Lakshadi Thailam

What it is

Lakshadi Thailam is a thailam, the Ayurvedic name for a medicated oil. Herbs are cooked slowly into a sesame oil base by the classical method, so that the oil takes up their qualities and carries them onto the skin when it is applied. The oil is made for external use, in massage and in the warm oil therapies.

It takes its name from Laksha, the natural lac resin that is its principal ingredient and gives the formula its main character. A handful of supporting herbs are cooked in alongside it, and the whole is finished in a sesame base.

What Ayurveda uses it for

Lakshadi Thailam is, above all, a nourishing, steadying oil. The tradition reaches for it in care of the joints, the muscles and the soft tissues, the kind of dry, depleted, unsettled states it attributes to disturbed Vata. The warming, unctuous oil is understood to soften dryness, ease stiffness and restore a sense of nourishment where the tissues have grown thin or tight.

The thread running through its use is a herb-and-oil profile that is warming, nourishing and gently drying at once. The lac resin and the supporting herbs are bitter and astringent, which the texts read as firming and steadying, while the sesame base is heavy and unctuous, which carries the qualities deep and feeds the tissues. Together the tradition treats the oil as settling to both Vata and Pitta.

This entry describes the classical Ayurvedic understanding of the preparation. It is not medical advice, and anyone with a health condition should speak to a qualified practitioner.

Its principal ingredient

Laksha is a natural resin, secreted by the lac insect on the branches of certain host trees and gathered, dried and powdered for use. Ayurveda has used it for a very long time, and it lends this oil both its name and its central quality.

In the classical reading, Laksha is bitter and astringent in taste, light and dry in quality, warming in potency and pungent after digestion. The texts read that profile as firming and steadying to the tissues, which is why an oil built on it is reached for where structure and nourishment have been lost. Supporting herbs such as Manjishtha, Lodhra and Haritaki are commonly cooked in alongside it, some warming and some cooling, so that the finished oil sits in a balanced, moderate warmth rather than a sharp heat.

How it is made

The making follows the standard method for a thailam, set out in the classical pharmacy texts, and it is done in stages.

First a decoction, a kashaya, is drawn. The dried herbs are coarsely powdered, simmered with plenty of water and reduced down before being strained clear. Alongside it a kalka, a fine herbal paste, is ground from a measure of the herbs. The decoction, the paste and the sesame oil are then brought together and cooked slowly.

This slow cooking, the taila paka, is the heart of the work. The mixture is held over gentle heat and stirred for hours, so the water cooks off and the qualities of the herbs pass into the oil. The maker judges the stage by the look, the aroma and the feel of the paste, cooking to a moderate degree that draws out the herbs while keeping the oil sound. When it is ready, the oil is strained warm through fine cloth, left to cool away from sun and dust, and stored. A well-made thailam keeps for a long time.

How it is used

Lakshadi Thailam is used externally, in the classical oil therapies.

The most common is Abhyanga, a steady oil massage, where the oil is warmed a little and worked into the body with rhythmic strokes, generally in the direction of the hair, then left to soak in before bathing. It is also used in Pizhichil, where warm oil is poured and worked over the body in a continuous stream for a longer treatment, and in the warm herbal poultice therapies, where oil and herbs are bundled, warmed and pressed onto a particular area. For a single tight or aching spot, the oil may simply be laid on and gently worked in.

As with any oil, it is sensible to warm it slightly before use and to give it time to absorb. A small patch is worth trying first on sensitive skin.

Frequently asked

What does the oil take its name from? From Laksha, the natural lac resin that is its principal ingredient. The resin gives the oil both its name and its main character, with supporting herbs cooked in around it.

Is it taken by mouth? No. Lakshadi Thailam is a medicated oil for external use, in massage and the warm oil therapies. It is not a preparation to be swallowed.

Is it warming or cooling? Gently warming. The lac resin and the sesame base are warming, while some of the supporting herbs are cooling, so the finished oil sits in a moderate, balanced warmth rather than a sharp heat. That is the quality the tradition pairs with the dry, depleted states of Vata.