There is a certain dryness that can happen in life.

Sometimes we feel it physically first. Dry skin, cracking joints, tight muscles, difficulty sleeping, nervous system exhaustion, constipation, depletion, pain, or feeling ungrounded in our own bodies. Sometimes we feel it emotionally first, a hardness, disconnection, criticism, irritability, loneliness, or the sense that we are constantly pushing against life rather than moving with it.

 

Living in Las Vegas, I think about dryness often. The desert climate, constant air conditioning, heat, wind, dehydration, overstimulation, and fast pace of modern life all affect us. Many people notice their skin becoming drier here, but Ayurveda teaches that dryness can move far beyond the skin. It can affect the nervous system, digestion, sleep, relationships, mental health, aging, and our overall sense of vitality and connection.

 

In Ayurveda, much of this is understood through the lens of the doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. We are not simply “one dosha.” Each person is a unique combination of all three, and imbalance can appear differently depending on constitution, age, environment, lifestyle, and current state of health.

 

Vata, made of Ether and Air, governs movement within the body and mind. When aggravated, Vata can contribute to dryness, anxiety, instability, degeneration, pain, fear, scattered thinking, and nervous system depletion. Because Vata naturally increases with age, many symptoms associated with aging are considered Vata conditions.

 

Pitta, made primarily of Fire and Water, governs transformation and metabolism. When out of balance, Pitta may show up as inflammation, irritation, overheating, judgment, criticism, perfectionism, or sharpness toward ourselves and others. Sometimes the way we speak to ourselves becomes inflammatory. Sometimes relationships become overheated from constant friction and criticism.

 

Kapha, composed of Earth and Water, provides structure, stability, lubrication, and nourishment. When imbalanced, Kapha may become stagnant, heavy, congested, or resistant to change.

Ayurveda teaches through the principle of gunas, the qualities of nature. Dryness is balanced by unctuousness. Roughness is balanced by softness. Cold is balanced by warmth. Excess movement is calmed through steadiness and nourishment.

 

This is one reason oiling practices are considered so important in Ayurveda.

 

One of the most beautiful Ayurvedic words connected to oiling is Sneha. Sneha is often translated simply as oil, but its meaning is much deeper. Sneha also means love, tenderness, affection, nourishment, and softness. It carries the qualities of warmth, lubrication, cohesion, and connection.

In many ways, Sneha is the opposite of excess Vata.

 

Oil in Ayurveda is not viewed merely as cosmetic or surface level skincare. It is considered medicine.

Warm oils are traditionally used to nourish the nervous system, support circulation, soften tissues, calm the mind, lubricate the joints, aid digestion, reduce excess dryness, and help decrease the friction that accumulates within the body over time. Oiling can also be deeply supportive for inflammatory Pitta conditions because proper oleation helps protect tissues from excess heat, sharpness, and irritation.

 

Different oils are used depending on a person’s prakriti, their natural constitution, and vikriti, their current imbalance. Climate, season, age, digestion, stress, and environment also matter greatly. What is balancing for one person may not be balancing for another.

 

Ayurveda also teaches that the body is composed of seven dhatus, or tissues. These tissues nourish one another in sequence and are deeply interconnected:
Rasa, plasma and lymph
Rakta, blood
Mamsa, muscle
Meda, fat tissue
Asthi, bone
Majja, marrow and nervous tissue
Shukra or Artava, reproductive tissue

When dryness, depletion, poor digestion, stress, or imbalance affect one tissue layer, eventually the others are affected as well. Proper nourishment and oleation help support all of the dhatus, creating greater resilience, stability, lubrication, and vitality throughout the body.

At the end of healthy tissue formation comes Ojas, often described as the pure essence of vitality. Ojas is associated with immunity, groundedness, radiance, strength, stability, resilience, contentment, and spiritual well being. It is sometimes described as the nectar of life.

I have personally experienced the power of internal oleation during Ayurvedic cleansing and Panchakarma preparation. Drinking increasing amounts of ghee over several days is not always easy, but it profoundly changed my understanding of nourishment, lubrication, softness, and cleansing from the inside out.

 

In Ayurveda, ghee, often referred to as liquid gold, is considered a powerful substance because it can penetrate deeply into the tissues and act as a vehicle to carry nourishment and herbs throughout the body. During cleansing preparation, the body is intentionally saturated with ghee to help loosen ama, metabolic waste and congestion that can interfere with proper function and communication within the body.

 

Most months, I make ghee on the full moon, a ritual that has become both grounding and deeply nourishing for me.

 

Ayurveda has long understood that when tissues become dry, stagnant, hardened, or congested, flow is disrupted. When tissues soften and become more supple, movement and communication improve. Modern research is now exploring many of these same pathways involving inflammation, lipid transport, cellular signaling, gut health, and nervous system regulation.

 

I often think about how much friction exists in modern life.

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We move quickly. We push through exhaustion. We live overstimulated lives. Many people rarely experience deep rest, silence, nourishing touch, or true stillness. We become disconnected from our bodies, from nature, from rhythm, sometimes even from one another, and from divinity.

Perhaps this is why the deeper meaning of Sneha touches me so profoundly, and why I love incorporating thoughtfully prepared oils and herbal blends into marma and massage treatments.

 

 

To apply oil lovingly to the body can become more than self care.

It can become relationship.

A softening. A slowing down. A listening.

A remembering that nourishment matters. That warmth matters.

That healing is never forceful.

 

This may happen through warm oil on the skin, through conscious touch, through slowing down, through pranayama, through nourishing food, through kindness, through rest, and through creating more softness in the way we move through the world.

 

Ayurveda taught me many beautiful practices involving oiling and nourishment including Abhyanga, Nasya, external bastis, Nabi oiling, Karna Purana, Netra Tarpana, and Swedana. These practices are traditionally individualized based on the person, season, environment, and current imbalance.

Some of my personal favorites that I include in my dinacharya are Nasya, Karna Purana, and Abhyanga combined with gentle pranayama, early morning sadhana, and quiet evening rituals.

 

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I hold deep gratitude for the teachers who guided me toward these practices, especially Dr. Lad and my teacher Sneha, whose name so beautifully reflects the warmth, nourishment, and loving presence at the heart of these teachings.

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Perhaps this is what Sneha has taught me most.

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That healing is not forceful.
Sometimes it arrives through warmth.
Through nourishment.
Through softness.
Through connection.

Connection to the body.
Connection to nature.
Connection to rhythm.
Connection to love.
Connection to divinity.

 

Sometimes healing begins simply by reducing friction.

 

In my next journal entry, I’ll explore what I think of as The Dryness of Modern Life, how overstimulation, disconnection, speed, and nervous system depletion affect our health, relationships, and sense of wholeness, and why Ayurveda may offer a profoundly needed reminder to slow down and nourish ourselves differently.