This article will give EVERYTHING you will want to know about Abyanga or Ayurvedic Self-Massage. Read it, skim it, keep is as reference. Download this reference guide to post in your bathroom.
This practice has slowly over time worked its way into my daily routine. I have set myself up with a trigger so that after every bath or shower I do this practice. I get myself a teacup of hot water and plunge a small squeeze bottle of Vata Massage Oil so it's warm by the time I'm done bathing. Most days it's a pretty quick practice, 5 minutes or so. Once a week or when I'm feeling depleted or dehydrated or any of those those types of qualities, I spend longer, maybe as much as 20min after a long salty bath and mask.
At night, I like to wash my feet - it makes me sleep so much better and since I spend a lot of time barefoot its nice to go to bed with clean feet. After, I rub some oil into my feet with a few drops of Frankincense essential oil. These small practices make such a difference in how I feel mentally and emotionally. When I feed and nourish myself in this way, I feel far less needy and instead full to give. To be able to take my own care into my own hands is an empowered act and it's a welcome and ever increasing change from past feelings of scarcity and lack of worthiness. It is an investment in my own wholeness, longevity and expanding consciousness. It is a sacred practice of self-love which feeds the love I have for others.