08/29/2026
Why did I call my fall offering “Love Season”?
Because in Ayurveda, one of the primary practices used for nourishment and recovery is called snehana—the application of oil to the body.
The Sanskrit word snehana comes from the root sneha, which means oil, love, affection, tenderness, and connection.
In Ayurveda, snehana is the practice of bringing oil and unctuousness into the body—both externally, through practices such as self-massage, and internally, through specific dietary and therapeutic practices.
Oil is heavy, moistening, grounding, and spreading.
These qualities are traditionally understood to support nourishment and recovery, helping to facilitate circulation and the movement of fluids and nutrients through the body.
In this way, snehana can be understood as love for the body.
But snehana is about more than oil.
It is an invitation to soften, nourish, and receive.
The practices suggested in Ayurveda call us to slow down enough to actually feel what is happening when we mindfully and lovingly apply oil to the parts of our body that work for us, day after day, without asking for anything in return.
And when we zoom out to the bigger picture, the teaching becomes even more relevant.
As we move through the seasons of life, there are times when we need to do less, to soften our edges, and replenish what has been depleted.
Life is not about expansion and activity alone. There are times to turn our attention toward recovery rather than continued output.
Snehana offers practices that support this shift:
Deep nourishment
Giving the body and nervous system a sense of being cared for and replenished.
Softness and ease
Countering the dryness, tension, and rigidity that can accumulate through stress, activity, exposure to wind and sun, and the passage of time.
Groundedness
Cultivating a felt sense of stability, warmth, and connection within ourselves.
Vitality through the seasons of life
Ayurveda traditionally includes nourishing, oil-based practices within rasayana—an approach to sustaining vitality, resilience, and the qualities that help us thrive as we age.
Perhaps most beautifully, snehana reminds us that nourishment is not something we have to earn. It is something we can choose to give ourselves, and something we can learn to receive.
This fall at PranaBeing, we’ll explore snehana as a seasonal practice of deep nourishment, connection, and love—through Ayurveda, embodied practice, self-care rituals, and community.
This is a different way of thinking about self-care, a different way of thinking about community.
Less about fixing ourselves.
More about loving what is already here.
Harnessing our collective energy toward recovery and rest.
That is why I call it Love Season. ❤️
"One who regularly receives sneha is endowed with strong digestion, a clear and well-functioning system, freshly nourished tissues, strength and vitality, resilient senses, graceful aging, and a long life.”
- Ācārya Vāgbhaṭa, Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdayam, Sūtrasthāna 16.46
Love Season begins September 16 at PranaBeing.
Twelve spaces are available in each session.
Register for the whole journey or join for individual sessions.
Get all the details at pranabeing.com/love-season