Neti Pot

Recently, my friend Emira asked me about my experiences with Neti. The Neti Pot is a form of nasal irrigation that has been practiced by the Yogic and Aryuvedic community in India for thousands of years. When I read about it in one of my Yoga books last year, I was anxious to try it as I have suffered from allergies my whole life. It is a pretty simple process. You fill a small neti pot with warm salt water and pour into one nostril. The water will flow through your nasal cavity and out through your other nostril. This can work wonders for people who suffer from upper-respiratory problems, allergies, and sinus infections. It can help if you live in an area high in air pollutants. From a spiritual perspective, the jala neti is believed to redirect your energy and it can affect your level of clairvoyance and clarity of the mind. 

I was really shocked that after complaining about my sinuses to my doctors for decades, and even having seen an allergy specialist, no one recommended or even mentioned this practice. The Neti comes from a compilation of ancient Indian wisdom called The Vedas. Again... it is THOUSANDS of years old. It is crazy to me that I was encouraged to take Sudafed, Benadryl, Claritin, Allegra, and about a dozen different nasal inhalers. I even was asked to consider getting the costly and time consuming (potentially 5 years) allergy shots. But conventional medicine somehow overlooked this very practical and affordable wisdom. This practice has helped to improve my breathing and congestion issues. After the first two weeks, I could smell again! It was miraculous!

And times are changing. Oprah's Doctor Oz introduced the neti pot to thousands of Western viewers on her show... and netis are now available at your local drug store. 

I encourage my readers to use the Neti- particularly those that suffer ENT ickies. Give it a week, and you will go from "Ew" to "Ooo."  ;)