Jala Neti

For some odd reason, the fellow below reminds me of an English butler in one of those old movies from the 1930s or 40s. I think maybe it's the jaw (beak?).

Yesterday Carli brought up a subject that I'm thinking of exploring further. Oddly enough, Shephard also wandered by to comment and he's the one who originally started me thinking about this subject a few months ago when he referred to a post on Jessica's blog about jala neti.

In case you're not familiar with the "therapy," jala neti is the practice of pouring warm saline solution in one nostril, while your head is canted to the side, and letting the saline drain out of the other nostril. The purpose is to clean the nose and sinuses of all the nasty stuff that might be contained within.

The link above goes to a Yoga site which has a short article about the practice--and here's an even shorter article on Wiki about something more disturbing sounding: sutra neti. Here's what Wiki has to say about that:

Sutra neti (or thread neti) is a process of nasal cleansing wherein a length of string is inserted through the nose and into the mouth. The end is then pulled out of the mouth and while holding both ends at once the string is alternately pulled in and out of the nose and sinuses. It is used to clear the nose and also to remove nasal polyps.

Sutra neti is an advanced form of yogic nasal cleansing and is related to jala neti.


Is that enough to make you want to gag or what? The thought sends shivers down my back. Actually, just the saline in the nose thing is enough to do that. I'm planning on buying one of those jala neti kits this week and I suspect I'll have it quite a while before I'll manage to force myself to use it. My sinuses are really bad--but pouring water in my nose just sounds so wrong.

Comments

Anonymous said…
OMG! I haven't laughed this much in months!

The saline sounds odd, but I'm not sure how I'd manage to do it. Or is it something someone does to you? Need some help? Seriously, I'd end up swallowing the saline -- if I was lucky.

The string through the nose is bizarre. Is it a thick string or are you supposed to wiggle it around while you are pulling it through? Oh my!
Unknown said…
Sounds messy - but if it works I guess it's worth it.

Pretty robin.
Sophia said…
Hi,

I haven't been by here since 2005. Has it really been that long? You may or may not remember me. I used to have a blog called "Immortal Beloved". It's of course long gone but I am still around. A woman that used to visit my blog that lives in Prague sent me a copy of my entire old blog today. It is kind of funny reading through it, but I haven't changed much, I don't think. Anyway, the point is, on my old blog was a link to your site. I'm glad you're still here.
kenju said…
I saw the neti pot in use twice on Oprah recently. The woman, who first tried it on Oprah's show came back to tell how wonderful it is, and that both she and her husband now use it everyday. Neither of them has had a cold or sinus trouble since they started using it.
angela marie said…
It totally sounds gross, but my cousin (who is prone to serious sinus infections) SWEARS by it. He loves his little snot pot.
tiff said…
Gets rid of nasal POLYPS? Holy ew!
Bobkat said…
Ek! It sounds gross, so like all things that are good for you it might just work!

Love the pic of the butler bird though :)
Shephard said…
My B uses it regularly. I think you'll be surprised. He says you get used to it...I think I paid maybe $14 at Whole Foods for our ceramic Neti pot. I'm sure Jessica is still using it. Tho I admit... I still haven't used it. But B and Wendy swear by it. Wendy used to get sinus headaches. She's also the one who told me about the magnesium.


~S
SassyAssy said…
ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

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