Well, I’m new to the forum for the most part and have recently gotten into meditation. I currently do a sadhana for the most benefit for my meditation time, but now I’m wondering about diet.
What effects have you guys found from diet and meditation. EX. overfull, empty stomach, vegetarian diet, greasy diet. Or does it simply not really overall effect your meditation practice?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Hi fireflyin
Welcome to the forum.
Yes i have noticed recently since reducing my dietary intake it made a discernible difference.It meant sadhana scheduling was easier AND it amplified effects,double whammy of benefits.And i simply felt better.
I found Amir Mourad’s sadhana suggestion of 1 meal a day helpful (feeling free to snack if you really must, like an orange or a few nuts,hot drink etc )
But yes it made a difference. I’m not vegetarian yet but I just disciplined myself in terms of reducing the amount i eat and it made quite a difference so it is certainly worth it. I also felt lighter and looser around the core region.
It was just a matter of adapting through the first three days for me as i tended to eat too much previously and it would also just sit in the abdomen as it did’nt help that might digestion was a bit sluggish also. …
You know I think I might try the one meal. Because even doing sadhana’s in the morning my core feels weighted from the prior nights meal.
A double whammy, wow; I’m quite excited at the possibilities as I find a really good meditation transfers positively throughout the day.
Thanks so much for your input.
Hi fireflyin
Do give it a go.
Get through the first 3 days and you stop thinking about food so much thereafter.
You should notice the difference and the benefits, particularly in your core region.It was noticeable here.
Ah jezus. 1 meal a day!? Buddha ate one meal a day (if that) because he didn’t need to eat.
The practitioner should eat so as to keep their body in good health.
But do whatever makes you happy I suppose. Does restricting yourself to one meal a day make you happy? If yes then by all means knock yourself out.
Svatmarama in his HYP mentions a rumbling belly as an obstacle… yep he sure does right there in the beginning of his discourse.
I’m really surprised that so few people have gotten into this discussion, since diet, and especially vegetarianism is such a big deal with a lot of yoga people. I expected some of the Ayurveda people would have something to say about diet in relation to one’s particular constitution.
I personally do not recommend starving yourself to try to get a better meditation experience. I think that no matter what information or advice you get, it all boils down to you and your own experience. Obviously you’ve already heard the standard advice, i.e. vegetarian diet, asana on an empty stomach, meditation on a not-full but not necessarily empty stomach.
A person has to be in a fairly high state of awareness to notice the effects of diet on meditation practice. First of all, you need to have a fairly consistent practice in order to observe how variations in food intake affect it. My suggestion to you is to just experiment. Develop a consistent practice and then develop your awareness of how diet affects it. Then you will be the expert.
Diet is such an emotive subject, and it brings up very strong feelings and reactions in people.
Swami Satyananda said that there is much more harm done by worrying about diet, than the actual diet it self.
He recommended that as beginners we should not worry about diet, but simply practice diligently each day with our asana, pranayama, meditation, and hopefully the Yamas and Niyamas… and when one does this for some time… one’s body and higher levels will ‘speak to you’ and you will become aware of what is not suiting your body or your mind or your inner more subtle energies… and in time these things that we are putting inside our bodies will simply fall away. No need to make huge efforts to give up certain things before we are ready for it… they will simply drop away when the time is right.
About 18 years ago after practicing yoga for a number of years i wanted to become vegetarian, so i stopped eating meat. After about 2 weeks i noticed i was often day dreaming about bacon sandwiches and other food stuffs which i had ‘cut out’. In the end after about 2 months, i weakened and went back eating meat.
About 2 years later after diligently practicing each day, i became sick after a meal. I didn’t think too much about it, and the next day when i felt better i thought i would have something to eat… and a ham sandwich came to mind. When it did, my stomach turned over and i felt slightly nauseous, so i thought… ah that much be a bit heavy for me at present, so i had soup or something lighter instead.
The same thing happened to me for about the next 3 days, until i suddenly thought to myself… hey… maybe my body (or higher being) is letting me know that meat is too heavy for me. So i decided to try it day by day to continue with this vegetarian diet.
And after 1 month i felt great. Much lighter, clearer in thought, much more consistent energy levels (no ups and downs) and generally much better in myself. And yes my meditation was much clearer and focused.
I have many other stories regarding this over the last 15 years, but i should add that i do eat fish… but that merits another story some other day.
I really think that Swami Satyananda’s advice is very wise. Do not put the cart before the horse. Best to do what feels right to you, and practice as much yoga and meditation as possible and ‘listen’ to your body and your higher being. It is different for each person, and also at different times of our life.
