Neti and Nasya, Solutions for the Nose
Spring is coming, and with it, for many, come spring allergies. There are a whole host of helpful herbs to ease seasonal allergies, but today we want to talk about two options from the world of Ayurveda to soothe and protect the nose.
Tom Wolfe, co-owner of Smile Herb Shop and teacher of our Introduction to the Yoga of Herbs course, discusses the use of Neti (nasal wash) and Nasya (nasal oiling) to ease cold and allergy symptoms. The excerpt below is part of a longer article that can be read here.
“Neti comes from the tradition of Yoga breathing named Pranayama (the control of energy or Prana through breath). Neti, simply stated, describes a variety of ways of washing out the nose with saltwater or herbal preparations in order to keep breathing free and clear of any blockages. There are three choices about Neti you will have to make before learning how to heal your nose this way. First, what kind of Neti pot to buy, secondly what type of liquid either saltwater or another herbal preparation to run through your nose, and finally where to perform this cleansing ritual.
First, the choice is yours as to what type of pot to purchase. Most folks these days associate the practice of Neti with simple white ceramic pots shaped like Aladdin’s lamp that are designed to place in one nostril and let the salt water or herbal preparation flow out the other nostril. These pots hold about a pint of water and make Neti very easy and are the first choice of ways to start with learning how to keep the nose clean and functioning properly. White ceramic neti pots have always been available in most health food stores and now thanks to the magic of a consumer driven society, neti pots come in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. All the ones I have tried work fine since all that is needed is a pot that holds a pint, a spout that fits in your nose and an easy way to fill them. So choose the one that is the right color that matches your bathroom and you will be set. These pots come with instructions on how to simply perform Neti.
Secondly, the intelligent informed choice of liquid to run through your noble nose greatly increases the efficacy of this cleansing. Salt water is always the first choice for everyday general Neti and there are now available really cool infused salt rinses with essential oils added to the salt. A variety of companies make these preparations and my fave at this time is the Cold and Flu infused salt blend made by the Baraka Company.
Finally… One chooses where to perform this ritual. I say ritual because if this practice can become pleasant to perform and a regular part of your daily health care regimen you will benefit from it immensely. However, if it never makes it to the exalted status of ritual, you will either only use it to treat symptoms or (horrors) not do Neti at all. So here is an easy tip to make this cleansing an easy part of your day. Do it as part of your shower or bathing instead of in the bathroom sink. This way there is no cleanup and for the squeamish no having to look at what comes out of your nose. In a shower it’s a no brainer and for the bathtub fans just do the Neti before you bathe while allowing the water to warm up. Wasn’t that an easy solution to all the fuss of doing neti in the sink? Look, I know neti takes a little getting used to at first because we are not in the habit in the West of cleansing our nose on a daily basis but it evolves into an actually pleasant experience with practice. Remember as Bobby McFerrin sings, “all discipline is painful, but the fruit of discipline is sweet”.
Nasya (or Nasya Karma) is the oleation (oiling of) the nose with medicated oils that is one of the five main therapies in Ayurveda, which together are named Pancha Karma, or the five therapies. It is the easiest of the five therapies to do in your home and unlike the other four requires no special equipment or investment of time. Nasya is simply the placing of drops of herbal infused oil in the nose in order to keep the nasal passages lubricated and to get all those wonderful soothing herbal molecules close to the brain on a regular basis so we can stay alert and chilled out at the same time. This is the concept in Ayurveda of a softer breath and therefore a “softer” mind. This is perhaps the first therapy anyone who has breathing issues should learn. The results are immediate and reliable, and the investment is 60 seconds of time daily. Basically what you do is drop 8 or more drops of oil into each nostril and then massage this oil into the mucous membranes gently. 8 drops is the minimum and one can use up to a milliliter of oil, which will then gently lubricate the throat. Start slowly, pay attention, and gently massage the oil into your nasal passages and you will have a happier throat and nose.
Nasya begins with plain uncooked sesame oil and then can evolve into a specific custom designed regimen for your body type or ailments. Any herb can be infused into sesame oil so the choices of herbal therapy for the noble nose are endless, but the best bet for most folks is to buy already prepared nasya oil in the 30-milliliter (one ounce) size. An ounce is 30 milliliters or ml, each ml is 30 drops so a one-ounce bottle is a 60-day supply at 7-8 drops in each nostril daily. I would encourage anyone who anticipates issues in their nose to begin a daily regimen of nasya. A fallback position would be to begin a daily nasya massage at the fist sign of a cold or flu or allergic response. There are a variety of types of already prepared nasya oils, just pick the one that comes closest to your symptoms and begin to have a softer breath and mind.”
