Hello friends,
i am new to these forums. I have been practicing yoga for a few years on and off and would like to hear suggestions on how to eat to support the practice. I am frustrated because there is so much mixed information out there but i personally dont know how to listen to my body yet so would like some general guidelines. Some of the things I have read talk about how dairy is great for yoga practitioners but so many these days say that dairy should be avoided. I personally love dairy but dont want to be doing something to my body that may not be good. I appreciate the help.
Hi Samasthiti
A yogic diet is a sattvic vegetarian diet. Most of us with internet access are fortunate to live in an area of the world where access to a wide variety of plant-based foods are available.
There are several websites and videos online detailing delicious and nutritious vegetarian, vegan and raw food recipes.
You can read about what a “sattvic diet” is on any ayurvedic website.
Dairy is big in Indian food. However these days, with dairy cows being ill treated on industrial dairy farms and in slaughter houses, vegans have good ethical reasons for refraining from milk and its products.
Whether or not dairy is healthy for your body is something that only your body can tell you.
Non-organic factory dairy products are full of synthetic hormones and other chemicals.
I agree with most of the above.
Mostly listen to your body and think about what you are eating…think about how the food is farmed, processed, transported, stored etc…make up your own mind how you feel about these things…
Observe closely and carefully how your body feels when you eat different foods…how you energy, mood and yoga practices are affected.
I tried for a long time to be vegetarian…but I got fat, had many problems with blood sugar levels and had many problems with bloating and farting (due to my lack of ability to digest pulses and to get enough protein from non-animal sources)…now I eat some meat and fish…none of which is from intensive farming…and now much slimmer…no problems with blood sugar levels (almost no sugar cravings) a much better mood…no bloating and a stronger yoga practice including meditation.
I also include garlic and spices in my foods.
Hi!
I’m new to this forum.
I completely agree with yogacambodia. I’d love to be a vegetarian, but I have the same problems with bloating, putting on weight and farting if I eat dairy products or legumes.
Now I’m following the blood type diet (I’m blood group 0) and I feel very well, my digestion is perfect, my intestine works good and my body is flat. Unfortunately it’s not a sattvic diet, so I try not to exceed with meat and fish, and I eat lots of vegetables.
[QUOTE=Samasthiti;62173]Hello friends,
i am new to these forums. I have been practicing yoga for a few years on and off and would like to hear suggestions on how to eat to support the practice. I am frustrated because there is so much mixed information out there but i personally dont know how to listen to my body yet so would like some general guidelines. Some of the things I have read talk about how dairy is great for yoga practitioners but so many these days say that dairy should be avoided. I personally love dairy but dont want to be doing something to my body that may not be good. I appreciate the help.[/QUOTE]
Samasthiti,
I’m going to plug this page on my own website here because it answers your question exactly.
Regarding dairy specifically, the gurus of old recommended its consumption as beneficial for yogis in the beginning of their practice but noted that it is not needed later on as a practice deepens.
The middle path is best for most. It’s not necessary to be completely vegan. Ethically produced and minimally corrupted milk, cheese, and yogurt are available. Their occasional minimal consumption is okay, and if you are not lactose intolerant and you don’t have a milk protein allergy, then a little now and then shouldn’t give you any problems. If you are concerned you may have one of these conditions, simply abstain completely for one month and see how you feel.
Too much dairy is definitely not healthy for most people. It’s not something to have every day - certainly not more than once a day. Most concerning is the increased risk of ovarian and prostate cancer we are finding in those who consume lots of dairy.
Here’s a nice review from Harvard.Be sure to at least scroll down to the end section about whether or not to get your calcium from milk.
Hi, I used to be confused too about diet. It took me a while to figure out a way that works for me. As concerns diet for yoga practice… I’m inclined to think that a well balanced high water content meal taken twice or thrice a day is the way to go. I personally make sure that no matter what happens during the day that I consume at the very least 70% water based foods. These would mainly be vegetables, fruits, pearled wheat/ barley/rice and lentils. Every once in a while a raw egg is also great to keep your nervous system functioning optimally. Ultimately in yoga the only way is that which is dictated by the wisdom of your inner self. I hope you will get to a point in your sadhana when it will be very clear what your body needs you to consume to gain the most out of your spiritual practice. No one can create a perfect diet for you, NO ONE… Only your body can know exactly what is good for you and what is not.
Just keep performing your sadhana rigourously, by and by you will KNOW what your body needs. Don’t rely on experts, you will lose motivation especially as concerns diet. I hope this was helpful… Namaste.
[QUOTE=newsonline11;64181]The Yoga Diet is a way to find your ideal weight and achieve emotional and spiritual balance by redefining your relationship with food. It’s a branch of Yoga all on its own (called Anna Yoga) and it?s not a diet in the sense of counting calories or complicated menu planning. The Yoga Diet does not require you to feel hungry or go without.[/QUOTE]
Do you have more information on Anna Yoga? I am tired of counting calories and would like to eat intuitively but am not sure I trust myself not to overindulge.
I agree that a Yoga diet is the key to finding your way to an ideal weight, optimal health with emotional and spiritual balance.
Anna Yoga isn’t really a Yoga diet though, IMHO. The author/creator’s plan includes meat and is based on Ayurvedic body type. Ayurveda has its place, but it isn’t Yoga - the two are siblings. Classic Yoga texts define a Yoga diet and give instructions on how to eat. You don’t need to eat for your body type and meat was prohibited.
