Is diet an overlooked part of yoga? I find it interesting that I posted a question about finding a book on yoga diet and no one had a response. I know there are websites that talk about yoga diet but I was hoping someone could direct me to a credible book on it. Yoga is a way of life, the biggest and most important part of yoga is breathing, followed by eating, and yoga postures are lesss important than those two. I have seen very few responses on here from my posts or other posters posts on how diet can hlep out certain issues, lke shyness, depression, anxiety, emtiness etc… sny thoghts?
Hi,
The only book that I aware of is “Sivananda Companion to Yoga: A Complete Guide to the Physical Postures, Breathing Exercises, Diet, Relaxation and Meditation Techniques of Yoga”. I have never read it and done little more than flick through it in the book section of my local yoga studio, but it seems good.
I did a quick lookup on amazon and the ratings are pretty positive.
I hope that helps 
Hi,
I can appreciate the myriad of opinions relating to diet and yoga. The most connected topic comes from the ancient wisdom of the sister science to yoga; that of Ayurveda. The specificity and accuracy is remarkable and very much a lifetime of healing, balance and positive results coming from the profound wisdom of Ayurveda. There are fine schools and books in New Mexico. The best authors are Dr. Vasant Lad, Dr. Robert Svoboda and David Frawlely.
I’ve added a link to some other resources on our web site.
I don’t know if there is a specific “yoga diet”. But to answer your question, I do believe it is an overlooked part of yoga. When I first started yoga, I was living a very toxic life- overeating, drinking, not sleeping enough, working too hard (it’s when the restaurant first opened). I always felt like a fraud doing yoga, so eventually I stopped.
I came back to yoga last year when I decided enough was enough and started to clean up my life. I quit drinking, I quit eating sugar and fried foods (among other stuff)- and essentially started taking care of myself. For me, that’s been an essential part of my yoga practice (on and off the mat). So, for me, I think it’s more about cleaning up your diet than a specific diet itself.
A Yogin/Yogini is required to have a vegetarian diet. In India yoga teachers generally suggest their students the kind of fruits , dry fruits vegetables etc. they should eat & also what should be avoided. Even what you should eat for breakfast , lunch & dinner is discussed. The fault lies with the teachers & not Yoga, nothing is overlooked.
Exactly, I was not trying to imply that yoga has overlooked the diet but rather some of the people who practice it may overlook this part. I have bought three yoga books on diet in the past week and none are very good.
I’m just biting my yogi tongue here.
This bit about yoga and vegetarianism really pulls my chain.
I am fully aware of the reference in classical yoga text. And that’s fine and well. I study classical text and find the Gita, Upanishads, Sutras, and Pradipika as wonderful guides for my yoga life.
Tubeseeker your sense about diet being very relevant to the yogi is on target. I’m not aware of a book per se but my teacher, whom I respect greatly, speaks often of diet and gives regular nutrition lectures free to the public.
What is of great concern to me is when yoga approaches dogma and asserts that one rule is the right fit for all practitioners. This is a stance to be owned by organized religion, which Yoga is not.
I do not eat much in the way of meat but think for some it is appropriate to eat meat and there are, of course, instance where it is is not a violation of ahimsa. But vegans disagree and they do so in such a strong way that their very stance violates ahimsa itself.
A yogi that doesn’t eat meat but drinks two lattes a day and lives on refined sugars seems open to examination. If you are respecting your body’s needs and doing so from a heart chakra perspective (rather than the head or pelvis) then it’s okay for you. I personally do not drink coffee or alcohol and think the result of these things on the nervous system is not in the best interest of any yogi. We should consider feeling MORE rather than feeling less or masking.
This general perspective is not held by all yoga factions. In fact Sharon Gannon and David Life of Jivamukti are staunch vegans and spoke of it at the last Omega Conference in NY.
The bigger question is what is right for you, for your body?