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The Sattvic Diet: nourishing and purifying
It is repeatedly signified that one needs to follow a
healthy balanced diet.
The sattvic diet, also called the
yogic diet, is a nutritional
approach to achieving higher consciousness through the consumption of fresh,
whole foods.
The purpose of food needs to be understood before choosing what to eat. Why do
we need to eat?
Fresh food gives lightness, happiness, joyfulness and increases intelligence. The food should be suitable for the mind, body, intelligence and soul.
There are no special dietary rules for asana practitioners although there are
many recommendations with the main ones being to eat natural foods and eat in
moderation. Yoga advises a vegetarian diet, particularly as it is preparation
for the higher forms of yoga.
Vegetarian food has been
found to promote inner calmness and harmony between the body and mind,
whilst eating meat has been linked with inner tension, anger, disharmony
and an increase in desires. Vegetarianism is the basis of a sattvic
diet.
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A yogic diet ideally follows a sattvic or pure food diet. A balance of
fresh fruit, vegetables, cooked whole grains, milk, legumes, nuts and seeds,
using a combination of both raw and cooked foods. These foods increase sattwa (one
of the three cosmic qualities or Gunas ) in the body because they are
light, simple and supply all the necessary nutrients. They increase our physical
and mental vitality making it easier to experience clarity, lightness and peace
of mind.
Rajasic
foods on the other hand are prepared with much oil and spice. They create
heaviness and restlessness in the mind. Meat and fish are classified under
these. Onion and garlic are also under this group as they increase desire.
Tamasic foods are foods that are old and stale. They lower the energy and cause
laziness. They include foods that are not cooked properly or chewed well and
processed foods. Stale, processed and frozen foods have lost their pranic
energy.
If we try to eat only sattvic foods as much as possible we can slowly change the
body chemistry, renewing the digestive system and taking away any strain.
Ideally we should eat foods that take minimum energy to digest, so that the
remaining energy can be used for more productive uses.
Sattvic foods, include fresh fruit, vegetables,
honey,
seeds and nuts those
which nourish the body and purify the mind, which lead to optimal physical and
spiritual health. Therefore, the sattvic diet allows yoga practitioners to lead
noble, meditative and
peaceful lives free of over-stimulation and debilitating negative emotions.
Most sattvic foods are clearly defined as
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whole,
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organic plant foods
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eaten in their natural states, Cooking
vegetables destroys
vitamins
and enzymes content, so you should try to eat some raw vegetables everyday,
or
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immediately after cooking, (NOTE: you might have certain food allergies
or sensitivities to consider.)
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fresh, organic dairy products such as milk, butter and fresh, homemade
cheeses are included.
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Drink approximately 2 litres of
water
daily. You can
increase your overall intake of fluids by drinking
herb trees, fruit and vegetable juices, and milk and vegetable milks
(coconut, soya, rice milk) and by eating water-rich foods, such as fruits
and vegetables.
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Meat is not allowed. Meat proteins takes a long time to
digest and tends to be difficult for the kidneys and liver to eliminate.
We can only really begin to live the full yogic
lifestyle when we have gone through the first layers of our needs, desires,
intuitions and instincts, preparing us for the physical, mental, psychic and
spiritual levels.
Warning
Do not overeat sattvic foods. When sattvic foods are overeaten, they become
tamasic foods and invite disease into the body. You should also not over-spice
sattvic foods, which turns them into rajasic foods that fuel unwarranted desires
and bodily restlessness.
Dated 14 June 2011
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