Yoga Classes Kuala Lumpur (KL) – Y O G A H U I

I have just experienced the most effective prevention for the common cold. It is simple and relatively instant. Cold remedies we often hear about include chicken soup, garlic, Vitamin C and over the counter medication. I’ve tried all of those but none have actually worked and I usually  end up having to painfully wait the cold out.

Two evenings ago, my throat started getting sore and my nasal passages clearly felt inflamed. Touch wood, I rarely come down with a cold, but when I do, it’s the EXTREME version. So of course those symptoms alone were enough to set off alarm bells for me. I absolutely could not afford to get sick this weekend. I have a yoga retreat to run!

I tried to sleep it off at first. I downed a liter of water and went straight to bed. But 2 hours later, I woke up in worse condition. I had no Vitamin C tablets at home, no cold medication, definitely no chicken and I was not in the mood to prepare any stinky garlic concoction. I opened my bathroom cabinet and came face to face with my neti pot and a jar of salt.

Nasal irrigation (Jala Neti Kriya) is something that I do perhaps once a month….not as often as I should. Many benefits have been associated with nasal irrigation. It removes impurities in the nasal passage ways, helps with allergies, prevents sinusitis, heightens the sense of smell and apparently also prevents colds from fully manifesting. Read about my first experience on my blog post on Jala Neti Kriya.

So this is what you need: an empty 500ml mineral water bottle, salt, neti pot.

I used to go through so much trouble getting the saline solution to be at the right warm temperature and using a measuring cup to measure the exact amount of water to dilute the salt in (1 teaspoon to 500ml water). I normally prepare too much solution and end up having to throw it away. Now, my lazy version is just as effective and has zero wastage.

Put 1 teaspoon of salt into the empty water bottle, fill it up with tap water, screw on the bottle cap, give it a good shake, pour into neti pot and begin the cleanse. This makes enough solution for 4 rounds of cleansing (2 rounds each side).

Here’s a informative demonstration of how to perform the Jala Neti Kriya performed by my friend, Marc. Remember to breathe through your mouth when you do this cleanse and don’t blow your nose too hard or else water will get forced back into the ears.

As part of my experiment, I combined my nasal irrigation with a salt water gargle at the end. I could literally see those impurities being flushed out. It wasn’t a pretty sight seeing everything from clear goo to brown gunk. In total I performed one cleanse that night, followed by 3 more the next day (morning, afternoon and evening). And by the 2nd day (today), all the symptoms had completely disappeared. My nose now feels as efficient as an empty vacuum cleaner