Yoga and Food
One of the first things I noticed when I started practicing yoga was that I could suddenly "hear" my body telling me what it wanted to eat, what it didn't want to eat, and when to stop. A regular daily practice brings us sharply in tune with our bodies, so we naturally become more aware of its needs and realize that our bodies actually have a lot to say if we'd only listen. We also begin to realize how often we let the mind overrule the body's needs -- we ignore it's needs for sleep, exercise, and proper nutrition so we can burn the candle at both ends or fill an emotional hole, or maybe we push it too far -- running our bodies into the ground so we can meet our ego's goals for excessive exercise or extreme adventure.
Simply listening to my body kept me in good shape and good health for many years. But when I hit 43 things started changing. (I suspect those things are hormones.) My metabolism seemed to come to a dead stop. I gained some weight on our honeymoon in Italy, but I wasn't worried because I'd always been able to quickly get rid of excess pounds by eating soup, salad, or cereal for a couple of days. Unfortunately, that no longer worked. No matter how much I exercised or how little I ate, my weight didn't budge. I joined a gym and started working out frantically on all kinds of machines, but after eight months I hadn't lost any weight and I had a lot of injuries and very stiff joints and muscles. I was getting very upset and unhappy with my body for hanging on to this weight, but I needed to be yogic and love my body as it was. I quit the gym and went back to doing only the things that my body loves: yoga, dancing, and walking or biking outdoors. I wore ski clothes to keep walking in the winter. I recovered from the injuries, and even though my weight didn't change, I could appreciate the fact that I was strong, flexible, healthy, and felt really good.
While flying home from our latest yoga retreat in Costa Rica, I read an article about diet mistakes that people tend to make according to Ayurveda. It said that my constitution -- Pitta -- can make the mistake of eating too many spicy and pungent foods. While these foods aren't necessarily fattening, they can cause inflammation and water retention -- issues that I was certainly struggling with. So I decided to implement a few ayurvedic practices:
For Pitta dosha:
1. Cut back on chiles and pungent foods and use more cooling spices instead.
For everyone:
2. Each morning, before eating or drinking anything else, drink a glass of room-temperature water with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice to flush the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and hydrate the body.
3. Never drink anything cold or iced, as it interferes with digestion and other metabolic processes. Drink only room temperature or warm drinks. And don't drink too much during meals for the same reason. Just take small sips while eating.
4. Pack your own healthy snacks and lunch to avoid restaurant food and processed snacks. (I now eat fresh veggies and yogurt dip instead of granola bars between classes.)
5. Make a "bowl" by bringing your hands together -- pinky fingers touching. In one sitting, don't eat any more than what would fit into your own two hands.
These were just simple changes that didn't involve deprivation at all, so I was very surprised to find myself losing my excess 5 pounds and no longer having problems with water retention. And I was also surprised that I no longer craved my afternoon coffee and chocolate. In the meantime, I learned more about Ayurveda and went on a moderate detox weekend with a friend, which I'll talk about in my next post, so stay tuned!
Namaste!
Sandy Pradas
