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[post_content] => My 12-year-old is always asking me to tell her stories from my childhood, so I recently described the time when I got into big trouble for making long-distance calls to an out-of-state girlfriend. The phone bill was over $500. “Wait,” she asked, “you mean, the phone company charged you more money because the person lived farther away?” It’s such a foreign concept today when we can have a video conversation with someone on the other side of the planet for free! (Moment of gratitude for communication technology . . . Amen.)
Our talk turned to how the world was more culturally insular back then. I explained that many of the Eastern philosophical and medical concepts that are commonplace in our house and community only became mainstream in the past few decades. Global connectedness has allowed us to share the pearls of our cultures with receptive others around the world in an unprecedented way. It’s awesome.
The only downside is that details – and sometimes even the core value – can get lost in translation. One particular “incomplete translation” I’ve been working on correcting for 20 years has to do with the yogic practice of neti – which can be a valuable part of our immune enhancement routine in these crazy times.
Neti – AKA “nasal washing” – comes from the millennia-old tradition of Ayurveda. It cleanses and soothes the nasal passages and is great for people with allergies, crusty nasal mucus, difficulty breathing through the nose, snoring, and frequent colds and flus. By helping to clean and heal our upper airway, it may help the body to more effectively catch and kill airborne viruses. However, traditionally neti has always been prescribed in combination with another practice called nasya – but somehow almost no one knows about it.
While salt water in the nasal passages can clean out the gunk and calm the membranes down, it can also leave them dry and vulnerable. Sometimes the dryness even causes these membranes to respond by producing more mucus. This is why nasya – the practice of lubricating the inside of the nose with oil – is essential. Whereas neti can potentially “strip” your nasal passages, nasyacoats and protects them.
Several years ago, I developed an herb-infused nasya oil called
Dragontree Nasal Oil, and it’s been one of our best sellers. I think it’s been popular partly because of the unique combination of herbs it contains and partly because there just aren’t many products like it out there. One doctor tells me she gives it to all her patients who get frequent colds and flus and says it has helped them tremendously.
Let’s look at the whole neti-nasya practice. A neti pot is shaped like a small tea pot, the spout of which fits comfortably in a nostril. You start with warm, clean water (body temperature is good) to which you add a little salt. The ideal degree of saltiness varies from person to person – about the saltiness of tears is usually good. A standard solution is 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1/2 cup of water. Try this concentration first, and adjust the saltiness if necessary.
Fill the pot with your saline solution, stand over a sink, and place the tip of the spout in one nostril. Tip your head sideways without leaning your head forward or back. As the pot is tipped, the solution should enter one nostril and flow out the other. It helps to keep your mouth open and try not to breathe through your nose. Pour half of the solution through one nostril and then the other half of the solution through the other nostril. This process cleanses the nasal passages of dust, pollen, bacteria, viruses, and other debris which can cause allergies, colds, and sinus infections. If it causes a burning sensation it’s often because there isn’t enough salt for you. Try a little more. Sometimes a pinch of baking soda in the solution can also help.
Now for the nasya. We have often heard from clients that they feel congested after doing neti. This is probably because they didn’t do nasya. There are two main ways of applying oil to the nasal passages. One is to place oil on your (very clean) little finger and use this to lightly coat the inside of each nostril with oil. The other option, which I prefer because it’s more thorough, is to use an eyedropper to instill 4-5 drops of oil into each nostril while lying on a bed with your head hanging slightly off the edge. With this second method, it is best to relax in this position for a few minutes to let the oil penetrate deeply.
A good all purpose (tridoshic) oil for neti is safflower (which is what we use in the
Dragontree Nasal Oil). If you don’t have any on hand, you can use olive oil or even liquid ghee (clarified butter). Nasya provides lubrication and protection against pathogens in the nasal passageways after being cleansed by neti. If the nasya step is skipped then the process of neti can potentially make our membranes more susceptible to irritation and infection.
I have studied and experimented with many forms of “medicated” nasya oil over the years. Typically these oils are infused with various herbs and/or essential oils to enhance the protective and cleansing effect of this practice (or occasionally to calm the mind or achieve some other therapeutic effect). For my own herbed nasya, I chose herbs and oils that are traditionally used to kill germs and calm irritated mucus membranes.
I know it’s a bit of an unusual practice, and due to the herbs sometimes people experience a bit of stinging and a bitter taste when they use it – especially if they have an early stage infection. But I’ve been told so many times that it rapidly cleared whatever was in there, so apparently the effectiveness trumps the weirdness factor!
If you try it, I would love to hear about your experience with it.
Wishing you clear, full breaths,
Peter
P.S if you'd like to use our Dragontree Nasal Oil in your immunity routine, you can find a bottle here:
Grab a bottle of
Dragontree Nasal Oil
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When I was in grad school for Chinese Medicine, I’d often see students hanging around campus engaged in related ancient Chinese arts, such as tai chi, qi gong, calligraphy, studying Chinese astrology or feng shui. It was also common to see a group of students hitting themselves and each other.
