Should Yoga teachers be Vegetarian

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#46

I noticed many using the slippery slope fallacy. That if we are going to become vegetarian then we should also not drive cars, use any modern products, or wash our hands etc. Nope, it does not quite work like this. This is like saying if I steal a 1 penny sweet, then I might as well steal a 10p mini chocolate bar, a ?1 can of coke, a ?100 watch, a ?1000 laptop, ?10,000 car, a ?100,000 business, a ?1,000,000 inheritance of my rich uncle :wink:

It is obvious the difference is in magnitude. I can make some efforts to be an ethical consumer and they will make some difference, but this does not force me to become absolutely ethical.

There is no such thing as something being good or bad. Something can be either be beneficial or harmful. It is beneficial for animals and the ecosystems of this planet for all humans to be vegetarian, because we are disturbing the ecosystems of this planet by systematically slaughtering animals for humans and throwing the natural balance out of skelter. In Yoga, if you went to beyond certain stages in your practice, meat is going to be harmful because of its tamasic properties. If you have a hot air balloon containing many heavy things you will limit the altitude to which the hot air balloon can naturally go, in order to go higher you need to offload the weight. Well, similarly if you want to go to highest stages of Yoga practice you are going to have to have a more sattvic diet and lifestyle at some point. This is going to be very hard if you have been consuming tamasic diet and lifestyle for much of your life. If you think about it, we don’t get a lot of time on this planet, so we really need to get things right from the word go. If your goal is reaching the summits of Yoga then start sattvic from the word go and don’t look back.

#47

For me there are three types of vegetarians:

  1. Those who dislike the taste/ texture and therefore refrain from eating it.
  2. Those who believe in ahisma.
  3. Those who are against the ill-treatment of animals for commercial purposes, but do not believe eating meat is necessarily wrong.

I am a vegetarian based on type 3. That said it was very much a personal decision that felt right for me. I am always conscious not to impose my view on non-vegetarians with should statements. You can apply the same sentiment to religious evangelists, when they start telling people what they should be doing, you find most people shy away.

I believe living by example is how you influence people, and that is a where I spend my energy.

Do you know where your CHOCOLATE comes from?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8583000/8583499.stm

Love and light to you all.

#48

Please remember that Ahimsa is not only about non-harming animals.

Ahimsa also implies non - harming to you own body where your spirit dwells.

At some point the body might ask for deeper level of purification - and then you can cut you meat.

Some traditions (like Cristian orthodox) have special times of the year when they do not eat meat and diary. (when other foods available in abundance) But there is a note in the bible that it is not relevant to sick, pregnant and old people.

I’m an proponent of putting together Yoga and contemporary science (and they fet together very well). We know a lot about nutrition and etc. I think it is very dumb to follow the dogma.

#49

[QUOTE=concoulor3;30816]
Buddha died by eating bad pork. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

LOL:) just nasty anecdote!

#50

Yes, you are right.
The should eat only animals who eat grass.
:slight_smile:

#51

[QUOTE=charliedharma;29632]Often vegetarianism or a dropping away of animal eating would occur naturally and in a healthy manner rather than forcing it.[/QUOTE]

I think that’s key. That’s how it happened/is happening for me. I feel forcing something like a change in lifestyle can be a form of ahimsa in and of itself. You shouldn’t become a vegetarian, or do anything really, because someone else does it or because of an ideology.

Love and do what you will- St. Agustine.

#52

In all the teachers I’ve had , known or talked to, the topic of how to eat has never been brought up. Both my daughter and myself are vegetarians. For us it is a matter of choice and we do not try to convert anyone to vegetarianism. However, becoming a vegetarian has had a domino effect in other areas of my life. Soon after becoming a vegetarian I got rid of all toxic cleaning and laundry products, use aluminum free deodorant, use organic natural hair products, buy organic clothing, buy fair trade, buy locally grown, organic produce when I can, in my garden I use no pesticides and well, the list goes on. Not to mention before becoming a vegetarian I could not tolerate nuts, beans or onion. Now I can. I feel better and have more energy. But again, it is a choice. My husband jokingly writes on the grocery list, remember us carnivores!

So for me, becoming a vegetarian has had a real positive effect in other areas of my life. For that I am grateful. I can’t foresee ever going back to eating meat, but it’s my choice! Humans are omnivores, eating both plants and animals. Neither is wrong.

#53

Namaste,

I seem to have completely overlooked the original question last time on whether Yoga teachers should be vegetarian. My simple answer to this question is Yes. In fact they are duty bound by the profession to do so. All professions require some duties which regulate our behaviour, such as if you’re a teacher you should not swear in class, a spiritual leader should not engage in illicit sexual activity, a political leader should not lie and deceive(Bill Clinton got impeached for it)

A Yoga teacher is more than just somebody who teaches Yoga to people, they are examples of the Yoga way of life. If they set bad examples, then they will reproduce the same bad examples in their students.

