Introduction
Neti Dhoti (Sanskrit) is a simple Yoga treatment to clean out the
nasal passages. Aside from cleaning out the passages of gunk
that's been sitting there for a long time, it helps reduce headaches,
helps you smell better.
The cleaning process is done with a saline solution, poured through
one nostril and drained through the other one. Breathing exercises
are recommended before cleaning with the solution. See below for
full details. This treatment is simpler than it looks.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert in Yoga or this treatment. I
have seen this done and I've tried it myself once. The results have
been positive so I'm sharing it here. I learned this through a friend
who uses it regularly and has Yoga background. The descriptions are as
accurate as I can make it. Treat this as a make your own bomb node. It's meant to be informative and not an encouragement to actually do it.
Definition:
Neti nasal passage
Dhoti washing out or cleaning
The Treatment
Preparing the water
The water needs to be lukewarm, around room temperature. Clean
filtered water is recommended. Warm the water in a pot and dissolve
about half a teaspoon of salt. You can use sea salt for more natural
ingredients. Test the water w/ your finger. You don't want the water
to be hot! You may burn yourself. The water will be traveling your
nasal passages after all. Pour the water into a pot or anything that
has a long snout.
The berating exercise
A set of breathing exercises are done in order to prepare the nasal
passages. Take one hand, place the thumb on one nostril and place
the index finger and the finger next to it on your forehead
together. Your fingers should touch your forehead right above the
eyebrows. You should be able to place the third finger on the other
nostril. This will allow you to close either of the
nostrils. Unfortunately I can't remember the purpose of the 2 finger
on the forehead.
Close one nostril and breath is as much as you can. Close the open
nostril and open the closed on. Slowly breath out. Repeat this 5 times
and switch so you now breath out the nostril you were breathing in from.
The second exercise is the same except short bursts are used instead
of one single smooth outgoing breath.
Do these exercises while sitting and don't lower your head.
The cleansing process.
We're not ready to use the water. You can do this over the sink or
over a large bowl. Tilt your head towards one shoulder and make sure
your head is perfectly horizontal. Place the snout on the top nostril
and slowly pour the water. Keep the flow continuous to put constant
pressure on the water. Make sure to be breathing through your mouth
throughout the process. You may feel some of the water at the back of
your mouth but that's normal. You will feel the water traveling
through your forehead and eventually drip out of the lower
nostril. Hopefully it will be draining out gunk.
After about a minute. Tilt to the other side and try again.
When done, blow your nose to completely drain your nasal passages of
any water. You should now feel clearer. It's better to do this in the first half of the day so the water eventually drains by the end of the day.
I have only tried this once so far and the water did not drip out of
the other nostril. Apparently I'm quite clogged and my friend had not seen anything like it! I will continue to try this. Two other friends of mine have also tried this treatment and had positive results.
Again, this is meant to be an informative node and not a source to carry out this treatment.