Monday, June 11, 2007

Do you Neti?




Jala Neti is an ancient yogic cleansing practice of the nasal cavity with saline water and a specialized pot. In recent years, western medicine is referring to it as nasal irrigation. I like the term Jala Neti better.
The user mixes a saline solution to 0.9% salinity in body temperature water in the special pot. This is about a teaspoon in a half liter, but each pot is different so you need to know your pots capacity.
Once the saline and temperature is correct, you bend over a sink, start breathing in and out of the mouth and cram the neti pots spout in one nostril and slowly turn your head to the opposite side. Slowly the warm saline water will run out the other nostril taking with it, mucus, pollen, and any debris that has been lodged in there. It sounds nasty, but it is quite pleasurable. Once half the pot is empty, rotate your head center, slowly exhale out of the nose and move to the next side.
After each side is done, you hang your head low and exhale gently through the nose about twenty times to release the water. Slowly return upright and gently blow each nostril about 1o times. It is very important to rid the sinus of the excess water. Never blow hard, as this can send water into the upper sinus and cause infection.
I have just started the practice, and find it very easy, and the results are simply amazing. It increases smells, clears the sinus for easier breathing and give you nice rush. If you are interested, please learn the proper technique. My blog only touches on it and it is very important to learn it correctly. I think if you give it a go, you will use it everyday as part of your normal routine and it only takes a few minutes. What do you have to loose?

2 comments:

s.m. koppelman said...

Dang, in the drier months I do take a couple of squirts from those plastic bottles of saline spray before I go to bed, but that's, like, the supa-deluxx version. I feel so... plain.

Chip and Andy said...

OK, you told us about this a while back. Then... we saw an ad for this spa that included Neti as part of some package. Then... Mom comes for a visit and brings us some article touting the benfits of Neti. Then.... well, we had to try it for ourselves. To make a long story short (too late...) we now have our own Neti Pot and have added it to our nightly routine.

Just who is this Loki?