5 Brahmi Oil Benefits to Help Ease Your Life

These 5 Brahmi oil benefits are related to:

• the brain

• hair growth

• headaches

• the skin

• joint pain

according to Sebastian Pole, in his book Ayurvedic Medicine: The Principles of Traditional Practice.1

Brahmi

Brahmi oil is a lovely oil that I use, especially in the summer, to oil my entire body. In addition, before bed, I apply some to my feet and the crown of my head to help with sleep.

The 5 top Brahmi oil benefits are related to:

• the brain

• hair growth

• headaches

• the skin

• joint pain

according to Sebastian Pole, in his book Ayurvedic Medicine: The Principles of Traditional Practice.1

Read on to learn more about these benefits and how to use them to impact your body and mind.

First, a Little Bit About Brahmi

Brahmi, or Bacopa monnieri, is a creeper that grows near water sources and offers relief from many complaints. It is a succulent with leaves that are opposite from each other on the stem. The flowers are small with 5 petals.

Other common names for Brahmi are

• water hyssop

• herb of grace

• Indian pennywort

• thyme-leafed gratiola

*Just in case you're wondering, Gotu Kola (Centella Asiatica) is also called Brahmi by certain sources and has similar benefits as Bacopa Monnieri, even though they are different plants.

Brahmi's biomedical actions (actions related to biology and medicine) include:

• nervine (calms the nerves)

• anti-inflammatory (reduces inflammation)

• cardiotonic (increases the tone of the heart muscle)

• sedative (promotes calm or induces sleep)1

Brahmi

The Ayurvedic qualities of Brahmi are:

• Taste: Bitter, sweet

• Potency: Cooling

• Post Digestive Effect: Sweet

• Qualities: Light, flowing, spreading

• Dosha: Balancing for VPK (vata, pitta, and kapha), but can increase Vata in excess1

One of the reasons, Brahmi oil is one of my favorites, is because it has a special affinity with pitta dosha, (read more about all of the doshas here) which is composed of fire and water elements in the Ayurvedic tradition. Brahmi helps to cool the fire element in the body (something that I always need!) and mind (and this too!) while clearing inflammation (and also this!).

How Ayurvedic Oils Are Made

The process of making Ayurvedic oils is quite beautiful. I love being in a room while the oils are cooking, smelling the scents of the herbs and sesame or coconut oil, and hearing the sounds of the bubbling pots. It always feels so healing to me.

Based on traditional texts, the herbs are cooked in water until they reduce to 1/4. This decoction is then strained and added to an equal amount of oil. This combo is cooked until the water evaporates, infusing the oil with the properties of the herbs. In oils that have multiple herbs, each herb may take a different length of time to cook, depending on whether it is a root, a leaf, or a flower, thus making the production of Ayurvedic oils quite time-consuming, but so worth it!

Kottakkal is an oil company that I trust and appreciate. They use traditional methods that are discussed in ancient texts to make the oil formulations that they sell. I use a lot of their products with my clients that I see for Ayurvedic treatments and consultations. You can learn more about these treatments and consultations here.

Brahmi Oil by Kottakkal

Brahmi Oil Benefits for Brain Health

Benefit the brain with brahmi oil

Experiencing brain fog? One of the 5 top benefits of Brahmi oil is that it can benefit people suffering from brain fog. Whether it's due to stress, menopause, age, Lyme disease, or injury, Brahmi oil can be quite effective.

Brahmi is well known these days for helping with memory, even the NIH recognizes this benefit. The nervine and sedative biomedical actions help to soothe the mind and promote memory.

According to Ayurveda, sadhaka pitta is responsible for comprehension and knowledge, as well as recording memories in the brain.2 The cooling quality of Brahmi oil helps balance sadhaka pitta (a subdosha of pitta), which resides in the heart, the brain's neural receptors (which allow cell-to-cell communication in the nervous system), and the brain's grey matter [dark matter in the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) which helps people to control emotions, movement, and memory--more info here].

Brahmi oil can be massaged into the soles of the feet and the scalp, which can activate memory by stimulating neural receptors in the brain.3 This can either be part of your morning and/or bedtime practice. The more oil, the better when it comes to the brain and nervous system!

