Neti Pot = Bye Bye Snot

Guess What?  I have been sick lately with a wicked sinus infection (self diagnosis), and today just like my man Popeye used to say "I had all I can stand, and I can't stand no more".  The sinus pressure and all of the snot pushed me right over the edge.  I asked Beth my loving wife to whom I am fotrunate that she loves me so much, to go to Walgreen's and buy me a Neti Pot, similar to the one on the left.
I first became aware of Neti Pots about 10 years ago when I minored in religious studies at SIUE.  One of my Professors Greg Fields wrote the book on Ayurvedic Medicine.  Seriously, check it out.  "Religious Therapeutics: Body and Health in Yoga, Ayurveda, and Tantra" maybe it is not THE book but it is a book.  Anyway he brought a Neti Pot to class one day and explained what it was for and how it was used.  He didn't actually use it though, that  might have freaked some people out.  At the time even though I had a tremendous ammount of respect for Dr. Fields, I was thinking that pouring salty water into your nose was an outright ridiculous thing to do.  It sounded more like a drunken bet than anything that would be the slightest bit beneficial.  Well that was 10 years ago and now thanks to Oprah everyone(?) knows about Neti Pots, it's the latest thing in ancient medicine.
I read the directions ,watched a couple videos on YouTube, and I was off to the bathroom.  I invited everyone to come watch, but there were no takers.  I mixed the solution for "beginners" half a salt packet with 4-6oz lukewarm water, and proceeded to rinse out my sinuses.  Now what they don't explain is that there is a bit of a learning curve involved with this sort of activity.  On the videos everyone must have been an expert because it went in one side and out the other as pretty as you please.  I was not so proficient.  My nostrils must be larger than a normal human's because on side number 1 most of it leaked out the same side, very little found it's way through.  Some even went down the back of my throat, Mmmm salty.  The other side went a little better as I figured out how to hold the Pot to keep the solution from leaking out.  When it trickled through the other side it didn't fall into the sink but instead it ran down my chin and soaked my shirt.  Stopping was not an option though, I was going to power through it.  And I did.  So there I was standing in the bathroom with my shirt soaked in salty snot water, I won't lie it was kinda gross, but hey the pressure in my sinuses was less than it was before, and I actually feel a little better.  In a while I will do it again and this time I will focus on technique.  That's all for now I have to go watch some more videos.