The sense of smell- known as olfaction- is one of the special six senses in the human body and helps detect different smells and odors. It allows us to differentiate between the pleasant and unpleasant odors which are a part of the environment we live in. Olfaction is at optimum best when the nasal passage is clear and free of any debris/mucus/irritants. Clogged airways or nasal passages are working at a slowed pace and under immense pressure while struggling to simply breathe freely!
Practicing Jala Neti through a Neti Pot helps in clearing the nasal passage and thereby directly contributes to improving the sense of smell. When food smells great, our appetite is stimulated and we are able to consume to our belly’s and heart’s content. If this sense of smell is compromised, automatically our intake of food is reduced as the sense of smell is also interlinked with the sense of taste. Clogged nostrils force us to breathe through the mouth which makes the mouth go dry and the sense of taste is also compromised.
You may have noticed that whenever you have a cough or cold, you do not feel like eating too much and keep fussing a lot over food. Without eating well, the body does not gain the energy it needs to recover from illness and this whole process causes a lot of discomfort. Neti kriya through a Neti Pot is known to improve the sensitivity of the olfactory nerves and help in regaining the lost sense of smell. It supports the relationship that taste and the digestive process share with each other by enhancing the taste so that the food intake is increased and the body gets the energy it needs to help you recover faster.
It is common knowledge that when any of the body’s functions are impacted by a compromised immune system it affects the overall well-being and hampers day to day life. When any of the six important senses are compromised- the six senses being the sense of vision, the sense of touch, the sense of smell, the sense of taste and the sense of balance- the result is visible. The process of olfaction works through tiny bits called molecules which are airborne- they enter the body via the nose and the mouth and attach themselves to receptor cells which line the mucus membranes in the nose. To help understand the olfactory system in simple words- there are neurons which have one end in direct contact with the external world and the other set of neurons which are in direct contact with the brain.
Let us introduce you to a fun fact- The 400 receptor cell types in the olfactory system can distinguish anywhere between 10000 to even a trillion different odors based on recent research! This is a testament to the wonderful creation that our human body is! Let’s do our best to keep this machine running in its optimum capacity by tracing our roots and embracing natural time-tested methods which have been proven safe!