Relief from allergic rhinitis
Allergic rhinitis ruining your mornings?
Getting up with a running nose is one of the worst feelings one can have early morning. I had it for many years along with post nasal drip, itching, low levels of energy and a heavy head. Many of us have this problem and it might be because of dust mite, pollen, low immunity and it can be as a result of a weather change.
Sneezing, running and blocked nose are natural mechanisms to prevent and throw out unwanted substances that enter the nose. In nasal allergies this mechanism has turned into a disease because of over activity of the air passages. In yoga we are using our will power to reverse this hyperactivity.
Two effective cleanings practices (shudhi kriya ) from hatha yoga Helped me a lot
- Kapalbhathi
- Jal neti
- kapalbhati- (active exhalation and passive inhalation)
Since we are exhaling forcefully through our both nostrils it cleans our nose and the Para nasal sinuses. Kapalbhati can be done every day.
- jal neti – (cleaning nose with warm saline water)
This practice is done early in the morning with Luke warm saline water. It helps to get rid of excess mucus and wash out anything that is stuck to the inner linings of the nostrils.
I would suggest you to do this practice under proper guidance. A qualified Yoga teacher would help you to plan frequency of the practice and proper technique.
- once we do shudi kriya it is very essential to do deep relaxation technique-
We can do a yoga nidra or a guided meditation.
Initially when we do kriyas we may sneeze a lot or find it difficult to do it. Sometimes muscles may contract during jal neti. So it’s essential to relax them after the practice, hence we do deep relaxation technique which puts our body in a clam parasympathetic zone.
Hope this helps you to have a wonderful breathe in the mornings and take care of yourself!