Yogic and medical science understand the respiratory system very differently. For example, yoga recognizes mucus discharge as a beneficial elimination of toxic wastes from the body and effectively promotes the cleaning process by using the Hatha yoga shatkarmas in conjunction with heat promotion procedures. Because the symptoms of excessive mucus discharge usually arise in child weather and at the change of season, the problem is recognized as one of imbalance of body heat.
The yogic approach to rectifying imbalance in the respiratory system is gradual and gentle, with the emphasis on redirecting subtle energies rather than on just gross physical manipulation. Unlike the surgical process of antral washout, in yogic science cleaning of the sinuses is accomplished readily and painlessly by jala neti Kriya. Cases of long standing sinusitis, for example, respond rapidly to neti Kriya, which is fundamental to the health of the upper respiratory tract.
The introduction of yoga into medical practice will open new doorways of approach to treating many respiratory diseases.
