 By Elena Voropay Food is central to good health, it is medicine you take every day and so is the most important factor in maintaining good health and in avoiding disease. In the process of trying to establish good eating habits, it is not necessary or even desirable to become food obsessed, that is, weighing, measuring, analyzing your food, rather if you adhere to a general principle of right eating you can achieve much more stable results. Yogis and Yoginis don't eat any differently then other people. All they do is follow basic principles of good balanced nutrition from fresh whole natural foods, in balanced proportions - this is the only diet that most of you will ever need to follow. The Yoga Nourishment Section will be your healthy eating guide and will answer all your questions and concerns of what should be on your plate.
There are several reasons that the the body needs or desires food, one is to supply it with energy so that it can continue its normal functioning. The body also needs food to repair tissues and organs. These are the two primary reasons for eating food, but since the body, as pointed out, is subservient to the mind, the mind also creates reasons to eat. For instance, food is often used as a substitute for love and affection, or a means to relieve tension or fear, or it may also be used to relieve boredom or depression.
 It seems unnecessary to argue the question of overeating. Everybody who has eaten too heartily can remember from their own experience the results. Lethargy, a bloated feeling, pain, sickness, are all evident at times. While inwardly, if the practice is habitual, the most obvious results are an enlargement of the stomach, displacement of large and small intestines and formation of excessive fat, with their attendant health threats.
Digestion takes an enormous amount of energy. If our body has to process more food than it needs, it is placing undue strain upon the system. It must be realised however, that most of the masters of Yoga have not been very interested in gaining converts to their way of life. They were content to merely live it themselves and help only those who asked, so these principles must he read with this in mind. The Yogic Diet is a vegetarian one, consisting of pure, simple, natural foods which are easily digested and promote health. Simple meals aid the digestion and assimilation of foods. According to Yoga principles, we should treat our foods as healing remedies. Eating moderately is one of the principles accepted by most teachers and another is to avoid eating meat. Enjoy the most natural foods from plants - vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, herbs and spices. With all their wonderful colours, smells and textures, all the gifts of nature will give you energy, vitality and health. If you want to treat a particular ailment, you can do it with Yoga Remedies - healing vitamins, minerals, antioxidants all found in the Yogic Diet. Experiment, discover, learn and enjoy! You don't have to be a vegetarian and avoid eating all animal products to do Yoga. But as you become more aware of your body, you'll find that eating meat makes you feel heavy. A plant-based vegetarian diet, on the other hand, helps you maintain the light and energy you get from practicing yoga. Just go easy on the fried spring rolls and cheese dishes—they can put on the weight, and are really not the best choices. Anything heavily processed is stripped from essential living nourishing nutrients, so you don't get much from these foods other than empty calories. And these add up to unwanted kilos! So what do yogis eat? A vegetarian yoga diet, of course. With their deep colors, flavors, and odors, vegetarian foods are the most natural sources of nutrients, if they haven't been processed -- vegetables and fruits, pasta and rice, whole grain breads, enriched cereals, nuts, legumes, pulses, soy products, tofu, and some even eat eggs, dairy products, fish and poultry.
What Is a Yogic Diet?
According to the principles layed out in the Yogic philosophy there are three types of food: - Sattvic Food which is considered pure food. These foods are fresh fruits and vegetables, uncontaminated milk or cheese products, as well as nuts and whole grains, both soothing and nourishing to the body and is considered the best food source.
- Rajasic Food which is considered stimulating food. It includes spicy foods, meats and processed foods which can arouse the emotions, they may bring about a state of nervousness or dis-ease. They cause circulatory disorders like high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries and uric acid diseases.
- Tamasic Food which is rotting, diseased or decaying food. Basically, it is any food which is overly ripe and decaying, this is the most toxic state of any food and it will poison the body and cause immediate harm.
True Yogic diet is especially important if we want to elevate our consciousness to the stage where we're feeling love and compassion for all living beings—including animals. Eating them, rather than respecting and caring about them, simply hardens our hearts, moving this goal beyond our reach. Foods to Eat:
• Fresh, sweet fruit of all types, preferably taken whole.
• All vegetables except onions and garlic.
• Whole grains, such as rice, wheat and oats.
• Ideally beans like mung, aduki and soy, other types in moderation.
• Not overly roasted or salted nuts and seeds such as almonds, coconuts, walnuts, pecans and sesame.
• Butter, ghee (clarified butter) and all good natural plant-based oils like sesame, olive and sunflower.
• Dairy products like milk, ghee, yogurt and cottage cheese from dairy animals who've been treated well.
• Natural sugars such as jaggery, honey, maple syrup and molasses.
• Ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, fennel, cumin, coriander, turmeric, mint, basil, fenugreek and other such sweet spices.
• Herbal teas, natural water and fresh juices, particularly of the lemony kind.
• Foods prepared with love and consciousness. Foods to Avoid:
• Meat, fish and eggs.
• Artificial, processed and junk foods.
• Canned food, except naturally canned fruits and tomatoes.
• Animal fats, margarine and poor quality oils.
• Factory farm dairy products.
• Garlic, onions and other over-spiced food.
• Fried food.
• White sugar and white flour.
• Artificial sweeteners.
• Old, stale, over and reheated food.
• Alcohol, tobacco and all other stimulants.
• Tap water and artificial beverages.
• Microwaved and irradiated food.
• Genetically engineered food.
• Foods eaten in a disturbed environment or eaten too quickly. |
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