Jala neti is an ancient Indian yoga technique, meaning literally “water cleansing”. Jala neti, though relatively unknown to western culture, is a common practice in parts of India and other areas in south east asia, performed as routinely as using a toothbrush. It is performed daily usually the first thing in the morning with other cleansing practices. Sometimes it is done more often such as at the end of the day if you work or live in a dusty or polluted environment. When dealing with problems of congestion it can be performed up to 4 times a day and has been shown to speed up the healing process for common colds.

The Neti pot (shown left) is filled with warm water, as I mentioned before.

The spout is inserted into one nostril, the head is tilted, as shown and the warm salty water flows through one side of the nasal cavity to the other and out the other nostril.