Jala Neti: My Practice & Experience

Vikrant Prabhu Desai

Abstract

Jala Neti is one of the six purification methods called Shatkarmas and is explained in “ Hath Yoga Pradipika.” The word Jala Neti is Sanskrit word which literally means cleansing with water. It is nasal irrigation. The water used for this process is saline. Today’s world is getting more and more polluted with air pollution being very predominant in major cities. This makes it important for everybody to adopt the purification methods. Ancient yogis used to use this method to cleanse their nasal passage. Breathing is the essence of good life. To have proper breathing, nasal hygiene is very important and Jala Neti helps to achieve this, thereby giving better health. Jala Neti removes the excess mucous from the nasal passage thereby facilitating proper breathing. Jala Neti has physiological effect, effect on the mind as well as clairvoyance. Many people relate these Kriyas to religion. But these kriyas are universal in nature and not religion oriented. Practicing Jala Neti not only helps in removing dirt, bacteria, virus, etc. from the upper respiratory tract, thereby reducing the occurrence of various respiratory diseases, but also refreshes eyes, improves concentration etc. Experiments have proved that kriya is effective in managing respiratory diseases including SARS & Covid. With the proper procedure, following proper steps and taking due precautions, if Jala Neti is practiced on regular basis, lot of health benefits can be obtained. This kriya is easy to learn and master. This review is written taking into consideration the methods explained in scientific texts combined with the practical experiences.

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