___YOGIC APPROACH TO DIET___

Whatever we eat can generally be considered as diet. It consists of concrete things such as solid food, fluids, air. Although people sometimes don’t realize it, proper diet is an integral part of yoga. Food is your sustenance, the source of the thousands of ingredients your body needs to keep you alive and healthy, but it can also be the source of substances that may be harming you. Diet can play a huge role both in causing and perpetuating disease, as well as in helping to remedy the situation if you are already sick. Using your diet as a tool for health and healing is so consistent with the philosophy of yoga as medicine, precisely because it’s safe and effective and is something you can do for yourself.

Some of the yogic thinking on diet is based on philosophical ideas about nonviolence and compassion and, as a result, most yogis – though not all – are vegetarians. Whatever the motivation, the health advantages of a vegetarian diet include a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, colon cancer etc. Vegetarians generally have lower blood pressure and cholesterol readings as well. From a yogic perspective, food is meant to be balanced and a ‘sattvic’ or clear state of mind.

According to Ayurvedic and yogic teaching, the three GUNAS or qualities are said to infuse everything.

      1) SATTVA  (sattvic)  - The quality of calm/clarity/balance. Fruits, vegetables, cereals, milk, curd, buttermilk, butter, ghee etc.

      2)  RAJAS  (rajasic)  -  The quality of activity/restlessness/passion.  Excessively bitter, sour, salts, pungent, Liquor, intoxicating things, meat, fish, garlic, onion, egg.

     3) TAMAS  (tamasic)  -  The quality of inertia/dullness. Tasteless, packed, rotten or stinking food items.

From a Yogic and Ayuredic perspective, fresh food is best, because food loses prana (life energy), when it is canned or processed (even when it is just refrigerated and reheated). Fresh food is not only is the vitamin content higher, but the food tastes better. Most processed food has large amount of salt, sugar and unhealthy fats, preservatives added to it, while much of the fibre and many of the vitamins and healthy plant chemicals have been lost in manufacturing and storage.

Furthermore fruits and vegetables contain fibres which prevent or cure constipation. It is a common experience that one who suffers from constipation cannot practice asanas (postures) well. Cereals provide mostly carbohydrates. These constituents give heat to the body. Butter and ghee provide fat to the body and also provide heat. Besides, it oils the joints. Proteins are available from milk, curd and buttermilk. This is necessary for the constitution of the body and the reconstruction of the cells. Hathayoga Pradeepika says, one’s diet should be nutritious, sweet, and oily and it should be nourishing. Moreover, it should please and satisfy the mind and should be pleasant in taste. This kind of food is called SATTVIC FOOD.

The yoga shastra (yoga scripture) describes ‘how much to eat’ together with ‘what to eat’. It lays emphasis on ‘mit-ahar’ (temperance in eating).  Several yoga shastras have suggested that while eating, one should fill half the stomach with food, a quarter with water and the remaining quarter for free movement of air. From a yogic perspective you are not just what you eat, but also how you eat. Yoga encourages you to be aware of every bite you put in your mouth, noticing its taste, texture and temperature. Yogis suggest you think about where your food came from and feel gratitude toward those who grew it and prepared it. To facilitate awareness and better digestion, yoga says; eat slowly in an undistracted fashion. It is best not to read or watch television while you chew, but instead to attend to the meal in front of you. The more you can make eating a form of meditation, the healthier it is likely to be. Such awareness tends to prevent overeating and can make a big difference in your weight.