the skin with ghee (to rub it into head and chest, joints and limbs) is an act of correspondence, allowing the outer sheath to speak to the inner world. What we place upon the skin does not vanish at the surface.
Ayurveda has long claimed, and science now affirms, that much of it travels inward. Endorphins released through massage (the “chemistry of emotion”) quiet the mind, fortify immunity, and ease pain. The Charaka Samhita itself prescribes Abhyanga (self-massage) as an antidote to ageing.
Benefits Of Ghee Massage
Gupta says that the effect of ghee depends on your body type. “For those of fiery constitution (Pitta types), ghee cools and soothes. For those of Vata traits (dry, restless, brittle), it softens and steadies, though sesame oil may serve them better. For Kapha constitutions, often heavy and sluggish, ghee is less ideal. The art lies not merely in the act of massage, but in the discernment of what each body needs,” she says.
For the Skin: Unlike moisturizers thick with chemicals, ghee penetrates deep into the dermis, locking in hydration and leaving behind softness, resilience, and glow. Its fatty acids build a barrier against dryness. Its vitamins (A, E, and K) encourage collagen, repair tissue, and slow the hand of time. Dark circles diminish, lips heal, irritated skin soothes.
For the Body: Warm ghee massaged into joints eases stiffness. Applied to the navel, it is said to enliven digestion, while foot massage with ghee and a Kansa bowl calms the nervous system, drawing out heat and toxins, restoring sleep. To an arthritic joint, to a weary back, to cracked heels or brittle nails, ghee offers silent, steady relief.
For The Mind And Spirit: In Sanskrit, the word snehana means both “to oil” and “to cover in love.” That is perhaps the essence. The act of massaging ghee into one’s skin is not only medicinal, it is tender; a gesture of care that binds the self back to the self. It reduces anxiety, steadies breath, and fosters sleep. It builds ojas (the subtle energy of vitality and immunity) without which no true health is possible.
