13) Clear Nose Nirvana

March 14, 2021: Tonight as I'm laying in bed with the humidifier humming softly by the window and I'm reviewing the day, I become aware that both my nostrils are completely clear for the first time in the last couple weeks.  I draw in a clean breath of cool, fresh air through my nostrils, filling my empty sinuses and imagine this as aerating a clean tunnel from the outside to the inside of my brain.  This wonderful feeling is the process of inhaling like James Nestor describes in his book, Breath: The new science of a lost art.

My own description of nose breathing is "Going to bed with a clear nose is like experiencing Nirvana'".  This tunnel I imagine that absorbs oxygen from the outside world while delivering it in a cleaner state to my sinuses, brain, and internal systems, before expelling it as carbon dioxide back into the world of plants; to be processed back into oxygen once again.

There is quite a bit on the net about nasal breathing strategies connected to yoga, meditation, and mindfulness. According to Nestor, nasal breathing is the original way humans were meant to breath, or at least a powerful tool in orchestrating the balance between nose and mouth breathing. Sometimes I can keep my mouth shut and breath through my nose, and other times I use a nasal decongestant to assist in that process. Balancing my nasal passages also is part of a strategy for stopping nose bleeds as well: keeping the nasal passage level while pinching so the drainage comes out the front rather than down the throat. This leveling along with staying still and concentrating on clearly opening nasal passages calms the situation and can lead blood flow stoppage.