How to use a Neti Pot to Protect Yourself from Flu and the Common Cold

Hi!

I’m lucky I didn’t get the flu this year and – knock on wood – I won’t.

The flu season that arrived in full force this year was surprisingly strong, and it’s still going around. I hope you are all in good health and I would like to share one of my favorite Ayurvedic wellness tips how to protect yourself from flu and the common cold.

Seeing as how Ayurveda is very much about the prevention of illness and disease – not just the treatment of it – I want to share a tried and true method for keeping dangerous pathogens at bay and your immunity strong.

Tried and True Method: Clear Your Sinuses

Not just by blowing your nose every morning or when your nose is running. Clear it out on a regular basis with warm water, good salt, and oil.

Here’s Why:

If you’ve ever checked out the anatomy of a human skull, you’ve noticed how many caverns, caves, and crevices create the shape of your sinus passages. That means there are spaces galore for extra amounts of mucus, debris, and infections to hunker down and hide… and you want that stuff to be on the MOVE. Nasal mucus is a natural source of immunity for the sinus passages, so the aim is to keep it free of blockages, debris, and irritation without stripping it entirely of its naturally slippery quality.

Here Are The Benefits:

Removing excess mucous can make you less vulnerable to bacterial infections, allergies, sinusitis, hay fever, the common cold, and chronic or acute congestion.

And because it’s considered a clearing for the third eye, or Ajna chakra, and the ears, nose, and throat, it can even help alleviate symptoms like headaches, coughs, sore throats, bad breath, bacterial issues in the mouth, and facial pain.

Here’s What To Do:

Get comfortable with how to use a neti pot. If you’ve never seen it done, or you’ve had a bad experience with getting water up your nose, I get it. It can feel scary and weird. But once you get familiar with how to do this quick and simple practice, it will become your trusted friend.

If you need visual support, check out my YouTube channel where I show you how to use a neti pot with ease.

Also known as “Nasal Rinse Cups”, using a neti pot helps you clear your sinuses, nasal passages, and excess mucous that collect in the back of your throat. One of the definitions for the word “neti” is nasal cleansing in Sanskrit. In both yoga and Ayurveda, regular neti pot use is considered a safe and side-effect-free remedy for reducing dependence on over-the-counter medications, antibiotics, and corticosteroids, most of which suppress the immune system.

Can I get a “heck yeah”?

Neti pots are available in plastic, stainless steel and ceramic styles of varying shapes and sizes. I collect them throughout my travels so I can keep one in every bathroom, my toiletry bag, and even my car.

At health food stores, I love the ceramic ones by Baraka, as well as the plastic travel pots from Ancient Secrets. I’ve definitely put my plastic travel pot through the ringer and it’s proved to be super durable! You can find copper and stainless steel neti pots at Indian Markets and online as well.

Here’s How to Do It:

Use your neti pot every day if you wake up daily with excess mucous, congestion, or irritated sinuses. Otherwise, use it as needed – and trust your intuition to tell you which days you do.

Step One: Fill a neti pot with 1/2 cup warm water (distilled is ideal), half a teaspoon of good quality sea salt, and a teaspoon or two of either unrefined sesame oil or Nasya oil.

Now what you have is a slightly oily, saline rinse that provides relief on days when dust, pollen, and other irritants have become lodged in your sinuses.

Step Two: Lean over the sink so that your forehead faces directly towards the drain.

Step Three: Place the spout of the neti pot to your right nostril and turn your head to the left so that your left ear faces the sink drain. Breathe through your mouth as you allow the water to flow in through your right nostril and out through your left.

Step Four: Repeat on the opposite side. Finish by gargling with the last bit of warm saline solution left in the pot.

Step Five: Blow your nose gently, but thoroughly, to purge as much water and phlegm as possible.

If you suffer from really sticky, chronic congestion – especially in the morning – do this practice right after a hot shower, when your body has had the chance to warm up and liquefy some of that gunked up phlegm.

I do this practice if I eat dairy and it doesn’t digest well, when I cleanse when I feel like a cold might be coming on, or when I’ve been exposed to a lot of dust or pollution. Sometimes I do it just to clear my head and get a fresh view on life!

Let me know what you think about this practice!

And if you need extra support or visual instruction, remember you can always go to my YouTube channel where I show you how to use a neti pot with ease.

I also have a FB Live video about how to use a neti pot to protect yourself from flu and the common cold.

Join me for my weekly Facebook Live Show at 1 pm PST for more amazing Auyrveda Every Day tips.