The excerpt below is taken from the book “The Prime” by Kulreet Chaudhary, M.D.:
“Dry brushing is the process of exfoliating the skin before bathing. It is different from using an exfoliating product with water, such as in the shower. Instead, sans water, you massage the skin with a special brush or glove with a rough surface. (You can easily find dry brushes at most health or natural products stores.) In Ayurveda, dry-brushing is called garshana and the preferred tool is a raw silk glove. I prefer this, and these gloves are inexpensive and available online. Which-ever you use, dry brushing accomplishes two primary goals:
It removes dead layers of skin so the body can more efficiently excrete toxic material. Remember, we are unclogging, and layers of dead skin cells can clog or reduce the efficiency of sweat glands. Dead skin cells are also a type of body waste, and sloughing them off removes this waste.
It targets the lymphatic system, which is directly beneath the skin. Dry brushing is incredibly important for the lymphatic system. You have already learned that your lymphatics don’t have a pump. When you move them, they move. Without movement, they have no momentum. Manually massaging the skin toward the heart and in the direction of the lymph nodes gets the lymph moving more vigorously, which increases the body’s detoxification rate. Essentially, you are helping to direct the biochemical sewage through the channels and into the lymph nodes, where it can be eliminated. One of the reasons why people develop inflammatory problems in the joints, including arthritis, has to do what lymph accumulation. Cellulite is also a condition exacerbated by backed-up lymphatics. And place where you have a lot of cellulite should be a particular focus of your lymphatic massage. Once you get the lymph moving, the fluid content of your fat cells decreases, which reduces the dimpled appearance of cellulite.
I would like you to practice dry brushing for 5 to 10 minutes every morning before you shower. If you miss a day here and there, don’t worry about it. However, you should aim to do a good thorough dry brushing session at least 5 to 6 days a week. Here’s how:
Start with dry, clean skin (since this is before your shower - you don’t have to be squeaky clean, but you shouldn’t have any lotion or oil on your skin).
Using silk gloves or a brush, vigorously massage your wrists and the tips of your elbows in circles, then massage with long strokes up from your fingers to the top of your upper arm, directing lymph to the nodes under the arms.
Massage your stomach and buttocks in circular motions.
Massage your knees in a circular motion, then massage your thighs in long strokes up the leg, directing the lymph to the nodes in your groin area.
End with your ankle and feet, massaging them in circles. Then massage up your calf in long strokes using medium to firm pressure.
Take your shower.”