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Snehana, the first step of Purvakarma, saturates the body with Herbal and Medicated oils. The saturation takes two forms: Bahya Snehana or External Oleation, where medicated oils are vigorously massaged into the body; and Abhyantar Snehana or Internal Oleation, where medicated oils are ingested. Snehana uses four types of oleaginous substances: vegetable oils (taila), clarified butter (ghee), animal fats (vasa) and fat from bone marrow (majja).
OLEAGINOUS SUBSTANCES
SEASAME OIL (til) is the primary vegetable oil used for external application. It is sweet, bitter and astringent in taste, warming in action and easily penetrates and nourishes the skin. It soothes and reduces the effects of excess vata without aggaravting kapha and promotes Stability and Strength. Seasame and all other herbal oils used in snehana are prepared with herbal decoctions to enhance their effectiveness for individual patients.
HERBALIZED GHEE (tikta ghrita) , the main substance used for internal oleation, is made by processing Butter to remove all its milk solids, proteins and water and then cooking it with numerous prescribed herbs. By itself, ghee has remarkable properties as a nutritive and medicinal substance. Its effect on the body is quite different from that of butter, and research has demonstrated that it does not tend to elevate cholesterol levels. In proper amounts, Ghee increases the strength of the digestive agnis, while decreasing the heat and inflammation due to excess pita. It reduces excess acidity both in the digestive tract and in the tissues, pacifies vata and softens and lubricates the tissues and joints.
VASA (Animal Fat) and MAJJA (Bone Marrow) are also used in the internal oleation. However, these oils are heavy and difficult to digest, and they can produce excess kapha and ama if a patient's digestive agni is weak. Their use is indicated only for specific disorders such as Leukemia and several other types of Cancer, as well as certain degenerative disease conditions like Myopathy.
TYPES OF SNEHANA
INTERNAL OLEATION (Abhyantar Snehana), consists of taking prescribed amounts of warm, herbal ghee, called tikta ghrita, first thing in the morning and in late afternoon on an empty stomach. The Ayurvedic physician gradually increases the prescribed dosage, depending on the strength of the patient's digestive agni. The patient does not eat until the ghee is digested, which is signaled by the return of appetite.
In preparation for the main eliminative procedures, the patient receives both internal and external oleation each day. These treatments continue for seven days, the time required for the oleaginous substances to reach and saturate all seven dhatus. After the seventh day, oleation becomes counterproductive, as there is nowhere else for the oil to go. If continued, it starts to collapse in the dhatus as saturated fat and depletes the dhatu agnis.
Certain classical signs indicate oleation's completion. When oil has saturated all seven dhatus, the body is well-lubricated, internally and externally. The skin displays a soft and shiny appearance and smells slightly unctuous.
EXTERNAL OLEATION (Bahya Snehana), employs a specific form of massage to apply the herbalized oil to the skin. There is great significance to the strokes used in bahaya snehana, for they match the movements of vata's five different directional functions.
Description of vata's five directional functions :
Prana Vayu, the vata function which moves from the head, mouth and nostrils to the navel, takes Prana, or life-force, in the form of air, food and water from the environment into the body. It also controls sensory functioning.
Udana Vayu, flows in the opposite direction, moving from the navel to the mouth, nostrils and head. Udana Vayu eliminates carbon dioxide and various forms of mala, like mucus and saliva, from the kapha zone, and also creates the sounds used in speech.
Samana Vayu, circulates in a clock-wise direction around the navel area. It helps strengthen the digestive agni in the same way that air or wind strokes a fire.
Vyana Vayu, moves from the heart to the periphery and from the periphery back to the heart in a circadian rhythm.
Apana Vayu, travels from the navel to the anus and urethra. Its main function is to eliminate urine, faeces and menstrual discharge. Its also responsible for childbirth.
Both the massage technique and the herbs allow the oil to penetrate deep into the tissues to loosen the grip of the ama.The ama that has formed on the walls of the dhatus shrotas is also loosened, opening up these channels so that ama can be more easily removed from the tissues. Snehana's actual meaning implies kindness, tenderness and love, and true to its meaning, it is a thoroughly soothing and enjoyable experience.
IMPORTANCE OF SNEHANA
1) It Induces the Dhatus to give up their accumulated toxins.
2) It enhances the secretions through which the doshas transport ama and malas to the gastrointestinal tract for elimination.
3) It lubricates and protects the dhatus from damage while ama is being removed.
4) It pacifies and nourishes vata through its unctuous qualities.
5) It removes the obstructions in the shrotas or channels.
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Panchkarma