Eating Wisely
By Mary Taylor and Lynn Ginsburg

With the heightened awareness that practicing yoga brings, you begin to recognize that all of the choices you make both on and oft the mat have a profound effect, not just on your own life hut the world around you. One Choice everyone must make on a daily basis is what to eat. On the surface this may seem rather simple—eat what you feel like eating, what's convenient, or vhat you habitually eat. But as with every decision you make, your food choices have consequences, too.
 

When practicing yoga, it’s easy to notice the more overt effects of your food choices. You eat too much pizza one night, and your yoga practice is dull and sluggish the next day. But as you move beyond your asana practice and begin to consider yoga's underlying philosophical principles, you may notice that your food choices also affect you on a deeper level.      

 In the ancient yoga tradition, a vegetarian diet was typically consumed. This harkens back to yoga’s roots as a philosophical system within the Hindu religion which considers eating meat—especially the sacred cow—profane. Therefore as you continue your study of yoga, the question is certain to arise: Should you become a vegetarian?

When contemplating this question, it's valuable to consider the yamas, the first of the eight limbs in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra. The yamas are ethical principles and include ahimsa, or nonharming. Many yoga practitioners choose vegetarianism as an effort to practice ahimsa by not killing and eating other living creatures.

The yamas don't provide answers or dictates for life, but instead involve questioning—deep consideration of these ethical principles as applied to your circumstances. Consciously choosing whether being a vegetarian is right for you and reaffirming this decision on a daily basis is what the practice of the yamas is intended to foster.

That choice is something we must all wrestle with using the deep powers of insight and awareness that the practice of yoga provides.

If you do decide to become vegetarian, many new choices will unfold. You'll begin to explore the unfamiliar ingredients and intriguing culinary options vegetarianism has to offer. 'You'll be introduced to alternative sources of protein such as tofu, tempeh, and seitan. And you'll start to see fruits and vegetables as an integral rather than a supplementary part of your diet. Your palette may also become increasingly sensitive as you become more conscious of your choices.

But along with interesting new options, vegetarianism may initially present some challenges. When you eat meat, what to serve for a main course is easy—grill a steak or broil a chicken breast and you're set. But with vegetarianism, the entree is seldom ready in a flash. Throw a slab of tofu on the grill, fresh out of the package, and see who comes back to eat at your house! Cooking most vegetarian main courses requires forethought and planning. Tofu and tempeh, for example, need to be marinated or served in a sauce, and beans must be soaked before cooking can begin. But the initial challenges can prove to be just that. With practice, finding a balanced vegetarian diet can become a creative and gratifying part of your everyday life. The following guidelines will help you make the transition successfully

Cut out meat gradually. It may seem like you're depriving yourself if you suddenly switch to a diet that excludes meat. So begin by eliminating meat a couple of days a week or every other meal. As you discover more vegetarian foods you like and your body adjusts to the changes in your diet, gradually increase the number of vegetarian meals and decrease the number of meat meals.

Listen to your body. If you crave meat, don't reject the impulse out of hand. Question what you're craving and why. Is it the flavor? The feeling your body has when you eat meat? Or is it the associations you have with eating meat? Then if you feel your body really needs the meat for any reason, the right choice may be to eat some at your next meal. If you do, don't berate yourself; just eat consciously, remaining aware of how eating the meat effects you physically, emotionally, and ethically Also, stay aware of how you feel afterward and how it may be affecting you even a day later.

Adapt your favorite recipes to be meatless. Sauces and marinades that you enjoy on fish, chicken, or even red meat, may go well with tofu or tempeh. Instead of just pouring the sauce over the cooked tofu or tempeh as you might a piece of meat, marinate and cook the soyfood right in the sauce for a delicious and satisfying alternative. Replace meat in casseroles, soups, chili, or pasta dishes with seasoned tofu, tempeh, or beans (see p. 41.). Finding creative alternatives is one of the aesthetic pleasures of switching your diet and palette to vegetarian foods.

Plan ahead. At first you may find that preparing vegetarian meals is time-consuming. So do what you can ahead of time. For instance, if you're making rice or potatoes for dinner one night, make a double batch and save half for another meal later in the week. Then use them as a base for another dish such as a casserole or stir-fry. When you're standing around waiting for water to boil, try making use of the extra time to clean lettuce, trim vegetables, marinate tofu, or cook some beans so that you can create another dish with little effort later on.

It takes effort and consciousness to make healthy and ethical food choices. But that effort is well worth it when you realize how much more difficult it is to go against your inner dictates. Whatever foods you ultimately decide to eat, your choices should reflect what you know is right for you.

Mary Taylor has studied yoga and meditation since 1982 and has written three cookbooks. Lynn Ginsburg has studied yoga, vipassana, and Sanskrit since 1983. Her articles have appeared in Travel and Leisure and the Los Angeles Times. The two have co-authored a book, What Are You Hungry For?, to be published by St. Martin's Press in 2002.

Originally published in Yoga Journal January/February 2001 www.yogajournal.com