* Please note I am not a nutritionist, for nutrition advice please seek a qualified professional.

Yoga is not just about poses. For many it offers a substantial guideline on how to live a healthy and fulfilled life. Including guidance on what to eat and when. To understand a yogic outlook on diet and food it's important to approach from a philosophical perspective. Within yoga and Ayurvedic philosophy there is a set of subtle energies relating to cultivating prosperity and health - the Gunas. These include Raja, Sattva, and Tamas. It can be helpful to think of these as a scale. Raja relating to the excited and passionate end of the scale. Sattva the balanced middle. Tamas the lethargic and heavy end. While no life can be lived in perfect balance all the time, and sometimes rajasic or tamasic energy is needed in life, this philosophy teaches to strive for sattvic energy. This can be reflected in the types of food we eat and how/when we eat food.
Raja | Sattva | Tamas |
---|---|---|
Coffee/Black Tea | Milk | Red Meat |
Chicken | Herbal Tea | Alcohol |
Eggs | Cheese/Ghee | Fast food |
Onion/Garlic | Grains/Legumes | Fried food |
Dark lentils | Fresh sweet fruits | Frozen food |
Citrus | Fresh Vegetables | Canned/Stale food |
Spicy food | Honey | Tobacco |
Chocolate | Nuts/Seeds | Soda |
Eating too fast | Mindful eating | Overeating |
A sattvic diet relates to a feeling of lightness, positive energy, and intelligent decisions. This often means fresh natural food. Something that will leave you feeling light and energised after eating rather than lethargic and heavy. Fresh fruit, vegetables, and honey to provide vitamins, minerals, and sugar. Grains for slow releasing carbohydrates. Nuts, ghee and milk for fat and protein. These sorts of foods will help achieve that sattvic feeling of lightness within the mind and body.
A rajasic diet, although delicious can be over-stimulating and create a restless and excited mind. The caffeine in coffee, tea, and chocolate can have a negative effect in the long run, although may be needed to help counteract the lethargy of a tamasic energy. While a tamasic diet can leave you feeling dull and heavy. Fast, fried or frozen food packed with preservatives may have negative effects on the mind and body. The lack of nutrition in these foods also relates to weakening in our immune system as well as clouding the mind. In these instances a rajasic diet or ingredient may be what is needed to help yourself become balanced again - and vice versa. But for a sustained diet the sattvic diet might be better suited.
Health benefits to a sattvic diet include less risk of heart disease, cancer , and stroke. As well as lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes. Sattvic diet is high in fibre making weight maintenance far more accessible and aiding digestive health. However there are downsides to this diet. Many root and allium vegetables (onion, garlic etc...) hold many beneficial nutrients but are not included in the sattvic diet. This is where intuition and personal research would be beneficial in deciding when and where to stray from the guidelines of this diet. Another downside is the inaccessibility of this diet. Fresh fruit and vegetables can be expensive as well as time consuming to prepare. This isn't always a viable option for everyone.
It's important for me to note that food and diet is incredibly personal so what may work for one person may not work for someone else. Through observing the mind and body we can determine what diet we enjoy and what benefits it may give us. Yoga can help us observe the body through asana practice as well as meditative mindfulness techniques. Personal tastes, preferences and circumstances also have a huge impact on diet. Any food is better than no food, it is a human right.
Food Bank information:
There are some guidelines that really just relate to common sense. For example do not eat a heavy meal before practicing asana (poses). Which makes sense if you want to keep your food down. Therefore the resulting recommendation that yoga is best practiced in the morning before breakfast seems pretty logical. Not only do you avoid feelings of nausea and heaviness by practicing before breakfast but you also set the day up positively. By moving the body, getting the blood pumping and the breath flowing, yoga in the morning can have a fantastic effect on the rest of your day. By practicing yoga at least an hour after meals but preferably before eating, it also gives the digestive organs more room to stretch, helping you to settle into poses comfortably.
Another aspect to a yogic diet is to honour the other elements of yoga such as ahimsa (non-violence). This often results in a vegetarian or vegan diet. Ahimsa aims to reduce harm to ourselves, those around us and our environment. For many this can mean a plant-based diet either full or part time. Plant based diets are proven to reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers when compared with meat eaters, as well as being utterly delicious. Thankfully we live in a time now where plant based food has become widely accepted and there is an abundance of choice to dig into. There are many reasons to go plant-based, whether that's to follow a sattvic diet, for personal ethics, or just because you like the food better. But again, diet is personal and the most important thing is that you find health and enjoyment from the food you consume. This might look different to the diet discussed here and that's okay. This article is merely outlining an option to look into if it takes your fancy.
For more information on yoga lessons click here or to contact me regarding yoga classes and meditation click here.
By Laura Carey
Comments