The Yoga Of Allergies

I’ve had the privilege as many of us in Austin, Texas do, of having allergies. The allergies hit this body like a dam of nose and ear-blockers last Wednesday night and continue today -but to a much lesser degree. Thank God and Guru for meditation. Truly, we are not the body nor the thinking mind’s fluctuations.

As Jordin Sparks asks, “Tell me how I’m supposed to breathe with no air?” is how I felt the past few days. And then the Zen master came to mind. You know, the one whose pupil asked him what the point was of focusing on the breath in meditation practice. The master then dunks the student’s head in a bucket of water, pulls him out and asks, “now do you see the significance of the breath?”

Ain’t it intriguing though? How the Master lies within us? I felt like a Zen Master has been dunking my head in a vat of allergens for days and asking, now Sumukhi, do you see the significance of the breath? Well, yeah. And I practice a whole lot of Pranayama, but believe you me, the simple practices of alternate nostril breathing, nadi shodhana, kapalabhati and bhastrika have taken on incredible meaning in the past few days. And my inability to do any of it because of all the blockages in the sinuses brought to light more of their daily significance. How my daily practices are so important and valuable – to maintain that state of equilibrium. In Ayurveda, it is explained that most diseases come from a disharmony with Prana – life-force that comes with breath and that a lot of this dis-ease lies in the large intestine – the seat of Vata – Air – in the body. We can’t breathe without Air. We are one with the, trees, plants, bees, insects, air and atmosphere around us.

My mind likes to keep repeating in light of the allergies – “I can’t stand this. Make this go away.” Which has actually not been helpful at all – because the allergies have been fluctuating since the end of November, meaning one day all the symptoms are manifesting and the next, they are totally gone. And then BOOM! back again. Kind of like those thought-forms – you know, the nagging ones that are utterly meaningless yet keep popping up in the mind, that we learn to Witness in meditation. I think a lot of people think the Witness is benign, just this “watcher who does nothing” – ain’t the case actually. My mom told me that back in the day when she was doing her residency training in Pathology in NYC in the “Hill Street Blues” era of the 70’s, she heard someone call out to another who was being mugged on the street and screaming for help: “I hear you, but I can’t help you.” This is not the Witness of meditation. The Witness is so wise, that it doesn’t buy into all the fluctuations, it doesn’t just give up or check out, it doesn’t just react out of panic, it figures out the best course of action, and clears the Way to peace, contentment and health.

Because of allergies, I’ve also been incapable of singing. Now that’s an interesting one for a singer. I’ve had to sing silently in my Heart the past few days and was not able to sing for a dear friend’s wedding because I have not been able to breathe properly. So where does Song come from? Where does the Voice come from? It’s definitely still there – and I’ve gotten to watch the Machine of the body produce sound with blocked nasal passages – and I’m not at all sure what it sounds like. Really, I can’t tell because my ears have been blocked as well. It all sounds like a muddled, out of tune violin. And as always, I am humbled by the fact that nothing is “mine,” not this body, not this voice, not this mind.

So I have the blessing of having a mom who is a Western medical doctor – a lot of people don’t have this and really, I wish everyone did. I can just call up mom and say – hey mom – what should I take? And she tells me what has worked for her and then I go from there. But I’ve always found that when I live in Austin, Texas, I always benefit from having a great Ear-Nose-Throat medical Doctor. Western medicine helps treat the symptoms. And because I like a permanent fix, I go to Eastern Medicine. Acupuncture with Michele Schreiber, herbs, local bee pollen, naturopathy and homeopathy. And I have to explain how important the Ayurvedic practices of Basti are – but that’s another blog post.

How do we work together with nature when the histamines come from tree-borne allergens? For this cedar fever, my buddy told me to go eat a Juniper berry – cedar comes from the Juniper family of trees. And the cedars spew lots of pollens in Austin between December and March. I don’t necessarily believe all these trees should be hacked down like some folks who suffer from these allergies do. But I do believe there must be a way for humans and cedar trees to work together in peace for the good of each other’s LIFE-breath. So here’s the Yoga of Allergies – I’m back in my Biology studies days – experimenting with Nature and figuring out how we work together in peace for the good of all.

I may ask my Plant Studies professors for some advice. And then I’m off to the Natural Pharmacist for more information. I’ve also bought an amazing air filtration system for the house. And of course, I’m religious with the neti-pot and it’s amazing ability to clear the nasal passages. I’ve cut out wheat and all un-natural sugars. But even with all of the above and the umpteen million tons of allergy products and remedies to experiment with, the Yogi needs to come up with a lot of discernment. As Rumi says, “there are thousands of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” And there are thousands of ways to nip an allergy in the bud.

Handstands, I tell ya, are amazing for clearing the sinuses. Headstand, shoulderstand – all the inversions, like surges of energy clearing out the entire nasal cavity. Have a box of tissues for when you come to upright position. Spew. Spew. Spew.

And then there are moments when nothing seems to work. And no matter how many things I’ve eaten correctly, slept well, stuck up my nose, breathed out and spewed, the allergies are still there. The Witness watches even when the head is residing in a blurry cloud of allergens. And breathes in and out of her mouth (even though we know it’s best to breathe in and out of the nose)…for the time being.

This article has been written by Kristina Lanuza. It has been reposted with permission. You can find the original post here.