Healthy diet for a better yoga routine

Oct 30, 2019

Let us lean out of the window and say: Food is the most important act for your yoga practice. Because without a healthy diet you will not reach your physical peak performance nor the next higher state of consciousness. Everything we eat is food for our soul. Food is the source of our life force, which brings vitality and health to our body.

Imagine you eat only sugar and caffeine before your yoga practice. What effect would that have? A balanced, calm mind is much more approachable if you nourish and care for your body properly. But what exactly does it mean to eat right? How do you eat like a yogi? We have summarized the most important basics of yogic nutrition and give you valuable tips for more harmony in your stomach.

You are what you eat!

Yoga and nutrition are in a loving interaction with each other. In yoga philosophy, food is considered our first interaction with the world around us. On the other hand, food influences our yoga practice. In yoga you want to feel light and yet feel enough energy and strength. Therefore it is even more important to find the food that provides you with the necessary nutrients. A first step on the journey to a healthy diet is the practice of mindful eating.

Harmony in the meal.

He who eats attentively, enjoys better.

Mindful eating is a kind of meditation. By bringing our consciousness to the present moment, we remind ourselves to slow down, to dive into the experience of 'eating' and to perceive it with all our senses. We can often observe how our feelings influence our choice of food.

Dive in and listen.
Digestion, as a complex biological process, plays an important role. When we are stressed, we often do not eat in peace, have ravenous hunger pangs and our digestion is no longer synchronized, which can lead to a variety of physical and emotional illnesses. Ultimately, the power of mindful eating is to immerse ourselves in our body and listen to it.

Yogic!

Before yoga do not eat too much and not too little.

Rather than a uniform diet with strict rules, there are a number of approaches that can help you better adapt your diet to your body and your life. Because the one dietary concept that suits each of us does not exist anyway. Cultural differences, the availability of certain foods, individual tastes and intolerances determine our eating habits.

One approach is intermittent fasting, where you fast for part of the day or week. Also a diet according to the phases of the moon, can be just right for some people. There are also holistic concepts like Clean Eating and Ayurveda, which we at LUVIYO find particularly exciting.

Clean Eating, Ayurveda and Yoga - how does it fit together?

How pure are the groceries you buy?

Clean Eating means exactly what the English trend term translates as: pure / clean food. This approach is about avoiding processed and refined foods and basing the diet on natural whole foods. The most suitable foods are those that have been grown without genetic engineering and chemicals, sustainably and organically. Only then are they considered pure. Their purity makes them easier to digest and provides strength and vitality instead of burdening the body and digestion.

Clean Eating and Ayurveda are very similar in the aspect of purity, but Indian medicine goes one step further and divides food into food categories. Yoga and Ayurveda are two interconnected branches of the tree of Vedic knowledge. The Ayurvedic principles are based on the philosophy of the three gunas: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. These concepts represent the qualities that are present in food, nature, actions, body and mind. Sattva is a quality of love and harmony, consciousness, connection and peace with all sentient beings. If we do not eat with love, connectedness and peace, all other facets of our life tend to suffer.

As a yogi, a pure and ethical diet with predominantly rich foods is recommended. Tamasige and Rajasige food you should avoid:

Tamasige food

Tamas are impure, lazy or nutrient-poor foods that cause feelings of heaviness and lethargy. Tamas-like eating, such as alcohol, sugar or fried food, makes you feel listless, unmotivated and tends towards negativity.

Rajasige Food

Rajasige foods have a stimulating effect and contribute to physical and mental stress. Small amounts of Rajasigen foods are not a problem in an otherwise balanced life. Too much Rajas over-stimulate body and mind and lead to problems of the circulatory and nervous systems. Examples of rajasige foods are eggs, peanuts and fermented foods.

Full food

The foundation of Sattva is Ahimsa, non-violence. Many yogis therefore understand by Sattva the avoidance of all foods that require the killing or suffering of animals. However, this does not mean that you are only allowed to eat vegetarian or vegan food. This is the personal decision of each yogi.

Preference is given to foods that have been created and matured in harmony with nature.

In addition, you should prepare the food with love and positive intention.

5 Basics of ayurvedic nutrition

A harmonious meal.

Ayurveda was founded on the idea that we can be freed from suffering through the consumption of nutritious food and a life in harmony with nature. Ayurveda challenges us to understand ourselves and our environment and to create a balance. For example, there are special nutritional instructions for the individual constitution of the three doshas Kapha, Vata and Pitta. The Indian art of healing is a wide-ranging subject area. In order not to get lost in your research, we have compiled the most important basics of Ayurvedic nutrition:

1. the six Rasas (flavors)

Each meal should contain six flavours. Start your meal with a sweet taste (e.g. sweet fruits), followed by something salty and sour and finish with a slightly hot dish (e.g. onions or peppers), an astringent taste (like green apples or teas) and something bitter (celery, kale or green leafy vegetables).

2. mindfulness

Esse attentive and concentrated. Avoid speeches and other distractions, such as watching TV, to fully enjoy your meal and its beneficial effects.

3. the right speed

Eat slowly enough to enjoy the taste of the food, but fast enough to prevent your food from getting cold.

4. the right quantity

Watch for hunger signals and signs of fullness to avoid overeating. Only eat when your last meal's been digested. To be sure, wait three hours after your last meal but no longer than 6 hours (unless you fast).

5. daily meals

This point is very individual and depends on your daily rhythm. Many Ayurveda doctors recommend a modest breakfast and a larger, more satisfying lunch. Dinner may or may not be consumed depending on your hunger level.

Inspiration? Here you will find a wonderful recipe for Ayurvedic Kitchari.

Tips for your yogic diet

Find your yoga food.

As different as we yogis and yoginis are, so is the range of nutritional concepts. There is a lot of information that can quickly become complex and confusing. To help you get started, we have put together some LUVIYO nutritional tips for you here. They are based on the Clean Eating concept and the Ayurvedic principles, but are by no means fixed rules, but rather to be understood as orientation. Everyone has individual preferences, needs and habits. It takes time and observation to find exactly your individual yogic diet.

Meditation for your stomach:

Take fresh, untreated fruit & vegetables from the surrounding area to eat
Eat nutritious whole grain products, especially oats, wheat and rice
Add untreated foods rich in nutrients (beans, nuts and seeds) to your diet - Read the Ingredients Guide
Drink 2-3 liters of water per day. For variety, try herbal teas, water with lemon and/or lime from
More variety bring spices like cinnamon, cardamom, mint, basil, turmeric, ginger, cumin and fennel into your kitchen.
Prepare each meal with love and be careful.
For your yoga practice: Eat something nutritious but easily digestible 1 to 2 hours before practicing - this way you won't feel full, but you won't feel hungry or hypoglycaemic.

No matter what you eat, be yourself.

Feel free and balanced.

Making your diet healthier and more balanced and finding food that is pure can be a real challenge. But most importantly, you need to develop an awareness of what you eat. It's worth finding out not only about possible diets, but also about the origin and characteristics of the food you buy.

The most important thing, however, is to listen to yourself. In this way you will learn what types of food your body needs at different times of the day. If you feel light in your stomach, you will also feel better, stronger and more concentrated in yoga. Don't be too hard on yourself and allow a little flexibility. Yoga is about freedom, including freedom from your own beliefs and ideas. Start right away and try a new recipe after your next yoga session. But first, it's time for some asanas,

and don't forget your LUVIYO!