Pizhichil (also called Kaya Seka, Kayaseka, Sarvanga Dhara, or Sarvangadhara) is an Ayurvedic therapy that originates in the Kerala region of India.
It’s applied by dipping a linen cloth into warm, medicated herbal oil and subsequently squeezing the cloth and pouring the oil over the body of the receiver (notably on body parts that experience health issues), while simultaneously massaging the area where the oil is poured on.
It’s a treatment that combines two Ayurvedic modalities: Snehana (Oleation Therapy) and Swedana (Sudation Therapy – inducing sweat). It’s especially known for its relaxing and rejuvenating power.
The Pizhichil treatment improves blood and lymph circulation, promotes immunity, reduces stress and anxiety, stimulates waste and toxins removal (by sweating), promotes a healthy skin, and treats ailments like muscle cramps and pains, paralysis, rheumatic diseases, arthritis, neurological disorders, and high blood pressure.
To fully benefit from its therapeutic healing properties, a typical Pizhichil treatment session takes between sixty and ninety minutes and is repeated daily during seven to twenty-one days.