We are big fans of the neti pot and the practice of jalaneti up here in the Squirrel’s Nest. If you come to class and I spot you sniffling and hacking, I will be all over you (in a very compassionate way) about using the neti pot to speed your healing (read: no thanks, we don’t want your cold) and prevent further illness (read: nose blowing in savasana is just plain nasty, even if we feel bad for you). Neti is the nasal equivalent of hand washing; wash your nasal passages daily as you wash your hands and you will have a much lower incidence of upper respiratory illness. Practiced for a couple of thousand years in the east, neti is so cheap and practical that is has enjoyed a resurgence in the last few years. Folks like Oprah and her pal Mehmet Oz, MD tout its benefits on TV. So it’s all good, right?
Right. EXCEPT. A few weeks ago, there was fairly widespread coverage in the media about two people in Louisiana dying “from using a neti pot.” I use quotes here because they did not die from the neti practice but from using contaminated water. The water used in the neti pot was obtained directly from the tap and contained the pernicious bacteria Naegleria fowleri. This bacteria penetrates into the brain from the sinus cavity, causing a fatal condition called amoebic meningoencephalitis. Each year, sixty cases of this disease are contracted by swimmers in fresh water ponds in the southern USA where Naegleria fowleri lurk.
These neti pot deaths are the first recorded. Erring on the side of caution, we must be sure to use water that has been brought to a rolling boil then cooled, adding the neti salt and the using the pot as directed. Distilled water purchased in a jug from the drug store is also a good alternative.
As always, the neti pot should be washed thoroughly in hot, soapy water or washed in the dishwasher, after use.
Even here in Wenham, where we are famous for our beautiful, fresh water from the Ipswich River and the Great Wenham Swamp — water so pure that Queen Victoria used to order her full year’s supply of ice to be cut from Wenham Lake and shipped to her across the sea — the water supply is degrading. We recently had an E. coli outbreak that had the town issuing a boil water order for two weeks. We now have so much chlorine in the water that even a whole-house filter and a Britta filter combined cannot remove the taste or smell.
Don’t stop your jalaneti practice. Just make sure that your water is pure or purified before you run it through your head! Sauca (purity) is one of the niyamas in our yoga toolbox. Let’s take it out of the box and use it for good.
