Jala Neti Faqs

Jala Neti Frequently Asked Questions For Those Currently Learning/ Using the Practice www.HealthAndYoga.com Disclaimer The contents of this report are not prescriptive. They are only of an advisory nature. You are advised to consult your practitioner before acting upon such advice. This information may be treated as a reference resource for yoga teachers and students those who have already been instructed in the techniques described within. No responsibility is accepted by the publishers for those who disregard this advice. © Copyright 2006, HealthAndYoga.com FAQ Categories Stage 2 Queries......................................... 25 Introduction................................................ 3 Substances Other Than Salt........................ 26 Allergies.................................................... 3 Technique Problems................................... 27 Burning and Stinging................................... 4 Types of Salt.............................................. 34 Blockages of Water Flow............................. 4 Water Quality............................................. 34 Blockages of Nasal Structure....................... 5 Troubleshooting Child Neti................................................... 6 What To Do If . ?................................... 35 Ear Problems............................................. 7 Technique Details Eye Problems............................................ 9 Water and Salt Mixing................................. 37 Fear and Reticence..................................... 10 How to Make Normal Saline..................................... 37 Getting Outside Help................................... 11 Water Temperature.................................................... 37 Elevated Blood Pressure............................. 11 Water Types............................................................... 38 Headaches and Pains................................. 12 Types of Salt.............................................................. 38 Miscellaneous............................................ 13 Mixing the Solution................................................... 39 Nose Bleeds.............................................. 16 Getting the Flow......................................... 40 Nasal Polyps.............................................. 17 Drying the Nasal Passages.......................... 45 Other Forms of Neti.................................... 17 Stage 2 - Rationale & Metod........................ 46 Neti Pot Issues.......................................... 17 Frequency of Jala Neti Usage....................... 48 Sense of Smell........................................... 20 Analysing More Serious Nasal Conditions..... 49 Sinuses and Sinusitis.................................. 20 Nasal Anatomy Sneezing................................................... 25 Nasal Passages & Sinuses CT Scan............ 51 © Copyright 2006, HealthAndYoga.com Introduction The advice and answers in this FAQ are provided by Swami Omananda Saraswati, a Jala Neti practitioner, user, researcher, Integral Yoga therapist of some 25 years experience. Swami has been one of the major forces responsible for Jala Neti and neti pots becoming more well known throughout the world over the last 15 years since his original Jala Neti Website first appeared on the Internet in 1992. At that time there were only 7 entries returned in a worldwide search engine for neti, jala neti, nasal irrigation, neti pot. Today there are over 70,000 pages discussing the technique and 215,000 pages talking about the benefits of neti pots. Swami’s approach to the ancient yoga practices is pure and traditional. He feels that, although modern Western medicine has much to offer people for the management and cure of many ailments, yoga techniques like Jala Neti should be preserved and disseminated in their original forms, just as they have been for thousands of years by the masters in these sciences. His style of teaching (as you will see in this FAQ) is direct and no-nonsense, incisively analytical as well as broadly experiencial, compassionate and humourous, and ultimately practical and results-based. He would also like to remind people that Jala Neti is part of the broader yoga system of Hatha Yoga, a rigorous system of self-purification. It is not just something recently discovered or re-invented by ENT doctors in the last few decades. As Jala Neti has been picked up and popularised by non-yogis, renamed, modified, medicalised and commercialised, some people have sought to “improve” upon it, by changing its formula, by hybridising it with medical science. But in truth, Jala Neti does not need improvement. It has been developed and trialed by the master yogis over thousands of years and has already evolved to a point where any so-called improvements will only serve to take it further away from its original purposes – that is, a method of purifying the physical AND mental faculties of human perception in readiness for meditation and self-transcendence. Swami says that it is good that yoga has spread out from the caves and ashrams of the Himalayas and is now reaching far and wide, helping to improve the lives of many people who would never have otherwise been exposed to such ideas and practices. However it is not so good that yoga's original intents and purposes are being forgotten and ignored in exchange for commercial returns and mundane benefits such as sinus relief. In time-honoured tradition, long before books and the World Wide Web, Jala Neti (and all yoga practices in fact) were passed on by direct transmission, direct teaching, word of mouth, from guru to disciple, so that (i) the practitioner learned the technique properly without complications and adverse side effects, and was therefore qualified to pass it on to others; (ii) the practitioner gained the full and intended benefits for their physical and spiritual journey; (iii) the reputation of yoga did not become tainted by charlatans or exploiters. But what we see in this day and age, due to the disintegration of this direct teaching tradition, is that all these things are happening such that: (i) people are not learning the technique properly, despite all the books and documents available on the topic. Many are experiencing learning difficulties and adverse side effects. Some then go on to badly teach others. In this way the knowledge is becoming degraded. (ii) The full and inherent benefits are not being experienced. Most people just think Jala Neti is for mucus reduction, thus people drop the technique when their cold or their sinusitis has cleared up, or else those with severe nasal problems way beyond the capacities of salt water therapy say - “that yoga irrigation thing doesn't work”. (iii) Charlatans and exploiters are renaming it, remodeling it, de- mystifying it, over-charging for it, all to make massive commercial profits from the sale of this traditionally free knowledge and its associated products. So, as you mix your warm salty water each day to pour through your runny or your blocked up nose, spare a thought for the gift of improved health that the kindly yogis have bestowed upon your life. Allergies Q. How long does it take to see results in the clearance of the nasal passage? A. The amount of time in which any therapeutic method takes to effect changes in one’s symptoms depends on several factors such as: the causes of the illness (which might be environmental, or food-based, or other); the severity © Copyright 2006, HealthAndYoga.com of your condition; and your general health and constitution. Three times is far from enough to show any definitive change, although some users have reported benefits from the first time onwards. As a minimum, I would recommend you stick with the practice twice a day – each morning after rising and each evening before retiring – for at least 2 weeks before making any kind of assessment as to its effectiveness. Once a positive change has been detected, you may find that cutting back to once only per day is enough to keep allergy symptoms at bay. See Frequency of Usage. However, Jala Neti (at any frequency) is no substitute for addressing the root causes of any allergic condition. I would suggest that, in addition to regular nasal irrigation, you use constant self-awareness within your everyday life to avoid those situations and things which you discover aggravate the allergy. See also “Lifestyle Issues Affecting Upper Respiratory Health and Mucus in the Body". As Jala Neti gradually restores your nasal sensitivity to more normal levels you will naturally become more attuned to those things in life which “get up your nose”. Then you can make real life changes which will improve your health in a deeper and more permanent way. Only then will you have “cured” your allergies. Burning and Stinging Q. Does the solution burn during and/or after irrigation? Q. I am getting a stinging sensation in my nose during the technique? Q. I am having a difficult time getting used to the technique because it burns my sinuses so badly. A. When the irrigation solution is made correctly and the technique is performed correctly, very few users report any stinging sensations. To avoid the primary possibilities of stinging or burning in the nose, always be sure: (i) the water temperature is correct. See Water Temperature. (ii) the water is reasonably pure and free of chemicals. See Water Quality and Water Types. (iii) the salt is mixed to normal body saline ratio of 0.8%. See How to Make Normal Saline (iv) that the salt used is

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