Gharshana: The Ayurvedic way to lose Cellulite

Gharshana literally means “to rub” or “rubbing”.
It is a traditional Ayurvedic dry massage that refreshes and stimulates the skin and lymphatic system, enhancing blood circulation and the release of accumulated toxins. To perform a garshana, one will need natural silk gloves, a soft sponge, or a dry brush that gently removes dead skin layers leaving the skin supple and glowing.
The ideal time to dry brush is in the morning before you shower, so that you can rinse off the impurities loosened by the massage.
Follow these steps to perform the Garshana traditional Ayurvedic dry massage:
Massage your entire body, excluding your face, chest, and heart. Avoid sensitive areas and anywhere the skin is broken or inflamed.
Use circular strokes on the stomach and joints (shoulders, elbows, knees, wrists, hips, and ankles), and long sweeping strokes on the arms and legs.
Apply light pressure where the skin is thin, such as the underarms, and harder pressure where the skin is thicker, such as the soles of the feet.
The direction of the stroke should always be towards the heart as this helps drain lymph back to your heart. Massage from feet upwards, continuing up to torso and on to neck. Also massage from the hands to the shoulders. Continue for at least five minutes.
Complete Garshana with a shower.
To enhance the release of toxins, end with a few cycles of hot then cold water. First turn the water to as hot as you can take it for several seconds, then to as cold as you can tolerate, then back to hot, and so on. This stimulates the blood circulation and further invigorate the skin.

This shell or a Shankha has great significance in Ayurveda. If water is stored in the shell it absorbs amazing medicinal properties capable of curing several physical defects. 

(i) Store some water overnight in the shell and the next morning rub the water on your skin. This cures all skin problems. 

(ii) Store water in the shell for 12 hours. Then rub it on white spots on the skin. Do this regularly. After some days the white spots shall disappear and healthy skin shall reappear. 

(iii) At night fill the shell with water and in the morning add some rose water to it. Then wash your hair with the mixture. This shall keep the hair black and healthy. The hair of the eyebrows and the beard too could be turned black thus. 

(iv) If you suffer from stomach related problems or if there is a laceration in the intestines, then early in the morning drink a spoonful of water kept in the shell for 12 hours. This will cure the problem. 

(v) Mix water kept in the shell for 12 hours in ordinary water and early in the morning wash your eyes with it. Doing this regularly for some time will cure all eye related problems. The eyes would become perfectly healthy and one might not even need to wear spectacles in the future. 

(vi) If after a bath in the morning the shell is rubbed gently on the skin of one’s face, wrinkles would start slowly disappearing and the face will gain a new glow by regular use of this process. 

(vii) If you have dark circles under your eyes rub the shell gently on those spots early in the morning. This will gradually make the spots disappear.

Shankha Bhasma is an Ayurvedic medicine prepared from Conch shell. It is used in Ayurvedic treatment of gastritis, abdominal pain, malabsorption syndrome etc.

Shankha Bhasma Uses: 

• It is coolant, improves skin color and complexion.
• It is useful in the treatment of gastritis, abdominal colic, malabsorption syndrome, dyspepsia, vomiting, nausea, acne, etc.

Ancient India and Ayurveda 

Darbha Grass or Kusha Grass is scientifically known as Desmostachya bipinnata, commonly known in English by the names Halfa grass, Big cordgrass, and Salt reed-grass, is an Old World perennial grass, long known and used in human history.

In Ayurveda, Darbha grass is also used as a medicine to treat dysentery and menorrhagia, and as used as a diuretic (to promote free flow of urine).
Since Vedic age, Darbha grass is treated as sacred plant and according to early Buddhist accounts, it was the material used by Buddha for his meditation seat when he attained enlightenment under Bodhi tree.
This grass was mentioned in the Rig Veda for use in sacred ceremonies and also to prepare a seat for priests and the gods.
Darbha or Kusha grass is specifically recommended by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita as part of the ideal seat for meditation.
It is believed to block energy generated during meditation from being dischared through our body (mostly through legs and toes) into ground.

Darbha grass ringIn recent medical research, Darbha or Kusha grass has been observed to block X-Ray radiation.
Darbha is used by hindus as mat, ring on right hand ring finger while chanting vedic mantras, performing homam and all religious rituals.
For ceremonies related to death only Single leafed Darbha is used; for Auspicious and daily routine a ring made of two leaves is used; for inauspicious but not death related functions, (like Amavasya Tharpanam, Pithru Pooja etc) a three leaf Dharbham ring (Pavitram) is used and for the prayers in a temple, a Four-leaf Darbha ring is used.
Darbha has the highest value in conducting the phonetic vibrations through its tip.
Priests in India dip this tip in water and sprinkle allover the house or temple to purify the place.
During Fire-ritual (Homa), darbha is placed on all four sides of fire to help block all negative radiations.
During eclipses, darbha are placed on vessels containing water and food, so that negative effect of rays from eclipse does not spoil them.

Darbha is not cultivated everywhere but it grows naturally in selective places and is available in northeast and west tropical, and northern Africa ; and countries in the Middle East, and temperate and tropical Asia

For religious purposes, it is not cut or plucked on everyday, but only on Krishna Paksha Padyami (Next day after FullMoon day).

Ayurvedic remedy