I have started doing some pranayams as per Ramdev swamiji.
One of my friend inroduced it to me. I find it very difficult to do Anulom-Vilom since I find that 1 of my nostril is blocked everytime. So I am not able to inhale or exhale much from the nostril that is blocked. What can I do about this?
I have been told that netiing helps this sort of problem. I have tried, and successfully netied, it can be very uncomfortable at first. After a couple times doing it daily, the discomfort disappears and it is more like just brushing your teeth. Something you do everyday to keep your clean, teeth free of cavities and gums free of infections. This is much like netiing, except it helps clean out your nostril and can also help get sinuses moving, moving and cleared out. Unfortunately my neti was ceramic and fell off of the cupboard and smashed in my sink 
Need to invest in a new one. Thanks for reminding me!
I also once heard something that every person breaths more out of one nostril at different times of the day. I cannot remember the specifics of it but it is something about which side is stronger at that moment, you pingala or your eda. Just something to think over.
Thank you very much Kamma. I have also been having seasonal allergies and somebody at my work suggested me to do the jal neti. I have started doing it since last 2 days. Hopefully this will help me.
Is there anything else I can do to clear my nasal passage. Like I said when I am doing anulom vilom, I find it extremely difficult to exhale and inhale from 1 of my nostril. It is not the same nostril everytime.
Also, I have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, could this be 1 of the reason for it? I have started another thread for this but thought it would be worth to mention it here as well since all this might be related. I hate to wear my bi-pap mask and willing to do anything to get rid of it.
Dear yalgaar,
Allow me to react briefly to what you have posted so far. Good thing you started jala neti. Have some patience please, two days is not enough to see some results. A few weeks of practice may be needed to see definitive results.
In anuloma viloma, it is normal to find a different nostril blocked each time. Normally, the blocked nostril switches every 1,5 - 2 hours. In fact, I would be worried is the same nostril were blocked all the time. That would indicate an obstruction.
To help you address the sleep apnea, please tell us more about yourself: your age, weight, general health condition, experience with yoga asana and pranayama (postures and breathing). More important, have you undergone sleep studies? Do your doctors say that the apnea is of the obstructive type? Or does it come from the central nervous system?
There may be lifestyle issues which need to be addressed, e.g. body weight, alcohol, smoking and medication can play a role in the obstructive type of apnea.
Yoga may be of help, if administered in the proper way. In general, I would advise against randomly selecting a breathing technique and learning this from the internet, especially when dealing with a serious health condition. It would be far better to see an experienced yoga teacher who could help to diagnose your imbalance, select the most appropriate practices and teach you the correct procedures. Pranayama is an art and a science and the secret lies in the details - in posture and in mental attitude. Too much exertion could lead to boredom, fatigue or more imbalance.
Best of luck.
[QUOTE=Willem;19122]Dear yalgaar,
Allow me to react briefly to what you have posted so far. Good thing you started jala neti. Have some patience please, two days is not enough to see some results. A few weeks of practice may be needed to see definitive results.
In anuloma viloma, it is normal to find a different nostril blocked each time. Normally, the blocked nostril switches every 1,5 - 2 hours. In fact, I would be worried is the same nostril were blocked all the time. That would indicate an obstruction.
To help you address the sleep apnea, please tell us more about yourself: your age, weight, general health condition, experience with yoga asana and pranayama (postures and breathing). More important, have you undergone sleep studies? Do your doctors say that the apnea is of the obstructive type? Or does it come from the central nervous system?
There may be lifestyle issues which need to be addressed, e.g. body weight, alcohol, smoking and medication can play a role in the obstructive type of apnea.
Yoga may be of help, if administered in the proper way. In general, I would advise against randomly selecting a breathing technique and learning this from the internet, especially when dealing with a serious health condition. It would be far better to see an experienced yoga teacher who could help to diagnose your imbalance, select the most appropriate practices and teach you the correct procedures. Pranayama is an art and a science and the secret lies in the details - in posture and in mental attitude. Too much exertion could lead to boredom, fatigue or more imbalance.
Best of luck.[/QUOTE]
Dear Willem,
Thanks for your reply. I will put in my best effor to answer all questions you have asked so I could get more help from you.
I am 33, 5’5, 150LBS. I guess you would agree I am not overweight at all. Maybe just a little extra weight.
I do not drink, never did.
I do not smoke, never did.
I believe I am in good health in general, just have been told I have a high blood pressure which lead my doctor to believe I could have sleep apnea once my wife told that I snore a lot.