Brahmi Oil Benefits for Hair Growth

Luxurious, rich hair--a benefit of brahmi oil

Whether hair loss is caused by age or stress, massaging the scalp with Brahmi oil may help promote hair growth. Using Brahmi oil on the head over several months can lead to a rich and luxurious head of hair.

According to Dr. Vasant Lad, hair loss can be prevented by massaging the head with cooling Brahmi oil at bedtime, making hair growth one of the 5 top benefits of Brahmi oil. While the oil itself has special properties that help the hair to grow, the massaging of the scalp also brings more circulation to the hair root, which may support hair growth.4

Brahmi Oil Benefits for Headaches

Brahmi oil benefits include reducing headaches

Experiencing a migraine or heat headache? Headaches, especially those related to stress or heat may be reduced by using Brahmi oil.

Dr. Vasant Lad recommends massaging Brahmi oil into the soles of the feet and the crown of the head to help reduce certain kinds of headaches.5 This makes headache support another of the top 5 benefits of Brahmi oil.

Using Brahmi oil for headaches is especially beneficial for people with a lot of pitta in their constitution or a pitta imbalance. The inherent, cooling qualities of bitter and sweet in this herb help to reduce pitta.

By applying and massaging Brahmi oil into the scalp, we get benefits for the brain, hair growth, and headaches, killing 3 birds with one stone! This is something we can add into either our morning routine before we shower and/or our evening routine before bed. And even though it's not mentioned as one of the top 5 benefits of Brahmi oil here in this article, it can also help with insomnia and sleep issues.

Brahmi Oil Benefits for Skin

Use brahmi oil for radiant skin benefits

Brahmi oil benefits the skin when it is massaged into the face and all over the body. Once again the bitter, sweet, and cooling qualities of this herb-infused oil help to calm pitta and heat-related skin eruptions, although it can also help calm skin irritations caused by the other doshas.

The cardiotonic property of Brahmi leads to increased blood flow to all of the tissues of the body, including the skin, giving the skin a lovely radiance and luster.

The anti-inflammatory property of Brahmi oil may help to reduce inflammatory skin conditions such as psoriasis, dermatitis, and eczema. This is another of the top 5 benefits of Brahmi oil. Be sure to connect with an Ayurvedic practitioner to make sure Brahmi oil would help your particular case.

Brahmi oil is an especially good oil to use for abhyanga (self-massage with warm oil) in the summer to help cool the body and nourish the skin. To learn more about how to do abhyanga for yourself, please visit my website.

If you are looking for a radiant complexion, Dr. Lad indicates that Brahmi oil can be used for all constitutions on the face.6

Brahmi Oil Benefits for Joint Pain

Use brahmi oil for inflammatory joint pain benefits

Dealing with joint pain? Another of the top 5 benefits of Brahmi oil is that it benefits joint pain for inflammatory arthritis, such as:

• rheumatoid arthritis

• psoriatic arthritis

• inflammatory back pain, including ankylosing spondylitis and spondyloarthritis.

Ayurveda indicates that rubbing Brahmi oil on stiff joints can help reduce the pain associated with these kinds of arthritis because it helps to reduce inflammation due to its natural anti-inflammatory property. Joints with osteoarthritis, without inflammation, may benefit from another oil such as mahanaryan oil.

5 Top Brahmi Oil Benefits

According to Ayurveda, the benefits are related to:

• the brain

• hair growth

• headaches

• the skin

• joint pain

The next time you are suffering from any of the above issues, try some Brahmi oil and see how it works in your life.

Utilize Ayurvedic tools and techniques to feel alive and vibrant.

1. Sebastian Pole, Ayurvedic Medicine: The Principles of Traditional Practice, London, Singing Dragon, 2013, 149, 150.

2. Vasant Lad, Textbook of Ayurveda: Fundamental Principles, Albuquerque, NM, The Ayurvedic Press, 2002, 60.

3. Vasant Lad, The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies, New York, Three Rivers Press, 1998, 239.

4. Vasant Lad, The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies, New York, Three Rivers Press, 1998, 142.

5. Vasant Lad, The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies, New York, Three Rivers Press, 1998, 208.

6. Vasant Lad, The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies, New York, Three Rivers Press, 1998, 275.