Neti Pots: Nasal Irrigation to Smog-Proof Your Sinuses

How is your sinus hygiene?

After 14 years of using a neti pot on a regular, almost daily basis – I must admit, I am amazed how overlooked this basic bit of personal hygiene is.

Most of us brush our teeth and we usually expect the same of others.  In fact, when someone neglects this important bit of personal cleanliness, the rest of us can be easily turned off.

How about bathing?  What if you knew someone hadn’t showered or bathed in months, years, or worse still, never at all…  How would you feel about getting… um, close to them?

Well, how about our sinuses? Each day we are all breathing the many stow-away particles (read: pollutants) that free float amongst what was once, some pretty fresh air here on planet earth. Today our air is loaded with everything from dust (which is mostly dead skin cells) to heavy metals, from car exhaust to radioactive isoptopes.  These particles are constantly lodging in and congesting our upper respiratory tract, creating an environment for infection and/or being drawn still deeper into our lower respiratory tract (our lungs).  The neti pot gives us the ability to clean our upper respiratory tract, in much the same way that a toothbrush cleans our mouth or a shower washes our skin, before these particles can accumulate or be drawn deeper.

Otherwise, we simply carry this debris around, haphazardly sneezing or blowing it out, or letting it drain back into our throats…  Blah!

Want to see what a truly clean upper respiratory tract feels like?  Try using a neti pot!

After a few days, to a few weeks, of implementing this practice it will become immediately clear why I am recommending it.  My experience has been that you can only truly feel the chronic congestion after you have cleared it.  It is the open, clear, and relaxed sense of breathing; the ability to fully utilize your respiration that makes you conscious of its importance.  In other words, once you have tried it and felt what clean and clear sinus cavities feel like, you won’t want to go back.

As for the technique and specifics, I will let this video explain the rest.

My company SurThrival recently started carrying what we feel are the most beautiful and durable ceramic neti pots available anywhere, and you can get one for yourself right here on our newly designed website (we are pretty excited about this)!  We were sure to get them in several different colors so that you can choose one thats right for you.  These are made right here in the State of Maine (where we are based out of) and I have personally tested them now for almost a decade and a half, so I can honestly tell you they are the best around.  Watch the video above where I compare some of the features against other design-styles.

If your looking to smog proof your sinuses, help to prevent sinus issues in general, and improve your respiratory health, give the neti pot a try.  Better yet, take some time to develop mastery of this skill by making it a regular practice!

My hope is that our community will immediately see the value of this handy little device and add it to the tool-belt of practices and skills that are helping us to thrive in, and adapt to our modern environment.  I promise if you give it just one week of consistent practice, not only will you easily master this skill, but you will have a life long practice that will contribute to your health and personal detoxification strategy.

I have used this strategy, along side others, such as regular sauna use (check out Clearlight Saunas, it is the brand of infrared sauna that I have in my home), a clean whole food diet containing lots of wild foods and herbs, drinking natural spring water, implimenting regular functional exercise, all combined with and tied together with time spent in nature.  The goal is to create a kind of Invincible Health that allows us to thrive in this mad, mad, world!

To your health and adaptation!

ReWild Yourself!

~D

P.S. Though saline water is what people usually put in their neti pots, I have heard of many other solutions.  Quick question:  What is the most exotic thing you have ever put in a neti pot?  Go ahead and leave a comment below, and please…  Don’t be shy