I do not have much experience with yoga but my father inrtroduced me to this and he taught me the 6 pranayams techniques by Ramdevji. I am not doing it regular but do it around 2-3 times per week and spent around only 15 minutes to do all the 6. I do not do any asanas or meditation.
Yes I have been to a sleep clinic where the doctor confirmed I have an obstructive kind of severe sleep apnea. He already started me on a bi-pap machine that I have started using regularly. I believe it had helped me a gread deal but I really can’t be sure, it could just be all in my mind. But I hate using the mask and machine. The very reason I want to explore yoga and do anything it takes to fix my obstructive sleep apnea problem so I do not have to wear that mask.
Where do I find a good yoga instructor in Central NJ?
Dear Yalgaar,
I sympathise with you needing a mask at night. This is certainly a difficult step for you. I can see why you would rather live without it. However, it is also the best current allopathic remedy for the severe obstructive sleep apnea that you state you have. So, in the short term, could you try to gradually get used to it? Holistic solutions, like yoga and ayurveda, most probably will take a little longer to start to work.
Speak to your MD is you have concerns over your BIPAP. You should be seeing more daytime alertness and better sleep using it.
Gentle hatha yoga (posture, abdominal breathing, relaxation) could help you to pass through a period of adjusting to new situations.
If you have not tried already, how about a few pound of weight loss? While you are definitely not overweight (at body mass index 25 in my units), it is said that a few pounds less could help to clear the obstruction.
You have not answered my question on medication. So I’m assuming you are not taking anything which would relax your airways during sleep. I’m also assuming that you have no allergies which could cause the obstruction at night.
Barring this, continue with jala neti and you could try some pranayama. Good thing that you mention high blood pressure. Uncontrolled high blood pressure is a contraindication for two of the pranayama’s which I would suggest that you use. Kapalabhati and bastrikha. However, you should not use these until you have lowered your blood pressure sufficiently to make them safe. Yoga can be an effective method to lower blood pressure caused by stress, again using gentle poses, gentle breath work (abdominal breathing, ujjayi) and relaxation.
There are plenty of yoga therapists in New Jersey. I believe Charlotte Hamsa Stone is one of the most experienced SYT graduates. See this link:
http://www.yogatherapycenter.org/Certified_Structural_Yoga_Therapists.html
You could also have a look at holistic remedies at the following link on sleep apnea. I assume that you have tried a tennis ball in you pajama’s to keep you from sleeping on your back.
http://www.holistic-online.com/Remedies/Sleep/sleep_home.htm
Blessings.
Thanks a lot for your replies Willem. I am going to try to lose some weight, but i just don’t find it so easy with all the hectic stressful life I have. I am barely able to manage to do some yoga.
I intend to continue doing Jala Neti regular but it didn’t go so well today, I have started another thread for the same. Here is the link. Any help appreciated.
My blood pressure varies through the day. But I beliebe like I mentioned below for some reason it is in control since last few weeks. Really don’t know what worked, my diet, the paranyams? less stress at work? or the bi-pap mahcines. With so many variables, it is really hard to find out what worked. It is also very hard to maintain all this and it is very scray to break 1 of it and find out that blood pressure again shot up to the roof. For your information at this point of time my blood pressure is in the range of 75-87 lower and 115-140 higher.
Another reason to throw away the Morton’s “salt” and add that pure salt to your neti and to your diet. Again, this is another significant piece of your personal health puzzle. This forum is an open forum, and thank goodness for that for so many reasons, but this also means that each of us needs to be critical and thoughtful in what we take to use from here. You will likely get many recommendations and the more information you can give us, the better the recommendations will be. I know for myself, I speak very general about conditions here, because I am not seeing you in my office where I can get the information that I need to get a complete picture. I will rarely speak specifically to a member to do this or that because of this lack of completeness. You will receive many pieces of advice here on the forum, but with the health situation that you have outlined, I would encourage you to use great care in what you take into your practice. You will be getting advice from brand new students, from people plucking “yoga info” from various spots on the internet and pasting them here as facts, from MDs, from Yoga therapists, from Yoga teachers, from every type of person and their varied experiences and training. Not all will explain that they offer this or that as personal experience, but will instruct you as if they were teachers of the technique. And again, thank goodness for an open platform, but with that comes a level of responsibility to find out [I]what works for our own selves.[/I] Working directly with someone well-trained will help you navigate your situation safely.
*nichole
[QUOTE=Nichole;19146]Another reason to throw away the Morton’s “salt” and add that pure salt to your neti and to your diet. Again, this is another significant piece of your personal health puzzle. This forum is an open forum, and thank goodness for that for so many reasons, but this also means that each of us needs to be critical and thoughtful in what we take to use from here. You will likely get many recommendations and the more information you can give us, the better the recommendations will be. I know for myself, I speak very general about conditions here, because I am not seeing you in my office where I can get the information that I need to get a complete picture. I will rarely speak specifically to a member to do this or that because of this lack of completeness. You will receive many pieces of advice here on the forum, but with the health situation that you have outlined, I would encourage you to use great care in what you take into your practice. You will be getting advice from brand new students, from people plucking “yoga info” from various spots on the internet and pasting them here as facts, from MDs, from Yoga therapists, from Yoga teachers, from every type of person and their varied experiences and training. Not all will explain that they offer this or that as personal experience, but will instruct you as if they were teachers of the technique. And again, thank goodness for an open platform, but with that comes a level of responsibility to find out [I]what works for our own selves.[/I] Working directly with someone well-trained will help you navigate your situation safely.
*nichole[/QUOTE]
Thanks a lot Nicole for pointing this out. I am aware of the dangers of seeking advice on the internet, but I agree it always helps to be reminded and be cautious.
All my morton salt cans are going out today itself 
I am still finding it difficult to understand “pure salt” What am I looking for when I am lookig for “pure salt” Will I be able to get it in any food store? I an in NJ, USA and we have all kinds of food stores like Pathmark, A&P, Shoprite, and many many more. If I got to the salt ailes, what exactly I should be looking for?
Sorry to ask so many questions, but I want to do this right. I believe you imply Morton salt is not good for Neti nor for the food, could you be more specific if you don’t mind on the differences between “pure salt” and Morton and what exactly is in “Morton Salt” that is not good for Neti and food intake for person who has high blood pressure?
Thanks a lot in advance.
Hello Yalgaar,
I fully agree with Nichole. I would really recommend you see a therapist in person to get more detailed and accurate anwers for something you state to be a severe condition. As I mentioned before, don’t try pranayama on your own. Blessings.
[QUOTE=Willem;19151]Hello Yalgaar,
I fully agree with Nichole. I would really recommend you see a therapist in person to get more detailed and accurate anwers for something you state to be a severe condition. As I mentioned before, don’t try pranayama on your own. Blessings.[/QUOTE]
I am already seeing a sleep doctor who started me on the bi-pap mask. I am using this for over 2 months now.
I just want to explore options on what yoga can do for me in this area.
Dear Yalgaar,
I see that you just started another post on pranayama elsewehere. This came as a surprise to me. To see what western medicine could do for you, you went see a medical doctor. In my opinion, if you want to know what yoga can do for you, you need to see a yoga therapist or a very experienced yoga teacher in a private class. Excuse me for being repititious, but please do not practice pranayama without proper guidance when you suffer from a serious medical condition.
[QUOTE=Willem;19164]Dear Yalgaar,
I see that you just started another post on pranayama elsewehere. This came as a surprise to me. To see what western medicine could do for you, you went see a medical doctor. In my opinion, if you want to know what yoga can do for you, you need to see a yoga therapist or a very experienced yoga teacher in a private class. Excuse me for being repititious, but please do not practice pranayama without proper guidance when you suffer from a serious medical condition.[/QUOTE]
Dear Willem
I have a serious medical condition. sleep apnea and I am already using a bi-pap mask for the same. It is already helping a big deal. So far whatever I have read about yoga and whatever I have been doing about yoga has only helped. I sure do intend to see a yoga instructor as soon as I can that way I can gain more knowledge on the subject and practice more of yoga that will be helpful in my life. Some of the pranayams I am doing are based on what my father taught me. He is not a professional yoga instructor but doing it for many many years and have trained several people. But I am trying to gain as much information that will help me understand my best options to choose the rigt guru.
I have a question.
In Kundalini Yoga there is a pranayama very similar to Anuloma-Viloma, named Sukha
Purvakha:
http://yoga-age.com/modern/kun6.html#_VPID_66
Is anybody familiar with it ?
For the sinus blockage, I use a positive pressure system called NeilMed that comes with measured packets of pharmaceutical grade salt. It works the same as a neti pot, except that instead of the pot you use a plastic squeeze bottle. You could also use the salt for your neti pot. You can get it at CVS.