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Ask the Doctor
- Yoga and diet
by Jeff Migdow, M.D.
Since the beginning of time, civilizations have considered what we eat
and how we eat of utmost importance. In order to accomplish our physical
labor, whether it's yoga, exercise or working in the fields, we need
nutritious food in sufficient quantities to allow our cells to produce
energy. When people overeat or are starving, when they don't eat what
their bodies need, or, as in modern times, consume too much unhealthy
refined and processed food, the cells age more quickly and have a harder
time producing energy.
Thus, eating a healthy, clean diet is an underpinning of the practice of
yoga. In fact, in the yogic scriptures, eating is considered a sadhana,
a reverent act, a union between that part of nature which is the eater
and that part which is eaten. What's eaten actually transforms into the
eater—if I eat a carrot, that carrot becomes a human being through my
process of eating it. When we're eating, we should optimally be focused,
present, all our attention in the mouth. Yogic philosophy says we should
chew our solid food until it's liquified and chew our liquids as if they
were solids, so we absorb all the prana and nutrients.
Most people find that when they start practicing yoga, they feel
impelled to make dietary changes. When we become more sensitive through
the practice of yoga to our bodies and the effects of what we put into our
bodies, we tend to automatically make modifications in the amount we eat,
what we eat and when we eat. As a yoga teacher, you're not licensed to
give specific dietary advice, but you can speak in general terms about
diet, moderation and the benefits of eating organic, unprocessed food. You
can address diet in terms of the yamas and niyamas, i.e., keeping your
meat intake down as a manifestation of ahimsa, non-violence. More
importantly, you can inspire your students to become more aware of their
bodies, the food they eat and how it affects them. Encourage them to
observe what foods cause an energetic, clear feeling (SATTVIC in yoga
terminology), a hyped-up, speedy feeling (RAJASIC) or a dull, heavy
feeling (TAMASIC). They can then experiment with modifying their diets in
order to experience more of that clear, satisfied pranic feeling.
The yoga scriptures emphasize the importance of a satTvic diet to create
purity in the mind and body as a vehicle for connecting more deeply with
spirit. If you have a very dulling or stimulating diet, it's difficult
to reach this peaceful state even if you're doing yoga postures. We all
know that if we overeat at night, then practicing yoga the next morning
is a less pleasant experience. We tend to oversleep and if we do get up
to practice, our bodies feel heavy and dull. If you're hyped-up and
stimulated with coffee, on the other hand, you might be going through
the motions of your practice, but your mind won't be calm and
stable.
Yoga can be very helpful for people with eating disorders, diseases
related to the emotional body. When people with anorexia or bulimia
practice yoga, they become more sensitive and more connected to their
bodies and thus less likely to deny themselves nourishment. The yoga
also helps them release deeply-held tensions, especially those locked in
the abdominal area, making them less likely to feel the need to process
these emotions through food.
I've also worked with many OVERWEIGHT clients, who tell me that once they
start practicing yoga, it's much easier to eat less, chew more and eat
healthier food. They're inspired, they say, by how much they enjoy their
yoga practice—they want to be able to stretch more fully and deeply and
know they can't do that as long as they're carrying extra weight. When
they're overweight, they feel sluggish and numb and it's hard for them to
experience what's happening in the postures. In addition, as they become
more sensitive to their bodies, they feel the heaviness more intensely
than before and are even more motivated to lose weight.
For OVERWEIGHT students, those with eating disorders or simply the typical
American who overeats and consumes unhealthy food, the key is not specific
postures so much as frequent practice. Within a few months, a practice of
eight to ten postures done at least every other day will create more
sensitivity and openness in the body as well as a strong
incentive to be able to stretch more deeply and experience the flow of
prana more intensely. ADDING KAPALBHATI BREATHING WILL AID IN STIMULATING
DIGESTION AND ELIMINATION, WHICH WILL HELP THE STUDENT GET MORE
NUTRIENTION AND ENERGY OUT OF THEIR FOOD!! A balanced approach to the
sadhana of eating allows for a much deeper, richer, spiritual experience,
both on and off the mat.
Jeff Migdow, M.D., a
former director of Kripalu
Yoga
Teacher Training, is the developer and director of Prana
Yoga Teacher Training. For information about workshops at the Open
Center in New York City and his Prana Yoga Teacher Training, call
212-219-2527. For information about Jeff's medical practice, call
413-448-3446
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