I am sure you saw some value out of my previous post that gave eight natural remedies to deal with the sinus problem.  I briefly mentioned a technique called neti to rinse your nasal passage.  Origin of neti goes back to ancient India, more than thousand of years, wherein practitioner of Ayurveda and Yoga used it to clean the nasal passage. It is also called as nasal irrigation or nasal lavage and the primary goal is to flush out excess mucous and debris from your nasal passage and sinus.

It uses saline water and hence it is also called as jal neti (jal in Hindi means water).  You can essentially take water in a vessel of your liking like in a glass, but, there are special vessels available that are called as neti pot.  As you can see in the picture, the specialty of the pot is its spout, which eases the flow of water into your nostrils.  You can find neti pot of various shape, sizes and color. 

I would like to share a video from YouTube that describes a technique to practice neti.  This video was made by the Himalayan Institute who sells their own neti pots and many more natural products.  If you are being exposed to the neti technique for the very first time, you might find it difficult or even odd.  But, with proper implementation and practice, you will find it easy to integrate in your day to day life.

Two nostrils are separated by nasal passage called as septum.  Neti exploits this nasal passage to clear out your nostrils.  The main elements of neti, which are shown in the video by the Himalayan Institute, are as follows:

• Fill your neti pot with warm water
• Add quarter teaspoon of non-iodized or neti salt in warm water
• Lean over sink and tilt your head in either direction (you have to take advantage of gravity)
• Gently place spout of neti pot on upper nostril
• Make sure you are breathing through your mouth.  Tilt neti pot, so that water starts flowing from upper nostril to the lower nostril
• If you want, you can tilt more or less as per your convenience
• Perform this till the pot is empty
• Then exhale through both nostril, so that remaining water comes out
• Make another pot of warm water and perform this technique with your other nostril
• The video also recommends few simple exercises after you are done with cleaning of both the nostrils.  These exercises are designed to make sure that water has come out of the nostrils.

 Let us take a look at the video:

I know, you are thinking that you did not imagine that it was that simple.  Although, these natural therapies are not approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but thousand years of Indian Yoga practice shows that it is effective in clearing you nasal passage and hence helps cold and sinus problem.  I know many of my friends do it daily similar to brushing your teeth.  They have benefitted with it, but the key is that you practice it properly.  Do not rush during practicing such techniques as you do not want water to enter non-desired places. I have had bad experience of inhaling in water during swimming!

I believe there is simple stuff in life that can do wonders and neti is one of them.  With that note, I hope you will gain control on your cold and sinus problems by natural means.

Healthy breathing!

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