Having said that, if you feel drawn towards being Vegetarian, i would highly recommend it. There is an excellent book called the Sivinanda yoga cook book, which has beautiful vegetarian recipes, by Giai books. The first chapter is most informative and lists which foods are rajasic, tamasic and satvic. Beautiful book.
If you get into doing more involved and advanced meditation practices, you will often find that a further refined diet is taken up for a few weeks prior to initiation into these practices, and onions and garlic are also cut out as these are rajasic in nature. The ‘winds’ caused by these foods are reflected in the inner winds, which in turn disturb the mental awareness used within meditation.
Best to watch your diet, notice how you 'feel after your meal, and again how you feel 1 hour later… and 2 hours later. Try not to overeat, reduce or eliminate processed foods, cut down or cut out meat and alcohol when and if the time is right for you. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables (organic if you can afford them), grains, legumes, nuts and a wide range of foods… freshly cooked rather than re-heated or zapped in a micro wave.
I wish you well with your practice.
Best Wishes,
Dave
Last year for my new years resolution I decided to become a vegetarian for one month to see how I like it. 5 day’s into my wife joined me. At the end of the 30 day’s we both felt much better and decided to continue it.
We are not rigid about it. There have been a few times we have had meat and we both eat fish now because it was very hard to go out for diner…
Also in the last year I’ve done a few 2-3 day fasts.
I can say without a doubt that when less energy goes to digestion more energy goes to mental capacity and balance. There are studies showing that brain derived neurotropic growth factor is increased in fasting mice…
I can’t post links yet, but check the wiki for Calorie_restriction.
The one meal a day idea hits me as all wrong, because I’ve seen many people who eat only one meal a day, and they are all overweight and unhealthy because their metabolism is so screwed up.
No, I would not recommend eating one meal a day. It’s not about how many times you eat, it’s about WHAT you put into your body. Change that, and you will feel better. There is no reason you should feel heavy from the meal the night before - begin by changing that, perhaps restricting dinner time to vegetarian only, or raw only. This should help a lot. Add as much raw food to your diet as possible, and eliminate processed food (which is mostly “killed” in the way of energy and nutrients anyway). That’s a start. And drink lots of water, always.
Change to healthy foods, then see if you want to do the one meal a day thing. 
You are what you eat. And it is true. Each community eats as per their trade and life-style. For a Yogi is is advised to be on a plant based diet as much as possible. Especially if you want to attain Samadhi and have meditation practice. Eating on certain time of the day is better for our digestion and hence for our body. Eating once a day with your daily routine is not right. If you have a life of a yogi and have a stress free life of an Ashram you can practice one meal a day. Even most yogis eat a small meal in the ashrams before sunset.
Try to learn to cook with spices and herbs, and if possible Indian cooking as it is based on Ayurvedic principles.
Fasting is good, try to do fasting once a week on Honey-Lemon water diet. During my longest stay in the Ashram once i observed 32 days of fasting and i am glad i was in the hands of some great Ayurvedic Doctors. It is advised not to fast on water for more than a day or two if you are a busy working person with loads of stress of corporate world. If you have stress free job you can try fasting for 3-5 days. One must sleep for at least 8 hours a day and speak as less as possible during Fasting. That is why during fasting we observe Silence as well.
Om Tat Sat
[QUOTE=Joanna63;51636]The one meal a day idea hits me as all wrong, because I’ve seen many people who eat only one meal a day, and they are all overweight and unhealthy because their metabolism is so screwed up.
[/QUOTE]
What do those people eat? Many people do this and are fine. Buddhists monks come to mind and many yogis as well.
However I wonder about diabetes and such…of course fasting has been shown to help stabilize blood sugar, but I suspect that depends on whether it’s Type I or II.
I think everyone should try a 3 day water/juice fast at least once in their life. It’s all to easy to believe those that say it’s unhealthy until you actual try it and find out for yourself…
As for being vegeterian, well everyone has to make up their own mind about that. I just woke up one day and realized (as a scientists) that I most certainly could live without taking life. Of course were you draw the line with regards to taking life is individual. I say if it has a nervous system it’s alive…yet I still eat fish on occasion. No reason to be rigid about things…just feel what your heart say’s and follow it. No needs for ancient books and treaties on yoga diet…just ask yourself is farming animals ok with you? Even though you are ingesting all the extra hormones and such?
Also it’s not worth vegetarians getting all holy on other people either. We are ALL a product of our society. We grew up in an age when it was deemed ok to farm animals like plants for food. The best we vegetarians can hope for in this age is that more people will wake up to the fact that we can live without taking life… lead be example is my though there…and be prepared for that fact that most people won’t understand why you do it.
