Jala Neti is a form of nasal irrigation that has used in India by Ayurveda and Yoga  practitioners for a very long time. Before performing yoga, practitioners undertake six purification techniques one of which is neti. It is becoming increasingly popular in the West to control the symptoms sinusitis, and allergic rhinitis and other related conditions. More and more people are suffering from respiratory illnesses and nasal congestion perhaps because of increasing pollution in our environment. Regularly washing out the nasal passages with a salt solution can help these conditions. It is safe to do and pleasant and only takes about 10 minutes, so is easily fitted into your day.

The simplest technique to use is a salt solution in lukewarm water at the same concentration of your tears. This ensures that there is no discomfort as it flows through your nose and removes mucus, pollen, bacteria, dust and dirt. Using a neti pot is an easy technique to learn and pleasant to perform. In the nasal passages fine hairs and membranes prevent foreign substances from entering the body. If the nose is exposed to high concentrations of pollutants, chemicals, pollen, dust etc. this filtering mechanism becomes overloaded and ceases to work efficiently. Washing the nose regularly with a salt solution helps to clear the nose and allow the filtering mechanism to work as it's supposed to.

1. Prepare a salt solution by mixing 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodized salt in 8 ounces of lukewarm water and add to the neti pot.
2. Stand over the sink and tilt your head to one side.
3. But the spout of the neti pot into the nostril that is raised and slowly raise the neti pot until the salt water filled the frontal sinuses and drips out the other nostril.
4. Make sure you relax and breathe gently through the mouth.
5. When you have used about half the salt solution swap nostrils, tip the head the other way and finish off all the solution in the pot.

It is important to dry out the nostrils afterwards. To do this hang their head towards the breathe through the nose 10 times. Tip the head to the side of the breathe out 10 times. Repeat with the head tilted the other way. Stand up breathe out through the nose 10 times then holding one finger over a nostril breathed out through the other nostril, then repeat on the other side.

The video below is the best one I have seen to show you the techniques clearly..