All Yoga ashrams in India require vegetarianism from their teachers and students.

#54

[QUOTE=concoulor3;30816]While Yoga and Buddhism are sepparte entities, they do have a strong intertwining thread. I find it interesting that no one has mentioned that Buddha died by eating bad pork. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

The jury is still out on that one I think. Some say it wasn’t pork but truffles. Those who say that want to make sure their Buddha never, ever ate meat, which is fine with me but if he died from bad pork that sort of also points in the same direction, doesn’t it?

#55

There is no need for the yoga teacher to be a vegetarian, but being a vegetarian calms your mind and increases the chance of the person being suitable for a yogic lifestyle.

#56

We are what we do. I don’t look further down the road than my feet can travel that day and I think that’s natural. I started being a vegetarian for health reasons and I suppose after that , " it chose me"; now I’m a vegetarian for social and enviromental reasons and I’m convinced that in a century or two or three, they’ll look back in disgust at the troglodytes we are because of what we do. I do not ask of myself or any other to go out of the path they are on, just that ‘we’ consider doing things as well as we can. Then , if Life is worth its salt, better ways will open at our feet. Like asana, I think ahimsa proceeds in straight lines from your gut to where you can see yourself going, not in absolute lines that that angle off from the information overload in our heads to infinity. Like an artistic English teacher ( attributes because I don’t remember her name ( And Thanks Pandara for remembering mine )) once asked Nicole, " Why are so many of the guys on this forum seem to be having a pee-ing contest ? " It took a while for me to get adjusted to saying Namaste too, but it just keeps getting better and better to say, Namaste

#57

[QUOTE=gentle_yogini;30449]I agree with justwannabe. (I quite enjoyed reading your reply!) :slight_smile: Vegetarianism/ veganism is only a small part of living without hurting other living beings. I think that a more rounded approach to living while considering our every action on our environment is a better approach.

Starting with food- eating organically and locally as much as possible, as this is better for the earth and the farming community. Even if you eat meat- doing so less frequently and only buying free rang organic, so you are making the best choice for the earth and respecting the animal itself.

Clothing- cotton is such a pesticide laden crop, it’s stripping away at the earth. Read David Suzuki or Adria Vasil to learn more about this. Buy organic cotton clothing, or alternative materials like bamboo and hemp. Try to buy sweat shop free.

Cleaners- make your own cleaners from vinegar and water, better for the environment, less packaging and shipping, cheaper!

I could go on and on… My point is that yes, with yoga many people become more aware of what they eat. Not eating meat anymore is the start of it for some. But it shouldn’t stop there. We should also become aware of what we are wearing, where it came from, it’s impacts, the shampoo we use, the cleaners we use, the paint we use, etc.

Not eating meat but wearing pesticide soaked cotton which is eating away at our earth, and using products full of parabens, which have been shown to cause cancer, etc, doesn’t make sense to me. It’s a much broader picture.

Ps. I have yoga teachers who used to be vegan and now eat meat, I have teachers who have always eaten meat, and I have some who are firm vegan/ vegetarians. They all are equally great teachers.[/QUOTE]

Eating a mixed diet of meat and vegetation is, and has been, fundamental to human existence since our beginning. To insist otherwise is unhealthy and unnatural. To each their own. I will look to the genuine skill of my teachers as a requisite.

#58

It is interesting that Yoga teaches us to be inner-bound, yet unknowingly most of our thinking remains outward-bound. So, the question of being vegetarian, more particularly for the Yoga teachers, has got covered by cruelty to animals, narrow definition of ahinsa, social and ethical contexts, even recipes etc.

There is also a reference of Hatha Yoga being explained by Yoga Sutra and that eating meat carries a guilt that hinders meditation. This argument appeals to our emotional self but is not completely true.

It would be educating to know which sutra directly or even indirectly speaks of ‘guilt’ any time. Yoga Sutra warns against dogmas and does not give any. It tells us how to purify the physical, astral and causal bodies. Various exercises are prescribed to strengthen the respective metabolisms to bring about that cleansing. It is a Yogi’s choice of what, when and how much to eat that will not tax the purification process and ability. Yoga Sutra also maintains that not guilt, but traces of pain itself are imprinted in the meat and get directly transferred to the subtle bodies, again taxing the cleansing process. And finally, at the causal level, the karma effect can be seen as what kills gets killed.

