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Some of the philosophical principles of yoga should be extended to our approach to nutrition – according to naturopath Charles Eisenstein, this will help develop receptivity to the true needs of our body … and soul.
(Сharles Eisenstein) – philosopher and translator from Chinese, traveled in the East for many years, studying yoga and traditional medicine, author of the book “Yoga of Nutrition” (Sofia, 2007).
Three times a day, we are waiting for the pleasure that food gives. And so every day. “We are only required to recognize this fact,” says Charles Eisenstein, an adept in nutritional yoga. Diets and restrictions, routines, and beliefs about the benefits or harms of certain foods only complicate our relationship with food. To gain integrity, to stop fighting with oneself, and to turn our will and discipline not to fight, but to study ourselves and our tastes (in the literal sense of the word) is the key to harmony with our own body and weight.
Rely on yourself
All people are different. The simplest practical observations reveal this with all obviousness: someone from our close circle is able to eat exclusively high-calorie foods without getting better at all. And someone, on the contrary, endlessly limits himself in calories or carefully chooses products, but still cannot achieve the desired changes in the figure. It makes perfect sense that different people have different needs, both in calories and in terms of nutrients, fats, proteins and carbohydrates. However, most of us continue to believe in the effectiveness of a variety of diets, studying long lists of “harmful” foods or their combinations. By force of upbringing, we prefer to trust reason and acquired convictions, silencing the quiet voice of our body.
The idea of integrity
Unfortunately, the modern idea of “self-improvement” is based on such false beliefs, which contains a denial of our original value. The dualism of consciousness, the opposition of soul and body leads us to the idea of ”taming the flesh” for the sake of “spiritual growth”. And to the appearance of judgments like “eating meat is bad”, “vegetarianism is good”. Some people (those who are vegetarians or regular fasts) are therefore better, “more spiritual” than others.
According to yoga, in order for a person to exist in harmony, his diet must correspond to his lifestyle. Taste characteristics, as well as our addictions to certain products or dislike for them, are not accidental, but elements of the biochemical language that our body speaks to us. Trying to “improve” ourselves with the help of willpower, limiting ourselves in certain foods, or introducing a way of eating that may not be suitable for living in a modern metropolis, we risk introducing additional dissonance into our existence. The result will be that in a moment of weakness and loss of control, true desires will break out, demanding their satisfaction. The idea of wholeness implies that our needs for certain foods are dictated by both the needs of the body and the needs of the soul.
Breathe with taste
Natural breathing is the most accessible way to get in touch with your body. Having mastered it, you will learn how to decipher the body’s signals about the degree of satiety, hunger, or the need for a certain food.
- Sit up straight, close your eyes and focus. Do not try to give your breathing a rhythm or depth, just breathe in the way that is most comfortable for you.
- Listen to your breath: are you breathing through your mouth or through your nose?
- Count to yourself: how many counts does the exhale last and how long does the inhale last?
- Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach – which moves more?
- Place both hands on the ribs and feel the nature of their movement: is it moving forward and up, wide, or are the ribs moving apart like a fan?
- A deep breath helps to instantly establish contact between the body and consciousness, that is, to realize our needs, and can also give energy when you crave sweets or smoke.
The voice of the soul
Modern psychology knows that our relationship to nutrition is at a fundamental level connected with the feelings of comfort and security that our mother’s breast gave us in infancy. When these basic needs are not met, we unsuccessfully try to “saturate” them with food and overeat. But it is also pointless to fight the “hunger of the soul”, limiting oneself in food with the help of willpower. Being aware of these two facts will help us separate need from craving. And then look for ways to satisfy our hunger for care and security, whether it be psychotherapy, yoga, or other bodily and spiritual practices whose goal is to reconnect with ourselves.
Trust and sensitivity
“Feel” and “trust” are the key concepts of nutrition yoga. To begin with, we will have to believe that the body is our best adviser on what to feed it. Then, learn to listen to it. To do this, you will have to devote some time (at least five minutes at breakfast) exclusively to food, without being distracted by conversation, TV, or a newspaper. When asking yourself the questions “Am I hungry?”, “What would I like to eat now?”, You need to listen to your body and get acquainted with the physical and emotional aspects of sensations. Getting used to being attentive to the needs of the body, we get closer to our own “I”. Nutrition Yoga offers special exercises for this (see boxes on pp. 232, 234).
Eat without haste
Let’s dedicate just five minutes a day to enjoying food – and our relationship with it will certainly change in the direction of greater harmony.
- Flavor is the first thing we should pay attention to even before the food enters our mouth. Feel the aroma, mentally describing it to yourself, and then compare your sensations with those when the tidbit was already on the tongue.
- Feel the temperature of the food: does it help the taste or rather hinder it?
- Feel the texture, mentally describing it and listening to your sensations – do you like it or don’t like it?
- Evaluate the taste or combination of tastes by rolling the food in your mouth – taste buds in different areas of the tongue are responsible for the nuances of sensations. Try to mentally describe them the way wine tasters describe different notes and flavors.
- When you feel the urge to swallow food, do it slowly while inhaling and feel what is happening in your body at that moment.
Thoughtful Nutrition
Feeling the absorption of each piece of food and enjoying it is not an easy task. From childhood, we get used to moving on to the next stage without completing, without comprehending the previous one: we are constantly weighed down by a list of things waiting in the wings, we have too many obligations and distractions.
Thoughtful eating makes it possible to discover the pleasure that comes from flavors. With such a careful study, it may turn out that the food that used to seem tasty is actually not so pleasant, and something that seemed insipid reveals a subtlety and sophistication of sensations.
Smells and flavors are no less important food than proteins and carbohydrates. When we realize the opportunity to enjoy every bite, it instantly and drastically affects all our eating habits. The usual portion can suddenly seem huge. Those products that have been subjected to minimal changes in the processing process begin to seem the most delicious. We can say that a side effect of enjoying food is the formation of healthy habits: dishes that are oversweetened or contain excess salt and other flavorings cease to satisfy us.
Don’t rush to change
The yogic principle of non-violence is as applicable to our body as it is to other aspects of life. Forced, forced dietary changes are not the true path to health. It is worth practicing yoga of nutrition – not as a rigid directive or dietary prescriptions, but as an exploration of oneself and gaining a new (pleasant) experience. Only by following the path of gradual self-acceptance, development of trust in the body, you can really change for the better – whether it’s a figure, well-being or a feeling of happiness and fullness of life.