Kati & Greeva Basti
In Sanskrit, ‘Kati’ means the lower back and ‘Basti’ means retaining something inside. Kati Basti is a soothing treatment where a large quantity of warm herbalised oil is retained on your lower back to relieve pain, stiffness and inflammation.
In Kati Basti, the benefits of the treatment come from the herbal oil. The warmth and pressure of the oil allows deeper absorption into the muscles, tendons and ligaments, relaxing spasms and reducing pain and stiffness.
We have a wide variety of herbal oils for injuries and painful conditions. The herbal oil will be selected according to your condition and can focus on pain relieving, anti-inflammatory or strengthening actions.
The external application of warm herbalised oil plays a major role in Ayurvedic treatment. Herbal oil is a transport mechanism for delivering herbs into the deeper tissues. When the warmed herbal oils are applied in a treatment, the pores of the skin are opened due to the warmth. This allows the healing properties of the herbs to more deeply penetrate the affected tissues. When herbs are used in this manner, they also help to pull impurities out of the body.
A dam of dough (made of black gram flour) is placed on your lower back and is then filled with warm herbalised oil. The oil penetrates deeply into the tissues, lubricating and softening the contracted muscles. Once the oil is removed, the area is gently massaged to assist with the healing process.
Benefits
- Relieves pain, stiffness and inflammation in your lower back.
- Promotes better circulation by removing stagnant blood, fluids and toxins from the injured area.
- Improves muscle flexibility and joint mobility by gradually loosening tight and contracted muscle tissue.
- A gentle and soothing approach to lower back pain that is too tender to benefit from massage.
Greeva Basti
Greeva Basti, a paste made out of medicated oil and flour is applied on the back of the neck, lower back, etc. Greeva Basti is done in the morning if Kapha Dosha is dominant in body, at noon if Pitta Dosha is dominant, and in the evening if Vata Dosha is dominant. While performing Greeva Basti, the patient should have an empty stomach as he/she needs to lie down for a significant amount of time.