Yoga is a very delicate balancing act. Yama-Niyama can never be regimented; they succeed only when assimilated as a way of life. If you are used to eating meat, not by choice but the way you were brought up and much before you could even think about it, a forced abstaining from it will create deprivation, an equal impediment for meditation. Hence, eating vegetarian food that brings in the least amount of residues should remain a conscious and well cultivated choice of a Yogi and the teacher should be the first to reach there.

#59

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;32472]I noticed many using the slippery slope fallacy. That if we are going to become vegetarian then we should also not drive cars, use any modern products, or wash our hands etc. Nope, it does not quite work like this. This is like saying if I steal a 1 penny sweet, then I might as well steal a 10p mini chocolate bar, a ?1 can of coke, a ?100 watch, a ?1000 laptop, ?10,000 car, a ?100,000 business, a ?1,000,000 inheritance of my rich uncle :wink:

.[/QUOTE]
I felt the orignial poster was being very strict in her beliefs so I took it to the extreme on purpose, however in that extreme I still see validity.
personally I have a “yogic” friend who pointed fingers at me because of my water use and many other things I have done in this world, and she says I dont care, however when i told this friend that I have not used Air conditioning in my room for three years, I pee in the yard when possible, etc… she still wants to stick to my lack of worrying about the water on the planet. sometimes people just see a strict viewpoint and do not open up to another viewpoint, and i belive people saying that one should be a vegetarian, then they should just go live in a forest. If eating meet harms us because of the fear that the animal had before death, why would the fear that they have in their breath as we bulldoze the forest not enter us as well, for we eat the air.
sometimes going to extremes can help us see the ridiculousness in our accusation of others, sometimes not.

#60

The fear of the animal gets lodged into its flesh, which we then consume. It is a subtle energy that we cannot see, but it is there. We then consume this and make that negative energy a part of us.

Of course we cannot live absolutely ethically but we sure can strive to live as ethical as is possible. The more ethically we live the better our karma.

#61

I wouldn’t say I’m a carnivore, but certainly an omnivore.

I will never impose my own beliefs upon others, but my personal feeling is that one needs to do what is right for their body. My body needs meat. I believe my body was created to eat both plant matter and vegetable matter, I have grinding teeth (like an herbivore) and I have tearing teeth (like a carnivore). My body feels better when I eat meat. I give thanks for the animals that provide sustenance and continue on.

I know that is not what some folks believe, and also that my belief is unpopular in some circles.

Hope that answers your question sinij.

#62

I think the whole point of Yoga is to transcend our current state of being. So yes we are born with omnivorous body, but we should know better through our spiritual discrimination that inflicting harm on another living being cannot be good. I mean the way we justify the killing of animals can easily be used to justify killing each other, and actually that is exactly what happens. A wise man once said, until we do not stop killing animals, we will not stop killing each other.

Many of those animals we kill I have spent time with and my spirit instantly recognises that they are conscious beings just like I am. They are also capable of feelings like love and even forming relationships. It is henious that we take for granted that killing them is OK and a choice we are entitled to.

#63

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;38361]Many of those animals we kill I have spent time with and my spirit instantly recognises that they are conscious beings just like I am. They are also capable of feelings like love and even forming relationships. It is henious that we take for granted that killing them is OK and a choice we are entitled to.[/QUOTE]

so what should a crocodile do? become a vegetarian? if I should feel bad about eating meet then it is only right that a crocodile does too.
also, we say our consciouness, the animals, etc… But isnt the goal of yoga union? meaning one consciousness that is not Neil, Surya Deva, and alix? So again if I should feel bad about eating meat then so should a snake, lizard, cat, etc… for me over the last thee days I have eaten meat once, I craved a hamburger and tried to see if I would rather eat chicken instead, but no, it kept going back to a hamburger so that is what I ate, no guilt, no shame. How long till I eat meet again, dont know.

#64

I try not to take the cute animals for granted, but I cannot take my own self for granted either. I will eat animal meat, not only because it can be very delicious in so many ways, but I feel that it is essential for the life force in my body.

I do, however, respect anyone’s personal decision not to eat those cuties.

#65

[QUOTE=Brother Neil;38369]so what should a crocodile do? become a vegetarian? if I should feel bad about eating meet then it is only right that a crocodile does too.
also, we say our consciouness, the animals, etc… But isnt the goal of yoga union? meaning one consciousness that is not Neil, Surya Deva, and alix? So again if I should feel bad about eating meat then so should a snake, lizard, cat, etc… for me over the last thee days I have eaten meat once, I craved a hamburger and tried to see if I would rather eat chicken instead, but no, it kept going back to a hamburger so that is what I ate, no guilt, no shame. How long till I eat meet again, dont know.[/QUOTE]

The simple response to that is you are not a crocodile :wink:

Perhaps you would like to reincarnate as a crocodile in your next life :wink: