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What is a Yoga Diet ?

 

This is a very interesting topic and one that I will be spending several pages on. As for what is a traditional diet is for a yogi...it is a vegetarian diet.

However with that being said I can tell you that I am not a vegetarian.

SO where to go with this section? I have decided to split it into two parts. The first will deal with the traditional yoga diet for those who are interested in going all the way. The second will be a diet that is not strict vegetarian but very balanced and applies certain yoga and health principles to help you with your overall health and well being. Needless to say this is the path that I take, but I do admire the people who devote themselves to a full on yoga diet.

The key feature of a yoga diet can be summed up in the phrase "Eat to live, not live to eat". It is best if we remember that the purpose of eating is to supply our being with the lifeforce,or Prana, the vital life energy. The best nutritional plan for the Yoga student is the simple diet of natural fresh foods. This will keep you feeling light and more filled with energy.

 

The Traditional Yoga diet .

Coming over the next few weeks I will add several pages outlining the different parts of a Traditional diet for a yogi. One of the things to remember is the yoga diet is one of the 5 principles of yoga, what we eat is just as important as the poses and conditioning we do for our body, actually in my opinion it is even more important.

According to the teachings of Yoga there are 3 kinds of energy that exist in life with Gunas being the balance of energy. The 3 forms of this are:

1. Sattva (purity)
2. Rajas (activity, passion, and the energy of change)
3. Tamas (darkness, inertia)

If we consider food, it also embodies one of the 3 forms of energy.

Food that is ripe is considered sattvic, food that is in the process of ripening would be rajastic and if food should become overripe it would represent tamastic.

The details on the types of foods for each of the above sections as well as diet recommendations are coming soon, about the next week or two since I want to know more about this topic as well... just want to make sure all my research is correct before putting the page up for you.

 

 

The contemporary yoga diet.

You do not need to be a vegetarian. but you should follow a few basic rules that will help you and make you feel healthier and lighter and full of energy.

I will be posting for free in an Excel file that details the full diet that I have been following for the last while (just in the process of making the file right now, give me a few days to get it online).

Also in this section I will be going over:

1. Basic nutrition
2. Steps to plan a good diet
3. When you should eat and when you should not.

 

One aspect of my diet is I love chocolate (my one vice), however chocolate is very good for you (in moderation), a good friend of mine has a very nice website all about chocolate and also some of her own chocolates for sale from the site. If you love chocolate the same as me you may find her website very interesting. One should also have a good knowledge of supplements to make sure all nutritional needs are met, have a look at Nutritional Supplement Truths for more info.

Another resource you may find interesting is on Omega 3 sources (or Healthy Fats), and how they can really help improve your Health. Seafood is very high in Omega 3 fats, which is good news for me since I love seafood. Have a look at his site it is very well done and has alot of good information.

 

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