The Ideal Yogi Diet

The Ideal Yogi Diet

The ideal yogi diet to help us in excelling at our practice at all levels: physically, mentally and spiritually is a ‘vegetarian diet’ which honors the principles of ahimsa.

The diet of a yogi supports a full vegetarian diet which provides us with foods which not only meet our full nutritional needs but also honor the yogic values. Nutrition encompasses not only the nourishment of our body’s tissues and organs but also provides us with the optimal nourishment of the mind and emotions. What we eat has a profound effect not only in our own bodies, in our mind and spirit but also furthermore on our surroundings. Our food choices, what we decide to put on our plates daily and in our mouths can have an enormous effect in our lives but also in the life of our friends the animals and so many of the living matter surrounding us, making us feel more or less interconnected with our inner inter-links depending on the level of inclusion or exclusion of the needs of other beings in our food choices. Thus, what we put in our plate can almost become a political statement and act in and of itself.

Every single day we can choose whether to accept or not the open invitation to use our free will to embrace a vegetarian, vegan or living foods lifestyle by extending our yoga practice to the dinner table; allowing us to make a difference in our own world but also in our surrounding universe.

The yogi diet with its natural ingredient coming from mother nature can help us better achieve clarity of mind as well as keeping the physical body light and nourished and the spirit soaring high.

In the Ayurvedic tradition, foods that are considered sattvic include most vegetables, ghee (clarified butter), fruits, legumes, and whole grains. In contrast, tamasic foods (such as onions, meat, and garlic) and rajasic foods (such as coffee, hot peppers, and salt) can increase dullness or hyperactivity, respectively. But maintaining a diet that keeps your body light and your mind clear doesn’t necessarily mean eating only sattvic foods. What is best for you and what in the end will best support your yoga practice is informed by your constitution (known in the Ayurvedic tradition as vikriti) and your current state (prakriti). All those factors along with your own personal needs and specific health conditions need to be considered to design your own personal optimal diet.

As I always instruct in all my yoga classes, ‘listen to your own body’ and honor what your body tells you because: you know yourself best! Follow this advice at the table to, follow your instincts, trust yourself and let your body guide you to design a diet in tune with your own values, with your physical and spiritual needs and your unique requirements. Gradually as you deepen your practice your heart will guide you to embrace the optimal nutritional path which is perfect for you. I personally wasn’t happy to include eggs and dairy in my diet; and even though, many yogis see the cow as ‘holly,’ precisely for this reason I didn’t want to harm o use a cow in any way. I wasn’t inclined to enjoy the consumption of any cow’s mucus secretions meant to feed a calf and not another human being… I wasn’t interested in partaking in the pain chickens have to endure to produce eggs…Thus my own body, mind and spirit led me to choose a raw vegan, full plant-based living foods diet. Something I will talk about later and expand on further in another of my future writings and videos.

A yogic diet ideally takes into account the values and philosophical teachings of yoga. This aims at honoring the principle called: ahimsa, the yogic precept of non-harming, of loving it all and embracing all of life. This brings in the factor of ‘ethics’ into the heart and soul of our dietary equation. As Jivamukti Yoga says, “Not everyone can do Headstand, but everybody eats. Because of this, what you eat has more impact and matters more than whether you can stand on your head.”

In a nutshell, the vegetarian diet consisting of fresh fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts and seeds as well as dairy and even eggs for some will enhance your awareness and practice at all levels and bring you further in tune with the energy field we all co-share and co-create in this circle of life.

Again, personally my body took me a step further to veganism over 25 years ago and soon after to a plant-based raw living foods diets which I feel is optimal for my own practice and it gives me the most energy without taking anything away from me. Anything different somehow instead of adding to my life-force was depleting me to some extend of it. Sometimes the old wise principle applies even in nutrition: “less is more.”

Now is your turn to decide for yourself and take the time critically and wholeheartedly develop your own unique yogic diet, with the knowledge and teachings which may best resonate with you.

And even if you choose to embrace a full SAD diet (Standard North American Diet) you can always benefit from the principles of bhakti yoga. You may want to make every bite you take an offering—silently give thanks to the food and bless it as you prepare it and offer it as nourishment for the Divine in everything before you eat it.

Soon you will discover that the more you tune in with your inner being and reach a nutritional alignment with your personal value system, the more you will blossom with each bite while creating elasticity in your physical body, a clear mind and inner peace for yourself and others.

However, keep in mind that the main thing is to respect and honor yourself and others. In the end, it is all a personal choice and you; and only YOU alone, happens to be in the driver’s seat of your own life to make your own personal decisions including designing your own personal diet.

Veronica