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4. Proper diet (vegetarian)
Eat to live...
“Eat to live, don’t live to eat” – that’s the yogic attitude towards nutrition. The yoga practitioner chooses food products that have the most positive effects on the body and mind, and the fewest negative effects on the environment and on other creatures. As a vegetarian, the yoga practitioner eats the primary producers of the food chain: Plants get their nutrients directly from the sun, the energy source for all life on our planet.
Wholesome and well balanced
The yogic diet is lacto-vegetarian and consists mainly of grains, pulses, fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and dairy products. A vegetarian diet is wholesome, easy to digest and supplies the body with a maximum amount of nutrients and energy. In general, we should select food items that are as fresh and natural as possible (no preservatives or artificial flavours), ideally organic and non-GM foods. Careful preparation of the food is essential to retain a maximum amount of nutrients. Long storage, refinement or overcooking destroys many vital components of our food.
The mind eats too!
We literally are what we eat. Most people are unaware that foodstuffs form the substance of the mind as well, thus influencing it in a very subtle way. So impure foods like meat not only stiffen the joints, but also leave behind a sense of heaviness and lethargy. They create fertile ground for the emergence of chronic diseases or depression.The yogic diet consists of pure food products and helps us keep both body and mind healthy and fit.