They were training in the toughening exercises of martial arts, which I had never witnessed before. This entailed repeatedly knocking the edges of their shins or forearms against each other, or whacking their bodies with a thick bundle of metal wires (called an “iron bundle” or tetsutaba). As I tentatively tried hitting myself with this implement, one of them told me, “You really want to feel your bones rattle when you do it.” Needless to say, they had lots of bruises.
They finished every session by taking out a jug of some pungent brown liquid and rubbing it all over the impacted parts of their bodies. As an herbalist, this was the most interesting part for me. Each guy actually had his own jug of brown stuff, and they often argued about whose was the best.
The brown stuff was called dit da jow (AKA die da jiu) which means something like “hit fall wine” and it’s sometimes just called a hit formula or training formula by martial artists. The purpose of the stuff is to help one recover faster after taking a bunch of kicks and punches. It’s made from a variety of herbs, resins, and minerals that have been soaked in alcohol for about a month. Famous teachers and martial arts schools often have their own recipes, many of which have been in continuous use for centuries and are often held in great secrecy.
Over years of begging and pleading with my fighter friends and hunting down obscure texts, I managed to procure about a dozen different recipes, then proceeded to spend more years studying them. I had hundreds of jars of my own “brown liquids,” made out of countless combinations and permutations of these formulas. Since most of my patients weren’t fighters I expanded the application to include the various ways we’re battered by modern life – athletics, poor posture, sitting for way too long at a desk, carrying kids around, using backpacks, sleeping on a crappy bed, standing on hard floors, wearing heels, etc.
By tracking people’s responses, I gradually moved toward what would eventually be our Muscle Melt liniment. It features a gigantic number of ingredients, but every one is in there for a reason. My high-performance athlete patients regularly tell me that it makes it possible for them to do a super intense workout and be back in action the next day with minimal downtime. If you’re feeling beat up by life, give it a try and tell me what you think.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => Dit Da Jow: Healing Elixir or Ancient Myth?
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I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about the prevalence of life coaches and other professionals who aim to guide others toward reaching their goals or finding psycho-spiritual wellness. He was feeling concerned that there has been a certain commodification of personal growth. While I agreed that this is one facet of how we’ve treated personal growth, I believe that on the whole the notion that we can change who we are has been good for us.
The fundamental issue is that humans suffer. We feel overwhelmed, lost, fearful, confused, alone, angry, sad, etc. This suffering has been compounded by a trend toward disconnection from our foundations. Overall, humans have less of an everyday connection to nature, spirituality, and other humans than in the past. So, there has always been a need for help, and this need has become more acute recently.
Meanwhile, there has also been a trend in the last several decades toward more open discussion on the human psyche, spirit, and potential. We’re freer than ever to speak about our thoughts and feelings, and we explore perspectives from other cultures. We’re more willing than previous generations to see things in a new way, update our customs, change careers, and become someone different than we’ve been. Thus, more than ever we have people who feel a calling to assist others in these ways. Do they deserve to be compensated for their help? I say yes.
The ubiquity of such helpers is a good thing. There are a lot of people needing help. Further, the prevalence of such guides has made everyone up their game. No longer is an exotic outfit or accent qualification enough to be a guru. Consumers are more savvy. And a wonderful byproduct of the expansion of the personal growth field is that it’s not limited to a particular socioeconomic class. There is an incredible abundance of free and cheap resources out there – articles, podcasts, books, videos, and support groups.
If you are able to work one-on-one with a coach you resonate with, there are lots of good reasons to do it:
Accountability: Often we don’t hold ourselves accountable for what we say we’re going to do and who we say we want to be. Having someone else to track us and remind us to stay on course is often all it takes for us to follow through.
Wisdom: A great coach has learned some things, and many can tap into a repository of wisdom that goes well beyond their personal experience.
Holding Space: A good coach knows how to hold a container in which their clients can safely experience whatever they’re struggling with, explore and unravel their challenges, and find their way to healing, growth, and evolution.
Seeing Your Patterns of Dysfunction: One of the most useful functions a coach can serve is pointing out what you can’t see, like the way you keep sabotaging good jobs, or how to don’t maintain healthy boundaries in relationships. We can’t fix what we don’t see.
Seeing Your Light: Often we have no problem seeing what’s “wrong” with us; the real hurdle is seeing what’s right. A good coach is there to point out your gifts, your value, your potential, and all the ways you’re managing with grace.
Hand Holding: While this is a role many a good friend has performed, it’s another thing coaches can do for us. Sometimes we know where we want to go, we know what we need to do, but we just feel intimidated. Having someone hold our hand through it may feel like a silly thing to ask for, but if it gets us to do what we’re here to do, it’s an invaluable service.
