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Keeping them clean

Last Updated 27 November 2015, 18:34 IST

More than half the people around me are falling ill or have a sore throat and runny nose these days. With the weather changing, it is imperative that you keep your immunity high.  The biggest dilemma for this season is whether or not to become dependent on medicines for our colds and congestion (nasal sprays, etc) for a good night’s sleep. 

You want and need to rest, but you also know these medicines are habit forming. Also, workouts, yoga practice and pranayama should not be hampered with because in the festive season, the mere sight of food packs on the kilos. At such times, jal neti is a vital practice. It is a kriya, that is, a cleansing practice.

Ancient yogis used kriyas to maintain a high level of internal cleanliness in their bodies. Like any yogic practice, it will show wonderful results with sustained and
disciplined practice. It has shown to:

n Provide immediate relief from sinusitis and allergies.
n Be beneficial for asthma.
n Be beneficial for ear- and eye-related issues.
n Help in combating migraine-related headaches.
n Slow down the onset of wrinkles.
n Aid in giving up smoking.
n Calm down the mind and therefore help in eliminating depression and mood swings.
n Help in concentration and meditation.
n Cure sleep apnea.

At a spiritual level, jal neti helps in balancing the human mind-body complex. To bring about this balance, you need to essentially balance the right side of the human mind and the body. The nostrils are also the end points of two very important nadis, the ida (left side) and the pingala (right side) nadis.

Nadis are pathways in the human body through which prana (the life force) flows. Blockages or sluggish movement of prana through these nadis causes disease. There are 72,000 nadis in the human body.

The ida and pingala nadis correspond to the opposite forces or characteristics that co-exist in every human being. The masculine and the feminine. The hot and the cold. The active and the passive. Jal neti helps in activating the ida and the pingala nadis so that prana flows unhampered through your body and you remain disease-free.

The practice
Although the practice of jal neti is deemed advanced, it is quite easy to practise once you learn under an experienced practitioner.  What you need is a neti pot,
drinking water and some salt. Heat the water until it’s lukewarm. Add some salt into it. When you touch and taste this water it should feel and taste like your tears. Not too salty or too hot. Keep in mind that if the water is too salty, it will sting your nostrils. If it isn’t salty enough, there will be some discomfort. Same goes for the temperature of the water. If it is too hot or cold, you will experience mild discomfort.

Pour this water into your neti pot. Insert the spout of the pot into one of your
nostrils. Try and get it as far up into your nostril as it will go, this will ensure that no water leaks out of your nostril. Then slowly start to bend your head to the opposite side as you slowly tilt the neti pot. The water will start to gently flow from your neti pot into the nostril and then out of the other nostril. Repeat this procedure on the other side.

The most common apprehensions for first-time practitioners is about where the water will go if it doesn’t drain out of the other nostril. It is quite simple, really. The water will not come out of your eyes, your ears, or get lost in your brain. It either has to drain out of the other nostril, or go down your throat. And because it is drinking
water, there will be no harm even if it goes down your throat. Be rest assured.

(The author is a Bengaluru-based yoga instructor)

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(Published 27 November 2015, 16:57 IST)

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