5 Healthy Yogic Diet Rules And Tips
The topic of nutrition in yoga is a controversial issue, and every yogi has his own answer. Here we will consider the general recommendations that are offered by Ayurveda, the yogic science of health.
"A Person Is a Product of Time, Place, and Circumstances"
This is the first principle that should guide the diet.
Time. We live in a certain time, with modern technologies and products. Now it is extremely difficult to find natural organic products, milk cows in the yard and drink fresh milk, or even grow their own vegetables and fruits.
Consider the place where you live - the Indian climate is very different from our winter, so pay attention to the seasonality and products that are present at the moment in the grocery stores. Raw food is very difficult to maintain in the cold season, and this is not suitable for everyone.
Circumstances are the next sign, which should be looked at. Perhaps earlier when there was nothing to eat, people hunted for mammoths and used their meat as a survival food. This is normal. Now our environment is different and there is no need to eat mammoths - meat is used either by habit or for pleasure.
Awareness
This is the next distinctive feature of yogis. When we practice poses, we try to listen to sensations in the body and this principle eventually becomes reality.
To feel what the body needs at the moment is the key to a healthy body. It happens that we want to eat a certain product (especially it is common among pregnant women) - it is necessary to give to organism what it desires. But do not confuse desire with a bad habit (for example, craving for sweet).
Awareness also means understanding and choosing what we eat. Most of the food habits we absorb from ourselves from childhood, along with the way of life of our families. It is important to understand that not all these habits are a healthy way of eating and to revise the data set by us in order to correct them.
Nature of food
According to Ayurveda, each product has a character and it is important to know because the qualities of food are transferred to us in the body and affect us. There is ignorant, passionate and benevolent food.
Ignorant food includes stale, spoiled, canned foods, convenience foods, fast food, frozen foods, as well as meat and all products of animal origin, overcooked food, pickles, alcohol, mushrooms, yeast.
Passionate food includes following type of food: fatty, too spicy, too sweet, very acidic, heavy, heavily flavored, very hot, dry, caffeine in any manifestation, tobacco, onion, garlic, refined sugar, table salt, carbonated drinks, spices.
Good food is distinguished by the presence in it of energy (prana), which nourishes the body. It includes fresh vegetables and root vegetables, fruits and berries, dried fruits and honey, sour-milk products, grains and legumes, nuts and seeds, vegetable fats, herbs and greens. Drinks: herbal, flower teas, milk, natural juices.
Body type
According to Ayurveda, there are three types of people and everyone is conditionally divided into these groups. The food should be different depending on what your physique is (in most cases, all people have a mixed type):
1) Vata: thin body, thin bones, dry skin and hair, it is difficult to gain weight. They love change, think quickly and act quickly, get tired. Food is recommended warm, oily, moist, nutritious. Frequent meals, but in small portions.
2) Pitta: medium build, sensitive skin, often blonde hair does not tolerate sun and heat, easy to type and easily lose weight. Fast, aggressive, demanding, straightforward. It is recommended to exclude very fried, spicy and salty foods. Eat three meals a day.
3) Kapha: small growth, wide bone, hair and fat skin, it is difficult to lose weight. Calm, patient, thrifty, self-esteemed. It is recommended to exclude sweet, heavy, fatty foods, give preference to fresh vegetables and fruits, sometimes to starve. Eat twice a day.
Diet
In Ayurveda it is believed that the regime of the day and nutrition is very important in human health. The optimal time for taking food is as follows:
- 6.00 - 7.00 - Start the morning with a glass of warm water (you can drink with lemon and honey) - gently triggers the digestive system;
- 8.00 - fruit or juice, herbal tea - the body is not yet sufficiently awake for a heavy breakfast;
- 10.00 - porridge, sour-milk products, fruit, dried fruits - the optimal time for a full breakfast;
- 12.00 -14.00 - a full-fledged lunch, grain-legume food, in size the most abundant meal, the fire of digestion is very strong;
- 18.00 -19.00 - dinner, it is desirable to exclude all heavy fatty foods and give preference to stewed vegetables, the fire of digestion is weak;
- 21.00 - a cup of warm milk with honey and spices - will help prepare for bed.
Naturally, it is recommended to drink plenty of water during the day, one hour before meals and 1.5 - 2 hours after.
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