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Care for your nose  

Nasal Lubrication                                                                                   by Shanti Gowans

Nasal lubrication, nasya, is a simple, effective strategy. Its origins stem from ancient India and it has many benefits ranging from preventing headaches, stimulating your brain, avoiding Alzheimer’s, to improving your sense of smell. Ayurvedic practitioners have been successfully recommending this low-cost remedy for centuries. The dosage for this strategy is only 2–6 drops a day, which puts no strain on the budget!

Sesame oil is the oil that is recommended in Ayurveda as the base oil for nasal lubrication. Ghee is also recommended for this. Any product you use needs to be 100% organic. You do not want to be putting any chemicals in your nose (when the whole purpose of this exercise is to cleanse your nasal passages). However, you can purchase a traditional, medicated oil which is a specific Auyurvedic prescription for nasal lubrication, known as Anu Taila. Anu Taila has added herbs decocted in it and is highly recommended.

Caution about rancidity: 

Oils can spoil and become rancid if left for too long. Since you’ll only be using a few drops each day, you won’t be using it up too quickly. So I would advise you to make sure that you don’t store a large quantity of oil in your bathroom, especially if your bathroom is warm.

How to administer the oil:

1. Remove the screw cap and pierce the dropper nosel with a steralised needle or pin.
2. Tilt your head back and place one drop into each nostril.
3. Inhale deeply three times, feeling the oil move into your sinus cavities. Some oil may drip        down the back of your throat. If so, don’t worry. This can soothe your throat and lubricate         your vocal cords!
4. Wipe away any excess oil with a tissue or warm, running water.

Alternatively, 

1.Wash your hands well.

2. Place two drops of oil from the dropper bottle into the palm of your hand.
3. Dip your clean, little finger into the oil and insert it into each nostril. (Note: this is the only time it’s permissible to stick your fingers up your nose!).
4. Apply the oil to the inside of your nostrils and sniff or snort it off your fingertip and inhale deeply.

When to do it

The easiest way to add nasal lubrication to your life is to make it part of your morning and evening routine. When you brush your teeth, have a bottle of Anu taila on your vanity. It only takes about 30 seconds.

Nasal irrigation, neti

In regard to nasal lubrication with Anu Taila, you may want to try combining this practice with the practice of yogic nasal irrigation, called neti. The mild, saline solution of warm water and sea salt, poured through the nasal passages, which does smart at first (try using less salt) but feels great afterwards. Place a few drops of sesame oil in your nose before you get your neti pot ready. This will help loosen up irritants and then the neti pot can wash them away.

Even more importantly, though, is to do it after you do your neti nasal irrigation. The saline solution you used may have a very drying effect on your nasal cavity. The nasal lubrication treatment makes a very soothing follow up to an intense session with your neti pot.

Why it works

Regardless of how perfect your diet is, how cleanly you maintain your living space, whether you live in a big city or a pristine valley, you’re inhaling as much as two and a half tablespoons of irritants every single day. This includes both unnatural items such as petrol, fumes from cleaning products, perfumes and natural offenders such as pollen, animal fur and dust. These can get trapped in your nasal passages where they can irritate the delicate mucus membranes. Viruses can find a home in this environment leading to colds (where your body creates a mucous response to flush out the irritants). I’m very conscious about what I inhale every time I dust and wipe my windowsills and skirtingboards. Wind blows and dust is in the air, settling everywhere, including in our nasal passages. We do have nasal hairs that trap some of this dust and we do sneeze and blow it out but nasal lubrication takes you one step further. By sniffing anu taila you help prevent these ‘nasties’ from congesting your nasal passages in the first place. The oil also works as a barrier between your nasal passage and unwanted viruses.

Ayurvedic medicine also claims that the nutrients present in the oil and the oil itself will move subtly from your nasal passages towards nourishing the brain. Considering that the brain consists mainly of fat and that Indians have fewer cases of Alzheimer’s than any other people, they just may know what they are talking about!

How to know that it’s working

After four weeks of nasal lubrication, you may find that you don’t want to stop. That’s a clear sign that your body is benefiting from it. You should start feeling less dryness and encrustatioins in your nose. Congestion in your nasal passages will be reduced and if you have any allergies you will probably be less sensitive to pollutants and pollen. You may also notice your sense of smell improving. The oil will actually lubricate your nerve endings. Because you won’t be so congested, you will not need to work so hard at breathing. You will also be able to enjoy deeper sleep;  (Notice whether you feel more refreshed in the morning.) especially if you do a treatment right before bed. This treatment can even help people with sleep apnoea. By decongesting the nasal passages and the brain, nasal lubrication might be the solution.

You could notice your nose running once you start nasal lubrication. This is normal. You will find that the oil loosens up a lot of ‘junk’ that’s been hardening on the sides of your deep nasal passages and you may have to blow your nose more than you are used to. Better out than in. This beneficial side effect should clear up in a few days.

If you used to experience sinus pain and now you don’t and the nasal drip continues, this may be a sign that you are continuing to inhale a lot of irritants. The oil is merely stopping the irritants from ‘sticking’ to your sinus cavity and flushing them out. The obvious solution is to improve the quality of the air you breathe in each day. Until then, you might need to endure a little nasal drip that replaces a sinus headache

Nasal lubrication is pretty straightforward. Just buy the smallest bottle of Anu taila which will go a long way. Do it once a day, if you can’t remember to do it twice a day. Enjoy good health, clear thinking and happy breathing.