Of course the side benefits of a vegi diet are numerous and include a very trim body and much better health…but you do have to pay attention to your diet if you switch to a vegetarian diet…don’t be a pasta vegetarian, embrace fresh vegies and fruits!
Fireflying,
If one has truly come to a meditative consciousness, then whatsoever you eat, whatsoever you do, it is irrelevant, to live out of a meditative awareness is simply one’s nature, like the blood flowing through one’s veins or one’s very heartbeat.
But for those who have yet to come to the space, there are various skillful means to create an inner space which is prepared for meditation. It is not a matter of morality at all, morality is as relative as relativity can be. It is like art, you can paint whatever you want out of it. It is simply that certain causes create certain effects, they are scientific devices. One of these is controlling the kinds of food that one eats, how often one eats, and the quantity of food. Every food has a particular range of vibrations. The gross part is absorbed by the body, the subtle part of it’s energy is absorbed by the mind. Because most people’s awareness are not sensitive enough, they fail to recognize the different psychological tendencies which different foods create in the mind. During the practice of sadhana, it is generally useful to restrict oneself to a vegetarian diet - fruits, vegetables, rice, and avoiding ingredients which are too stimulating for the mind such as certain herbs. If one is going to remain vegetarian, one should educate oneself on what is needed to receive a balance of the nutrients your system needs. If you are going to sit for meditation, practice on an empty stomach. If you have eaten, wait for at least three hours before sitting. Whenever you eat, try to keep the stomach at least half empty. Too much activity in the digestive system tends to make the mind too active. All of these observances help to create atmosphere in the mind, as well as transmute the quality of the energies which are flowing through the subtle body.
[QUOTE=AmirMourad;51869]Fireflying,
If one has truly come to a meditative consciousness, then whatsoever you eat, whatsoever you do, it is irrelevant, to live out of a meditative awareness is simply one’s nature, like the blood flowing through one’s veins or one’s very heartbeat.
But for those who have yet to come to the space, there are various skillful means to create an inner space which is prepared for meditation. It is not a matter of morality at all, morality is as relative as relativity can be. It is like art, you can paint whatever you want out of it. It is simply that certain causes create certain effects, they are scientific devices. One of these is controlling the kinds of food that one eats, how often one eats, and the quantity of food. Every food has a particular range of vibrations. The gross part is absorbed by the body, the subtle part of it’s energy is absorbed by the mind. Because most people’s awareness are not sensitive enough, they fail to recognize the different psychological tendencies which different foods create in the mind. During the practice of sadhana, it is generally useful to restrict oneself to a vegetarian diet - fruits, vegetables, rice, and avoiding ingredients which are too stimulating for the mind such as certain herbs. If one is going to remain vegetarian, one should educate oneself on what is needed to receive a balance of the nutrients your system needs. If you are going to sit for meditation, practice on an empty stomach. If you have eaten, wait for at least three hours before sitting. Whenever you eat, try to keep the stomach at least half empty. Too much activity in the digestive system tends to make the mind too active. All of these observances help to create atmosphere in the mind, as well as transmute the quality of the energies which are flowing through the subtle body.[/QUOTE]
i find this hard to understand. How could someone that has arrived at a meditative consciousness not feel total compassion for all life? How could that meditative consciousness take part in farming animals like plants when we can scientifically prove it’s unnecessary for a healthy life?
I agree that an enlightened person could eat meat and remain enlightened, but I find it hard to believe that an enlightened person would choose to eat meat just because they could… of course I’m not enlightened and have not idea what it’s like to live in their mind. Perhaps to them it’s all just an illusion and nothing more?
gnulx,
“i find this hard to understand. How could someone that has arrived at a meditative consciousness not feel total compassion for all life?”
In a meditative consciousness, compassion is inevitable. But what has been said is simply to demonstrate that the source of one’s compassion lies not in the kind of action that arises from one’s being. Actions have no quality in themselves, it is the energy behind it, one’s state of awareness, which determines their quality. Neither are there any actions which are “good” or “bad”, “right” or “wrong”, these are all the relative likes and dislikes of the mind. And morality is such, that it is as relative as relativity can be, you can paint anything you want out of it.
