Nasya Therapy and Movement of Kapha
In the energy science of Ayurveda there are two principal ways to treat disease....palliative(shaman) and detoxification(shodan) When you change your nutrition to a energetically constitutionally appropriate nutritional format(ahara) and avoid incompatible food combinations you are doing shaman therapy When you follow guidelines such as the dinacharya(vihara) you're practicing shaman therapy These therapies in general do not deal with the guna(qualities) imbalance and the resultant accumulation of ama/amavisha(toxins) but rather palliate or pacify the existing imbalance and not make the physiology worse Shaman work stabilizes the existing imbalance with associated ama/amavsha
Shodan Work and Nasya and Movement of Kapha
In contrast shodan therapies remove excess guna(quality) and ama/amavisha There are 5 therapies(panchakarma) that produce physiologic detoxification....one of them is nasya or the placement of herbally loaded oil into the sinus area
Naysa is best done in association with neti and kapalabhati...both of these latter actions help dry the sinuses of excess Kapha energy(mucous) so that the herbal oils can effectively treat the predominantly Kapha anatomical area But the beauty of nasya therapy is that it moves all three doshas(energy patterns) and ama/amavisha from the area of the sinuses Since these therapies induce shifts in the sinuses and create negative pressure in the sinues, the systemic physiology is treated which makes nasya an incredible tool for daily cleansing
Nasya is quite simple As above you should have completed neti and kapalabhati The head is tilted back(lay on the bed with the head over the side of the bed) and 5 drops are placed according to the accompanying diagram(elements of space, air, fire, water, and earth are collections of guna(qualities)that make up the doshas of Vata, PItta, and Kapha When neti and nasya are done we are treating the elements as well as the doshas of VPK) Stay in the position for 5 minutes and then feel the effects of nasya
The herbs in the oil are delivered not only to the nasal passages and sinuses but also to the brainstem by way of the cribiform plate which holds the olfactory nerves(first cranial nerves from the brainstem) So this is profound therapy at a number of different levels because nasya in the end treats the brain and the way we think bringing balance to our thoughts, feelings, and emotions
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The Neti Pot
Some of you may have used the neti for clearing mucous for the common cold which energetically is a Kapha release Kapha is the energy pattern of stability in the physiology It is composed of the qualities of heavy, slow/dull, cool, slimy/smooth, liquid, dense, soft, hard, static, and sticky The mucous of the common cold during its course exhibits many of the qualities of Kapha which supports bodily structures
When Kapha becomes excessive in the physiology it brings the static and heavy qualities in excess which block the lighter qualities of Vata and Pitta In the diagram one can see that the columns of Vata and Pitta get blocked by Kapha but when Kapha becomes less then Vata and Pitta can flow once again
The Kapha energy pattern is involved in the many disease processes and one of the simplest ways to deal with this imbalance is to use the neti pot in order to remove excess Kapha from the sinuses and remove excess Kapha from the body particularly when neti is followed by a breath technique of kapalabhati followed by oil drops in the nose(nasya) which will gradually and slowly loosen Kapha's blockage in the physiology
Releasing this blockage allows Pitta and Vata to move once again and unblock the channels in the body leading to improvement in symptoms
To do neti one needs a good sized container...500cc available on Amazon If you'd like more information I can send you more on request
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