Yoga Teacher Training Forum

I am a vegan...I do not approach this at all with my students but if they ask me I do admit it. I have noticed that even in yoga retreats in my lehigh valley area of PA, the servers are not even familiar with a vegan diet; so I think you are just fine eating what you like!!

Hi Jeanne',

I like what you write and I totally agree. I haven't eaten meat for almost 12 years but I never tell my students to become vegetarians. I only teach them about healthy food choices and to eat natural and non processed food. It's their choice then.

A perception is not reality. Diet ds not make the Yogi. Diet is only part of the equation. When you follow all of the Yamas and Niyamas, without judging others, then you are practicing Yoga.

Hi Marianthi,

How gs the battle? Have you gone back to a Sattvic diet yet or do you have to tolerate Tamasic for a bit longer?

Namaste,

Steph

What is the Yogic Diet?

Yoga involves much more than stretches and meditation; it extends to many other aspects of life, including the diet. Many yoga instructors and students are so dedicated to practicing yoga that they also follow the yogic diet to maintain a level of balance within the body. This diet is often, but not always, vegetarian in nature, and there is a large focus on ensuring that the diet is balanced and healthy. There are numerous therapeutic effects from this diet, as it benefits of the health of the entire body.

While not all yogic diets are completely vegetarian, they are primarily plant-based in nature. The majority of the diet includes plants, legumes, beans, nuts, and fruits. Meat should be avoided due to the difficult processing it requires in the body, but if it is consumed, very lean meats, such as lean chicken or fish, should be the only ones included. The high amount of fiber in the diet leads to improved gut motility and more regular gastrointestinal movements. Stimulating foods, such as heavy spices, onions, and garlic, should also be avoided due to their tendency to induce imbalance in the body. Stimulating foods work against the relaxing effects of yoga and the yogic diet.

The concern that many people who do not follow the yogic diet confess is that the yogic diet may be unbalanced and will lead to more disease processes. While this concern is valid with some other diets, the yogic diet focuses heavily on inducing a level of internal balance. It is important for the diet to be balanced to achieve this. Legumes and nuts are used frequently as sources of protein and healthy fats where meat may have once been used. The gut micro flora display an increase in activity with the ingestion of a diet high in plant material, which will cause more fermentation and the production of amino acids and volatile fatty acids to occur. Meat is not a necessary aspect of a balanced diet; plants just require a different breakdown process.

Therapeutic, or holistic, diets focus on healing the body's ailments with nutrition. Physical, mental, and chemical abnormalities can be helped through the use of certain healthy foods. Consuming a more balanced and healthy diet leads to healthy muscle and organ functioning. This is achieved through the nutrition causing a decrease muscle pain, an increase gastrointestinal health and motility, and an increased production of hormones and neurotransmitters for improved nervous system health.