It comes as no surprise to anyone that the city’s air is polluted, pollen-infested and dry. The grimy urban environment can contribute to colds and flues; it can worsen allergies and cause stress, which in turn can lead to fatigue and darkness under your eyes.

But there is a solution – and it doesn’t include moving to the countryside, taking the same old antibiotics, or using spray cans filled with chemicals; Jala neti, or nasal irrigation, has been part of Ayurvedic medicine for over 5,000 years and continues to be the treatment of choice for sufferers of stuffed sinuses, colds, allergies, and bags under the eyes in India today.

But there’s no need to pay expensive fees at a hospital or specialist spa in NYC; you can flush your worries away with the help of a neti pot – a mix between Aladdin’s magic lamp and a gravy boat. The neti pot allows you to cleanse your sinuses, treat allergies, colds, and flues, as well as get rid of darkness under your eyes. Other reported benefits include a better sense of smell or taste, sharper vision, and a reduction in snoring. It’s also a good alternative method of detoxifying your body.

You might have seen TV reality star Jessica Simpson try the neti pot while in Mumbai to shoot her series “The Price of Beauty.” As the starlet learned the hard way, the idea of the neti pot is to bathe the sinus cavities in warm salt water. Tilting your head to one side, you insert the spout of the pot in the upper nostril and empty the water. The water will then come out through your lower nostril so make sure you are leaning over a sink or bucket.  Check it out at the 9:12 mark in the episode below.

Look gross? Maybe, but the neti pot treatment will leave you fresh and healthy! Neti pots come in several different castings – clay, ceramic, plastic, glass, and stainless steel – and can be found at several drugstores in New York and at Houston Street’s Wholefoods’ (upper floor) for $14.99 and up, as well as at East West Living for $17.95.

Wholefoods Market
95 East Houston Street
New York, NY
(212) 420 1320

East West Living
78 Fifth Avenue @ 14th Street
New York, NY
(212) 243 5994

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