Problem breathing through nose

[Chris P]

First thing in the morning, when I start yoga, I have a problem with my nose becoming completely stuffed up when I put my head at even a horizontal level. This interferes with my building of heat among other things. I can get past it if I take a shower first and then struggle with my breathing for 5 min. or so... but O how this sucks. The breathing problem is caused "officially" by "allergies".
I also have been using a nasal douche once a week or more. It helps. Any other suggestions? Solutions?

[JakeS]

I had the same problem and solved it with a warm up. Turns out that most nasal decongestants actually mimic the body's natural response to adrenaline. I just needed to warm up and exert myself a bit. My warm up usually consists of running or cycling for a few minutes, some pushups, or asanas that don't need a warm up. Really anything to wake me up. That usually loosens things up enough that I can clear it all out. I seldom have any congestion throughout my workout.

Also herbal teas containing thyme and sweetened with honey seem to help me too, if I'm really congested.

Hope that helps,
Jacob

[sacyogini]

Have you tried a neti pot to clear out the sinus passages? You can get them lots of places. Basically running warm water with a bit of salt through. It really clears out the sinuses. I use mine in my morning shower.

[InnerAthlete]

Hello Chris.

Please pardon any exasperation you may detect in my reply. I must constantly beg posters who are asking therapeutic questions to actually share something of themselves that we may use as a clue to help them.

I see that this is your first post and it has been recently pointed out that my approach is not particularly compassionate. I will try and keep my issues at bay as I reply. Unfortunately the reply others want does not lend itself to economy of words.

Chris, when one encounters yoga as a health care system then an intake of the student is essential. In this case it would be helpful to know the following thingies:

Are you make or female?
Are you 20 or 50?
In what climate do you live?
What is your medical history?
What allergies have been identified and through what health care modality?
What is your diet like (an outline rather than "I eat healthy")?

Also:
In what style are you doing asana?
Are you doing other thing other than asana?
What sequence are you using for asana?
How long is your practice and how often are you doing it?

What are the ingredients of your nasal douche.

With this sort of information it is more likely that you will get a reply that is more than anecdotal.

[Pandara]

IA, you being accused of incompassion - had a good laugh now. Impatient more likely, but then who would not at the illogic statements and scarcity of information.

I find your answers always enlightening if the information provided initially was complete. Thanks for the wealth of knowledge you are prepared to share with us.