Although yoga in the United States has generally changed drastically from its eastern roots, those who practice traditional yoga also participate in the yogi diet. This diet goes along with the viewpoints and lifestyle of being a yogi. You have the option to follow the general guidelines of this diet or you can strictly follow all the tenets.
Identification
Within the traditional eastern yogi diet, there are many foods recommended for a yogi to eat. According to "The Complete Yoga Book," a yogi consumes grains such as barley, rice and wheat. Yogis can consume milk, ghee and butter. Sugar, honey and dried ginger are also common. Certain types of foods are thought to be negative in the yogi diet, including any foods that are bitter, hot, fermented or sour. The yogi diet is vegetarian, as yogis avoid meat and fish. Green vegetables are also avoided.
Modifications
This traditional yogi diet has taken on a more modern form, which can be practiced more easily in current American society. The basic proponents to follow are to reduce the amount of meat you consume, to replace processed foods with natural ones, to eat dairy, to eat some raw food on a daily basis, and to include fruit, vegetables and whole grains in your diet.
Function
This yogi diet goes along with a belief that certain foods will affect your personality and consciousness. There are three different food groups that coincide with this belief. Sattvic, or pure food, is the first group, which includes fruit, vegetables, grains and dairy. Rajasic, or stimulating food, includes spicy or strong foods, such as meat, fish and alcohol. Tamasic, or impure foods, are foods that are fermented, overripe or rotten. According to "The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga," "spiritually and mentally advanced people prefer the pure type of food. Average worldly people prefer the rajasic or stimulating food, and the tamasic or impure type of low, undeveloped man prefers the last type of rotten and putrefied foodstuffs."
Considerations
Yogis believe that certain foods repair and strengthen the body while others harm it. This diet includes the notion that natural, whole foods from plant sources provide the nutrients that strengthen the body, while food from animal sources can cause health problems. The refusal to eat meat also stems from views against harming animals.
History
The yogi diet developed along with yoga practice, as yoga is more than an exercise. Yoga includes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects. According to "The Complete Yoga Book," as you advance spiritually as a yoga student, you will want to eat pure and healthy food. The diet expected of a yogi can be found in the classic yoga texts, such as the 1915 book "Hatha Yoga Pradipika," the 1933 book "Gheranda Samhita" and the 1923 book "Siva Samhita."
References
- "The Complete Yoga Book"; James Hewitt; 1977
- "The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga"; Swami Vishnu-devananda; 1988
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