Just as there is no humility in bowing down, nor is there silence in sitting still, similarly there is no compassion as far as actions are concerned. That is simply mechanical, one is just avoiding eating something like meat because of an attachment to this idea that it is something “good” or compassionate. And a compassionate intelligence is one which is absolutely free of attachment to the outcome of one’s actions, one simply emenates a certain fragrance because it is one’s nature to do so. Perhaps in an environment in which the only way to survive is to kill other animals, then it is a totally different matter to eat meat. But in the society in which we are familiar, it is simply a luxury, a priviledge. And the sickness is that man is willing to create all kinds of unecessary suffering just simply for the sake of taste. Even up till now, most countries have yet to acknowledge that there is absolutely no difference in killing a human being or some other animal - it amounts to the same. On the contrary, to kill an animal like a cow or a chicken unecessarily may be even far more vicious, because at least if you are going to kill a human being, there is some possibility of his being aware of the situation, he may defend himself or retaliate. But the animals which are being put into the animal factories are almost entirely unaware of what is going to happen to them. And the kind of violence that happens in the factories is such, that even the concentration camps of a man like Adolf Hitler are pale in comparison.
But simply to be aware of these kinds of things intellectually does not mean that one is compassionate, compassion is a certain understanding that arises from a certain tranformation that happens once one’s consciousness is integrated with existence. But beyond this, enlightenment is such, that it transcends “good” and “bad”, “right” or “wrong”, these are just the relative concepts that we have created. Truth is inexpressible, it cannot be contained by any of our words and descriptions. And for one who is in direct contact with the truth of his own being, then he himself becomes the living truth. So for one who is awakened, even if he has sex, eats meat, or commits a thousand and one things which may be seen as “immoral”, it makes no difference at all to one’s awareness. Not that one is going to be consciously seeking for such things, it is simply that the very desire to do so disappears. One is so contented with things as they are, that one is already fulfilled, through and through. The reality is that most people, regardless of whether one sees them as “moral” or “immoral”, are continuously seeking otuwardly because within themselves, they have not managed to come to a certain freedom. A certain emptiness is there, and to seek an escape from it, one feels the need to do all kinds of things to nourish one’s ego, to give it a sense of support.
[QUOTE=AmirMourad;52134]gnulx,
“i find this hard to understand. How could someone that has arrived at a meditative consciousness not feel total compassion for all life?”
In a meditative consciousness, compassion is inevitable. But what has been said is simply to demonstrate that the source of one’s compassion lies not in the kind of action that arises from one’s being. Actions have no quality in themselves, it is the energy behind it, one’s state of awareness, which determines their quality. Neither are there any actions which are “good” or “bad”, “right” or “wrong”, these are all the relative likes and dislikes of the mind. And morality is such, that it is as relative as relativity can be, you can paint anything you want out of it.
Just as there is no humility in bowing down, nor is there silence in sitting still, similarly there is no compassion as far as actions are concerned. That is simply mechanical, one is just avoiding eating something like meat because of an attachment to this idea that it is something “good” or compassionate. And a compassionate intelligence is one which is absolutely free of attachment to the outcome of one’s actions, one simply emenates a certain fragrance because it is one’s nature to do so. Perhaps in an environment in which the only way to survive is to kill other animals, then it is a totally different matter to eat meat. But in the society in which we are familiar, it is simply a luxury, a priviledge. And the sickness is that man is willing to create all kinds of unecessary suffering just simply for the sake of taste. Even up till now, most countries have yet to acknowledge that there is absolutely no difference in killing a human being or some other animal - it amounts to the same. On the contrary, to kill an animal like a cow or a chicken unecessarily may be even far more vicious, because at least if you are going to kill a human being, there is some possibility of his being aware of the situation, he may defend himself or retaliate. But the animals which are being put into the animal factories are almost entirely unaware of what is going to happen to them. And the kind of violence that happens in the factories is such, that even the concentration camps of a man like Adolf Hitler are pale in comparison.
But simply to be aware of these kinds of things intellectually does not mean that one is compassionate, compassion is a certain understanding that arises from a certain tranformation that happens once one’s consciousness is integrated with existence. But beyond this, enlightenment is such, that it transcends “good” and “bad”, “right” or “wrong”, these are just the relative concepts that we have created. Truth is inexpressible, it cannot be contained by any of our words and descriptions. And for one who is in direct contact with the truth of his own being, then he himself becomes the living truth. So for one who is awakened, even if he has sex, eats meat, or commits a thousand and one things which may be seen as “immoral”, it makes no difference at all to one’s awareness. Not that one is going to be consciously seeking for such things, it is simply that the very desire to do so disappears. One is so contented with things as they are, that one is already fulfilled, through and through. The reality is that most people, regardless of whether one sees them as “moral” or “immoral”, are continuously seeking otuwardly because within themselves, they have not managed to come to a certain freedom. A certain emptiness is there, and to seek an escape from it, one feels the need to do all kinds of things to nourish one’s ego, to give it a sense of support.[/QUOTE]
I think I understand were you are coming from here. For me it worked like this. For years I eat meat and meditated…I alway’s new being vegetarian would be better for me, but couldn’t give up the western idea that I was supposed to have meat. Then one day while sitting in deep meditation the thought simple crossed my mind…“Do you need to kill to live”, “Why not just try being vegetarian for one month”. So I did. I made a new years resolution to try being vegetarian for 30 day’s. towards the end of the 30 day’s we had to put our dog down because of cancer. the last then I said to her as she went lifeless was, “You have been my teacher”. The next thought I had was, “How can we farm animals like plants”. That was a game changer for me. I avoid meat out of pure compassion for animals. Yes I will on occasion eat meat if there aren’t any alternatives, but as silly as this may seem to some I inwardly thank the animal for the life it lived.
