Yogi's life-hack: how to avoid catching a cold in the Apple era

"Почему мы не любим друг друга?

Кали Юга, дружок, Кали Юга."

This verse of a cute russian song is saying  "why don't we love each other? 

Because of Kali-yuga, my friend, Kali-yuga".

According to Vedas the life circle of the Universe consists of four periods, so called

Yugas and each of them has it's characteristics. If you just briefly look up their descriptions it won't take you long to figure out that Kali-yuga, the one we are living in, is much less fun then the other three!  Opposed to Satya-, Treta- and Dwapara-yugas  Kaliyuga is the time of ignorance, fights and diseases. Never the less there is a prophecy about the "golden age" - a period within Kali-yuga that will be slightly better then the rest. I guess it has come now with the Apple era and I'll justify my reasoning below...

Not sure about ebola but for colds, flues and various respiratory diseases bearded yogis of the past had dozens of life-hacks. In this post I will cover Neti - nasal cleaning techniques. Neti is one of the so called Shatkarmas or Kriyas - purification methods.

According to Ayurveda colds are caused by the surplus of mucus in our bodies. Imagine for a second that on a rainy day you have left the windows of your house open so that the floor and the carpets got wet. To make your place warm and dry again you will probably thoroughly wipe it. Analogously Neti suggests that we should give our nose a salty shower and wipe it with a rubber string. 


Until the age of 23 I was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis and angina. Feeling pain in the throat and not being able to breathe freely (also due to the nasal septum deviation) through three fourths of a year was making my life quality not too good (God bless russian climate!) but things have drastically changed after my yoga teacher has introduced me to Netis. 

0. The anti-muscus step number zero is the tongue cleaning. That is not rocket science and is available to everyone. All you need is a tongue cleaner or a clean spoon.

1. How to: Jala-neti is performed with a saline solution: 1/2 tee spoon of salt to 1 cup of warm water. I sometimes add a drop of honey [non-vegan friendly life-hack]. 
Bend your head to the side and pour the solution into the upper nostril, without swallowing let the water flow into the lower nostril and out. Having a neti pot is very helpful, make sure you keep it clean.

Note: There is a variation of jala-neti when water flows out of the mouth instead of the second nostril. If you live in a cold region make sure that you finish this practise minimum 30 min before you go outside.


2. Sutra-neti, my favourite! You can believe me or not but I really feel how with time this kriya corrects my nasal septum deviation with no surgery and helps me breathe through both nostrils equally.

How to: Stand close to the sink and start pushing the rubber string into one of your nostrils slowly until you feel it in your throat, then grab it's tip in your throat with two fingers (have your nails cut!) and pull it out through your mouth. At the point when you are holding on both ends of the string, for more excitement and better effect you may pull it up and down alternating directions couple of times.


Note: Performing sutra-neti for the first time may be  very tricky, so you better have someone experienced to guide you. Myself I felt embarrassed coughing and spitting in front of my teacher but he kept explaining and calming me down, so finally I could learn. At the end of the day that's what teachers are for. 

Don't go for this kriya if you are already sick and your nose is blocked.


Since the purpose of Netis is purification and not swallowing more bacteria and infections it is very important to keep the rubber string clean. As a frequent traveller I have been often struggling with containers and finally a great solution has arrived (and here the Apple era hymn comes). It is an apple headphones case: use the circumference for the rubber string and the middle for salt to make saline solutions or pills or vitamins that you are taking.

The previous edition of this life hack was a kinder surprise plastic egg, but since it's radius is too small it was making my sutra-neti string too curly.

If you made it to this row then I assume you are now well informed and that should be enough not to catch a cold this winter.

And of course don't put aside the old-school winter remedy: ginger tee flavoured with a warm company of friends will forever stay the funkiest healer!  

DIY: How to make a lip balm for breakfast

My day has started with a dance with oils around a small fire in the kitchen... where I made two jars of lip balm with individual flavours that will become my gifts to two friends of mine who had their birthdays recently.


How the whole story started: 

A while ago on a hot summer day I used some conventional face creme and went straight into the sun. After a quarter of an hour the creme started melting and penetrating into my eyes. The burning sensation became really unbearable! So it was the last time when I was using not a self-made or at least not natural skin care cosmetics (until last week, haha). 

My first attempt to make a face and body creme happened after a meeting with a Lithuanian woman who lives on La Gomera in her own cave that she and her son have turned into an apartment (can you feel the caliber of this personality already?) 

Since we all were staying on a greek island in tents, swimming in the sea instead of breakfast, lunch and dinner, taking evening baths in natural hot springs, my skin has started sending SOS messages, so dry it has become. Vaida was constantly sharing with me her self-made creme that was not just mosturising but also making me high with it's smell. Just before we all departed from the island to let our ways continue she gave me two gifts: the recipe of her creme and a beautiful dark blue arm bracelet that I am wearing since that moment until today and that keeps reminding me on integral people who stays true to their Skins.  

Also lately I discovered that some women around me are on a similar path and even much much  further: Josie who mentioned that she is washing her face with oils and obviously has many other useful tricks in her pocket and Caroline who makes such wonderful products that you won't believe that soaps are soaps and not cupcakes or cookies - so much you would be willing to have a bite. I wish I have spent more time with Josie but she has left now. Still I hope to learn more from Caroline. 

Less talk, more pictures: DIY - HOW TO MAKE A LIP BALM  

BASE INGREDIENTS: beeswax, almond oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil  

Step1: set up the fire and your intention

Step2: let the base ingredients enjoy melting together while you are melting together with your breakfast and the tunes of Bustan Abraham [this is currently my favourite artist, pick yours] 

Step3: add some individual components based on what you know and how you feel about the pereson, maybe check with Ayurveda or your preferred knowledge system about life, pour the substance into a jar. I like using a glass to protect the table since I am so clumsy, maybe you are as well... at the end - who likes to clean when it is avoidable?

Pre-final step: let the final product cool down, don't underestimate nature's habit to take it's time, so you chill out too! As an idea: go for another cup of herbal tea. 

And don't forget the step number Final - deliver this gift to the person you made it for :)

I really hope that my kittens will be glad to receive their presents now and you'll enjoy trying this simple but rich recipe. 

Severely yours, L. 

UPD:

• by varying the amount of beeswax and liquid oils in the base part you can turn the lip balm into a facial creme or body lotion. keep in mind that in winter both balm and creme will become thinker, so adjust the proportions accordingly 
• i avoid using plastic or aluminium and would advise that you do so as well. glass and ceramic are your friends