Wishing you the guide who will coax out your greatness,
Peter
[post_title] => Six Ways a Coach Can Help You Reach Your True Potential
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[post_content] => My 12-year-old is always asking me to tell her stories from my childhood, so I recently described the time when I got into big trouble for making long-distance calls to an out-of-state girlfriend. The phone bill was over $500. “Wait,” she asked, “you mean, the phone company charged you more money because the person lived farther away?” It’s such a foreign concept today when we can have a video conversation with someone on the other side of the planet for free! (Moment of gratitude for communication technology . . . Amen.)
Our talk turned to how the world was more culturally insular back then. I explained that many of the Eastern philosophical and medical concepts that are commonplace in our house and community only became mainstream in the past few decades. Global connectedness has allowed us to share the pearls of our cultures with receptive others around the world in an unprecedented way. It’s awesome.
The only downside is that details – and sometimes even the core value – can get lost in translation. One particular “incomplete translation” I’ve been working on correcting for 20 years has to do with the yogic practice of neti – which can be a valuable part of our immune enhancement routine in these crazy times.
Neti – AKA “nasal washing” – comes from the millennia-old tradition of Ayurveda. It cleanses and soothes the nasal passages and is great for people with allergies, crusty nasal mucus, difficulty breathing through the nose, snoring, and frequent colds and flus. By helping to clean and heal our upper airway, it may help the body to more effectively catch and kill airborne viruses. However, traditionally neti has always been prescribed in combination with another practice called nasya – but somehow almost no one knows about it.
While salt water in the nasal passages can clean out the gunk and calm the membranes down, it can also leave them dry and vulnerable. Sometimes the dryness even causes these membranes to respond by producing more mucus. This is why nasya – the practice of lubricating the inside of the nose with oil – is essential. Whereas neti can potentially “strip” your nasal passages, nasyacoats and protects them.
Several years ago, I developed an herb-infused nasya oil called
Dragontree Nasal Oil, and it’s been one of our best sellers. I think it’s been popular partly because of the unique combination of herbs it contains and partly because there just aren’t many products like it out there. One doctor tells me she gives it to all her patients who get frequent colds and flus and says it has helped them tremendously.
Let’s look at the whole neti-nasya practice. A neti pot is shaped like a small tea pot, the spout of which fits comfortably in a nostril. You start with warm, clean water (body temperature is good) to which you add a little salt. The ideal degree of saltiness varies from person to person – about the saltiness of tears is usually good. A standard solution is 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1/2 cup of water. Try this concentration first, and adjust the saltiness if necessary.
Fill the pot with your saline solution, stand over a sink, and place the tip of the spout in one nostril. Tip your head sideways without leaning your head forward or back. As the pot is tipped, the solution should enter one nostril and flow out the other. It helps to keep your mouth open and try not to breathe through your nose. Pour half of the solution through one nostril and then the other half of the solution through the other nostril. This process cleanses the nasal passages of dust, pollen, bacteria, viruses, and other debris which can cause allergies, colds, and sinus infections. If it causes a burning sensation it’s often because there isn’t enough salt for you. Try a little more. Sometimes a pinch of baking soda in the solution can also help.
Now for the nasya. We have often heard from clients that they feel congested after doing neti. This is probably because they didn’t do nasya. There are two main ways of applying oil to the nasal passages. One is to place oil on your (very clean) little finger and use this to lightly coat the inside of each nostril with oil. The other option, which I prefer because it’s more thorough, is to use an eyedropper to instill 4-5 drops of oil into each nostril while lying on a bed with your head hanging slightly off the edge. With this second method, it is best to relax in this position for a few minutes to let the oil penetrate deeply.
A good all purpose (tridoshic) oil for neti is safflower (which is what we use in the
Dragontree Nasal Oil). If you don’t have any on hand, you can use olive oil or even liquid ghee (clarified butter). Nasya provides lubrication and protection against pathogens in the nasal passageways after being cleansed by neti. If the nasya step is skipped then the process of neti can potentially make our membranes more susceptible to irritation and infection.
I have studied and experimented with many forms of “medicated” nasya oil over the years. Typically these oils are infused with various herbs and/or essential oils to enhance the protective and cleansing effect of this practice (or occasionally to calm the mind or achieve some other therapeutic effect). For my own herbed nasya, I chose herbs and oils that are traditionally used to kill germs and calm irritated mucus membranes.
I know it’s a bit of an unusual practice, and due to the herbs sometimes people experience a bit of stinging and a bitter taste when they use it – especially if they have an early stage infection. But I’ve been told so many times that it rapidly cleared whatever was in there, so apparently the effectiveness trumps the weirdness factor!
If you try it, I would love to hear about your experience with it.
Wishing you clear, full breaths,
Peter
P.S if you'd like to use our Dragontree Nasal Oil in your immunity routine, you can find a bottle here:
Grab a bottle of
Dragontree Nasal Oil
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