Should be a vegetarian when you do yoga?

As part of yoga training, I took courses in nutrition, during which many questions were asked: "What to eat before class? "" Can you drink coffee? , "" What to eat? "" Is it worth it to eat organic? "Etc.. The answers all revolved around the same principle balance! Find the body intuition to eat well, it was the deal of the day. The question of vegetarianism was also raised, and I was particularly interested: why being a vegetarian is often associated with yoga? Should we become a vegetarian when you do yoga? No, we MUST not, but the question still deserves to be asked. Furthermore the concept of balance, here are two other angles that allow the address: ayurveda and classification of foods beneficial or not, and the principle of non-violence.

The three gunas

Remember the course of ayurveda that I had taken at the beginning of the training? Ayurveda is as the science of life, is an ally of yoga exercises which offers wellness and hygiene life in general and particular body. On this day ayurveda, we sought to identify what our "dosha", ie our basic physical constitution, a kind of essential quality that characterizes us. To these qualities - or "doshas" - are juxtaposed three "gunas" qualities present in all things. Here's how these three gunas apply to food, our topic here:

GUNA	QUALITIES	IN FOOD
Sattva	Peaceful, harmonious, clear	Food nourishes the body in a healthy way, and calms the mind: fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, sprouted seeds, honey, etc..  This is all that is natural and not processed, cooked without burnt or eaten preferably raw.
Rajas	moving, exciting, chaotic	Nutrients that stimulate the body, mind and stirs the uncontrollable make:. Spices, tastes too strong, coffee, tea, eggs, salt, chocolate  Eating fast is rajasic.
Tamas	heavy, dark	Food that is not good for the body or the mind, because it makes it heavy and inert: it is where we find the meat, but also onions, garlic, everything is fermented , overripe stale.Overeating is tamasic.

In general, the goal is to increase "sattva". Eat a sattvic, that is to say, light, fresh and natural, to prepare the body for the practice of yoga: if food is just too tamasic - wines, breads, pasta, while large quantities - the body becomes heavy, was sleeping, and it is not ideal to move then.

An interpretation of Ahimsa, non-violence

You can choose not to eat meat or fish for various reasons:

• by taste, or rather disgust. Meat, we think it's blah.
• for ethical reasons because the conditions of rearing and slaughter of animals cruel and unjustified found, you can make the choice not to eat meat - or at least to limit consumption. (Read about the great book by Jonathan Safran Foer, Should you eat animals).
• moral reasons, following the principle of non-violence, ahimsa in Sanskrit. This is another way to explain why yoga and vegetarianism are often associated. Ahimsa means non-violence, ie the rejection of violence in all its forms, the most obvious and radical is not to kill (even if there is more behind this concept). As a yogini, if we apply Ahimsa, we will not eat animals.

Conclusion: meat or not we stop?

Everything is a question  of balance  in yoga, then adopt a radical principle ban seems contradictory.Rather than forbid me to eat meat, I prefer to limit consumption, listen to what I really want ... and honestly, I often do not want meat. I find bland chicken (and the horrors they say about their farming conditions enough to put me off), I'm not a fan of lamb, game leaves me cold. The only thing I did not want to give up: the beef in burgers, sausages and fish ... The change, yes ... but not all!

If you want to change power - either out of respect for the animals to lose weight, or feel better about his body - he must have really wanted. If it is just a loss of something that we like anyway, it probably will not work forever. By practicing yoga regularly, moving his body, calming the mind, the physical and emotional changes are felt almost naturally. After a yoga class, I feel like eating light than going to McDonalds.

We were recommended to read this book: Nourishing Wisdom by Marc Daniel , in particular Chapter Whole Body Eating on the importance of considering food as an experience in itself, and not just something mechanical (I don ' did not find the French translation of the book).

Do you see changes in your diet since you practice yoga?