Could Yogic eating move you towards wellness, and save the planet?
According to the yogi's what you put in your mouth is a major pillar of our wellness. Last year I made friends with a local monk, and his brotherhood will only eat food prepared my their own cook in their kitchen, such is the importance they place on the food that enters their system. This article unpacks the yoga eating patterns, plus other daily habits that can work in harmony to support digestion and overall WELLNESS.
Ancient civilizations had a much healthier relationship with land and food production. With our busy lives and big business interests we have lost this connection creating more opportunity for illness and dis-ease to take hold. In Ayurveda (India's very ancient mind-body medical system) the practitioners review diet (you are what you eat) , full body movement (motion is lotion), and breathing (allows us to move 11,000L of air into our body daily).
Yoga eating points
Diet is derived from the Greek word "diaita" - translated "way of life". Yogi's strove towards a eating pattern that supported cellular health and renewal. They also looked at the effects of the eating on the whole self, and the earth. I personally don't agree with some of the way that foods are grouped into the three main energy types, and I am sure that some people will be able to tolerate different amounts of the three groups and still thrive, but I wanted to provide a basic overview.
The first yama (code of restaint) is "ahimsa" - which means to do no harm. I stopped eating meat and dairy mainly for health and performance reasons. Coral, my wife stopped due to environmental and sustainability issues, and my two daughters (Eva 12 and Stella 10) stopped for animal ethics. When we understood that we only ate animals due to choice rather than necessity it was easier to slowly move away from animals as a food source. The yoga way of eating is a lifestyle to underpin your thoughts and actions throughout the day. Sharon Gannon (world renowned yogi and vegan activist) stated "one of the primary practices of yoga is non-violence. A vegan diet is the most non-violent way of eating. It's really that direct."
People have to come to these decisions on their own terms, and in their own time. The more "passionate" vegans or whole food plant based advocates persist with information on closed minds the more resistance there will be. The more you persist the more they resist. My advice is put the information out there, live a life in synchronicity with your beliefs and engage when someone asks.
Energy of FOOD
1.Sattvic
These foods are high in "prana" which is "life force energy". These foods include nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, legumes, non meat proteins, and herbal teas. these foods are easily digestible (for most people - as always there are always exceptions even with ancient yogic rules!) and provide the body with minerals, vitamins that nurture our wellness. Having this type of vital energy allows us to move through the day without getting as drained and therefore getting into a fatigued state. The digestive system then operates more effectively.
2.Tamasic
Foods that have the ability to suck the energy from us are termed tamasic. If consumed in excess they are also thought to disrupt the immune system and alter the normal pathways of the brain. If we consume hyper processed, high kcal, low nutrition food (this is also usually the highly packaged with a long shelve life) we will feel more tired, lethargic, and energy depleted, with poor motivation to move. These foods include alcohol, poor quality meat, fish, fried foods, and "junk" food with high salt, sugar, and fat (especially trans fat) content. These foods are "morish" and lead to overeating with the an inability to satisfy cravings - they actually stimulate them further. These foods lower mood, cause irritability, weight gain, and poorly controlled blood sugar levels. Tobacco and other drugs are also included.
3.Rajasic
This yogic group of food is more "stimulating" to the mind, body, and soul (effecting one aspect of the system will effect the other). If these foods are taken in excess or too quickly then they will create restlessness, contribute to anxiety, and general irritability. Examples of this type of food is black tea, coffee (caffeinated beverages), red meat, soda drinks, chocolate, and eating too much salt. Eating too much of this food will lead to poor digestion, the inability to allow for the body to assimilate nutrients, and indigestion.
Our systems function better and we are therefore in a better state to experience happiness (happiness is an inside job after all) when we eat a more sattvic diet. This could be related to a more healthy gut microbiome* and an increased production of serotonin (happy hormone). Research is showing that up to 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut. The gut is fast being shown to be our "second brain" (in fact the gut microbiome weighs about 1.5kg, about the same as the brain. It also contains about 200 times as much genetic material as the rest of the human body) - the gut and brain communicate with each other continuously with the superhighway of information named the vagus nerve. What is good for one is good for the other. As I have come to understand over my physiotherapy career EVERYTHING is connected in ways that we don't fully understand yet.
*Our digestive tract contains trillions of micro organisms and microbial genetic material. Together this is termed the "GUT MICROBIOME". There is about 10 to the 14 bacteria that live in our gut (Yes that's 10 with 14 zero's after it!!) MORE bugs than stars in the entire milky way.
Asana (posture) to aid digestion
Good postures and full body stretching with spinal twisting and inversions have been shown to cleanse internal organs helping flush "stale" blood and allow freshly oxygenated blood to perfuse the organ. This will also improve the function of the digestive tract helping assimilate nutrients from food. During our daily activities we are usually in an upright often sitting position which can create a "default" standby mode for many systems in the body. So standing more and inserting some inversion twisting yoga asana's (posture). Check out my previous article on yoga
https://everfit.co.nz/articles/why-should-i-do-yogaPranayama (breathing) to aid digestion
Good breathing work supports the bodies processes to shift waste by increasing the lymphatic systems efficiency. Yogi's practice kapalabhati (strong exhalations generated by strong abdominal contractions of the lower belly) - this forces air out of the lower lobes of the lungs. This rapid exhalation is thought to assist in the removal of accumulated waste within the cells. Exercising with a mix of easy and hard intensity to help promote large tidal volumes as well as focusing on deep breaths at the start of your meditation practice is a great way to get some bigger more "waste shifting" breaths into your day. Japanese studies have also shown that breathing deeply in forests (forest bathing or shinrin-yoku) will benefit our microbiome. In a World Health Organisation (WHO) report (Connecting Global Priorities - Biodiversity and Human Health, published 2015 ISBN 9789241508537) it was concluded that....
"Considering "microbial diversity" as an ecosystem service provider may contribute to bridging the chasm between ecology and medicine/immunology...the relationships our individual bodies have with our microbiomes are a microcosm for the vital relationships our species shares with countless other organisms with which we share the planet."
Food is a major pillar of our health and wellness. As Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine stated "Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food." Science is slowly catching up with what ancient civilizations already knew and practiced. It is much harder to eat a whole food plant based diet these days with conflicting advice about what is healthy, and a horrendous hyper processed food environment with slick marketing telling you it's fine to treat yourself with "junk". Please show some self love and redefine what your idea of a treat is. Eating junk food will make you feel like junk and dull your ability to move towards your potential. Our food choices influence the way we feel, think, the quality of our lives, and more importantly the future of our planet.
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