I guess because it just arose so naturally in me I figured over time it would arise naturally in others with a strong meditation practice, but we are all indeed on our own paths…
I think your point was be vegetarian because of true compassion not because you think it makes you look compassionate?
We are a strange society…for most of my life I’ve had dogs and cats that were very near and dear to me while I eat cows, pigs, dear, duck, chicken, etc… I find it amazing that we can treat some animals like our family and other animals like they are plants to be raised for nothing more than food.
Strange indeed the mental games we all play with ourselves.
gnulx,
“I think your point was be vegetarian because of true compassion not because you think it makes you look compassionate?”
If one is interested in any way, whether superficial or not, in not creating unecessary suffering, then perhaps one should become vegetarian in either case. At least socially, it will be of some help. But one should not start clinging to this idea that somehow some great spiritual quality has been awakened, or that it is out of compassion. Often times, such things as becoming vegetarian, or involving oneself in works of charity, are just used as different ways to nourish one’s own ego. And people who do not even love themselves are running around trying to love everybody else. If love and compassion is to spread like a wild fire on this Earth, it has to be discovered at the level of one’s own consciousness. If the fire has not been awakened within oneself, then one may be doing all kinds of things in the world, doing all sorts of so called “good” deeds, but it is not going to be of much help. Mass violence, in all it’s million and one different forms, will continue.
[QUOTE=AmirMourad;52492]gnulx,
“I think your point was be vegetarian because of true compassion not because you think it makes you look compassionate?”
If one is interested in any way, whether superficial or not, in not creating unecessary suffering, then perhaps one should become vegetarian in either case. At least socially, it will be of some help. But one should not start clinging to this idea that somehow some great spiritual quality has been awakened, or that it is out of compassion. Often times, such things as becoming vegetarian, or involving oneself in works of charity, are just used as different ways to nourish one’s own ego. And people who do not even love themselves are running around trying to love everybody else. If love and compassion is to spread like a wild fire on this Earth, it has to be discovered at the level of one’s own consciousness. If the fire has not been awakened within oneself, then one may be doing all kinds of things in the world, doing all sorts of so called “good” deeds, but it is not going to be of much help. Mass violence, in all it’s million and one different forms, will continue.[/QUOTE]
I agree with this, but not fully.
Often times, such things as becoming vegetarian, or involving oneself in works of charity, are just used as different ways to nourish one’s own ego.
I agree, but I haven’t met many vegetarians that just do it to inflate their ego. Most that I’ve met (I have not met them all) do it because they have compassion for animals. Now I have met people that donate to charity for things like tax breaks and such, but I’d argue that the donation was still a good act because it will be used to bring forth fruits of goodness and compassion in the life of another.
If the fire has not been awakened within oneself, then one may be doing all kinds of things in the world, doing all sorts of so called “good” deeds, but it is not going to be of much help.
I disagree with this. Even the atheists that seek to help their fellow humans out do good in the world. An act of compassion is an act of compassion whether it comes from someone practicing a path towards enlightenment or wether it comes from a hardcore materialist.
I do agree that the person that has learned to first love themselves is better able to spread love to others, but I can’t discount the kind acts of compassion that spontaneously arise in all humans at different points in our lives.
gnulx,
“An act of compassion is an act of compassion whether it comes from someone practicing a path towards enlightenment or wether it comes from a hardcore materialist.”
If there any gratitude in the act of bowing down, contentment in the act of a smile, or silence in the act of sitting still ?
I did a 10 day vipassana meditation retreat. For the advanced students they were not allowed dinner. - Jasmine
I’m not big on food restrictions. I stick to fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains, fish and eggs. I see tremendous value in avoid the obvious: preservatives, chemicals and anything processed; but the idea of restrictions has never really made sense to me. If you’re hungry and what you’re ingesting is filled with nutrients, vitamins and disease-fighting agents, then what possible harm is there in eating (not to mention if you’re simply hungry).