What Does a Yogi Eat?

There are so many mixed messages about what to eat and how to eat. It seems as a nation the more we diet the bigger we get. I have decided that diets are indeed very fattening. Food is a very complicated issue because we have to have it, and there can be so many emotional issues attached to it.

Yoga does offer us some guidelines that can be very helpful. Taking only what we need is the first. It is not always easy but that is why we say we practice our yoga, it is the journey that counts. It is not about cutting carbs or fats it is about just taking what our body needs. The first low carbs diets were in the 50's and 60's. They are not something new, the Scarsdale diet, for an example was big in the 70's. Then everybody went to low fat and cut all fats. It seems to be one extreme to the next.

Any diet that cuts out a major food group is a harmful diet. We need them all; however, we do need the right ones. There are good and bad carbs and fats. Yoga helps us with this as well.

Yoga tells us to take in foods that provide us with prana. Prana means life giving energy. Now it is not rocket science to be able to distinguish foods that have prana from those that do not. What would you say has more prana, a juicy red ripe apple or a bowl of Doritos? So we need to eat foods that are in their natural form. This eliminates processed foods. When we do that the bad carbs are all gone, so are the bad sugars, and most of the bad fats.

The supplement industry is also booming. Supplements are meant to be just that, supplemental. Supplements are no substitute for a whole foods diet. They can be very helpful and I think necessary today but only after a whole healthy diet.

The study of nutrition is really just starting to take off, especially holistic nutrition. Every day there are new Phytonutrients being discovered. There are millions more to be discovered. These all work synergistically, therefore to separate them as supplements loses many important properties that we are just beginning to discover which makes this field very exciting.

The research is extensive in finding foods that seem to be POWERFOODS. These are foods which give us the most nutritionally. Notice as you read down the list that these are all prana packed foods.

POWER FOODS
Red, yellow, and orange fruits Red, yellow, and orange vegetables Cruciferous and leafy green vegetables Mushrooms Sea vegetables		Garlic and company Whole grains Beans and legumes Soy Nuts and seeds

Keep a diary for a month and see how many of these you get on a daily basis. Highlight all the foods you consume that are not on this list and that are devoid of prana! Ask yourself before you "dig in", ISTHIS FOOD PROVIDING PRANA,OR ROBBING ME OF PRANA?

If you would like more information or have questions please feel to contact me! annette@pathend.com