I have not heard of a ‘Yoga’ diet but many Yogi’s prefer foods in the ‘Sattwic’ spectrum as it balances the doshas, makes the mind more alert, calm and focused and keeps the nerves strong. Most of that is vegetarian but includes milk products. A Kashmiri Shaivait or a Tantric Yogi may eat more meat and fish and some of the village variants of yoga practitioners do so as well.
Personally, I prefer vegetables and fruit because most meats in the modern world are factory farmed and contaminated with drugs. It’s called clean eating, and I do it because if my body is clean it feels healthier and my mind is clearer. I also don’t take dairy because modern dairy farming is pretty much a part of the factory farm system. Occasionally I will have dairy from human farms with grass fed cows.
Samasthiti
My advice is to not make a problem out of diet. It’s not rocket science - your diet should include plenty of fruit and veg. If you want to be a vegetarian, be a vegetarian. If not, not.
You say that you are not able to listen to your own body. I find this to be escpaism on your part. If you are not able to listen to your body, then who can? JUST LISTEN. This is a very easy thing to do. Stop looking for so-called experts to tell you what to do.
I do, however, have some “expert” advice. You say that you practice “on and off”. Practice always, not on and off. Stick to it and you will get rewards. Just keep practising and stop trying to make things perfect because this just causes problems. Constatnt practice of yoga enhances the body’s natural intelliengece to keep what it needs from foods and throw out what it does not. Simple.
Some tips:
Do not mix a protein with carbohydrate
Do not eat fruit with other foods
Do not eat fruit after other foods
Do not eat dairy with other foods other than green leaves
Never consume two concentrated proteins at the same meal.
Avoid refined oils
Basically eat everything separately, and wait until the stomach is empty before eating another type of food.
Hi. It is advisable to eat in a controlled way from Monday to Saturday, but Sunday eat some cravings?, Such as chocolates, cakes …??
when It comes to diet … i always ask myself…what and would people eat 1000 years ago? you can not get wrong foods this way:)
Oh! you are all right 
People used to eat much healthier things. So, I will ask me the same when I get hundry:rolleyes:
I don’t think so. I think 1000 years ago most people ate whatever they got their hands on without over intellectualizing. We probably eat better now than we ever did, or at least have the best choices.
[QUOTE=FlexPenguin;69845]I don’t think so. I think 1000 years ago most people ate whatever they got their hands on without over intellectualizing. We probably eat better now than we ever did, or at least have the best choices.[/QUOTE]
I am sorry, so I din’t understand 
I refer people from the past could live more years than people today. It might be because of the food they used to eat. Now there are more unhealthy foods. Well, all is in our minds:D
[QUOTE=angie.jewish;69852]I am sorry, so I din’t understand
I refer people from the past could live more years than people today. It might be because of the food they used to eat. Now there are more unhealthy foods. Well, all is in our minds:D[/QUOTE]
Life expectancy rates are rising consistently:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005140.html
One if reasons there are many illnesses today is linked to lifestyle. But, many are due to living long enough to acquire the illnesses.
I agree with you about lifestyle. Now if people practice meditation it would be possible to live longer. Even with technology people can live longer…:rolleyes:
a sattvic diet is good… but I don’t really like the word ‘die’-‘it’ do you? It sounds like something you have to do and that you could die from it… haha… being free means that you alone are the truth… as you think so it becomes, as you imagine so it appears… there are lots of conflicting opinions circulating about what this or that to eat and not eat… it’s enough to drive someone completely bonkers! haha… maybe, maybe not… you have stated you can not listen to your body… that is okay… you may consider fasting for a few days and then eating something and see how it feels… everyone’s body mind and truth is different and changes faster than we can even count… what is good today may not be good tomorrow… it is good to consider how silly it can be to be so totally obsessed with food… instead of thinking about food and what this or that it has and why it is good for you etc. maybe we can spend more time focused on the formless… as yogananda once said, ‘let the spotlight of your mind ever be turning on god’ give the body its due but no more… there is some justification to consider what foods you want to eat and not eat and for most it is a process of constant refinements… you were probably raised on certain foods and it is hard to let go because they are conditioned deep into your subconscious… try eating at least some raw foods each day they come straight from nature… if anything our ideal diet is only that which comes straight from nature… straight from the wild, from the earth… that’s why it grows there… we don’t even have to know what it is good for us… it doesn’t take a scientist to tell someone an apple is good it is instinctual… the more we can be like a caterpillar eating our greens diligently all day long straight from the source, the closer we will become to a butterfly… blessings friends ~*~
Picking up a good diet is really complicated nowadays.
Take the example of milk: is it healthy or not ? Before roughly 1950’s the cows were fed on grass. They gave birth on springs, when the grass contains lots of omega 3, producing healthy meat and healthy milk.
Now most cows are fed on corn, which contains lots of omega 6. This is strongly inflammatory. If there is a common denominator among all types of cancers, is the chronic infalammation. This a main contributor to the present epidemy of cancer. Presently, one in four deaths in America is due to cancer.
You should buy milk form cows fed on grass. Some producers have started to add DHA
(omega 3) to their milk. Look carefully in your food store.
Same with wheat. It is presently genetically modified—and it is strongly inflammatory.
Picking up a good diet nowadays is like picking up the good path in a mine field. You should know where the mines are burried.
Probably the best thing to do is to follow a raw food diet. But you still have to learn a lot about it: