Question:

eat if you take a modest approach.. Lawrence…….

Response:

Actually, a vegetarian diet is advisable for a serious yoga student, or for anyone else. The act of eating an animal’s flesh is an act of violence and death, opposite to the yogi’s goal of attunement with the universe. As a conscientious member of society, I cannot support the economic or environmental harms incurred by the modern meat industry. To do as little harm as possible is another way of putting it.

Response:

Many Tantric Yogi’s Eat meat.  Vegeterianism is an evolutional process.  Don’t worry so much about what you eat.  Your body will tell you what you need.  This will happen if you continue to do Asanas.  You will intuitively go with what your body feels.   if you are addicted to anything it is bad.  Just remember one thing.  YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!   So just eat what makes your body feel good.    I use to eat meat heavily .  Then natural I felt I  didn’t need it any more.  But it was my choice.  I never wanted to surpress anything.  That causes to much suffering.  It takes a vegetarian roughly 15 years to really be a vegetarian.    Let the Yoga help you find a good diet .  By the way you should approach your teacher.  He or she should always be open to your view and feelings.  I know this because I teach 12 hatha Yoga classes in Miami.  I am constantly trying to help people help them selves.   Sincerely Santiago Dobles www.trika.org

Response:

Bismi,         It seems to me that you and your co-workers are different people, yes? Well then it is natural for you to have different experiences in yoga practice. We all do the comparison thing, at least I catch myself at it sometimes, one of the benefits of yoga is that I learn through my practice that self awareness isn’t comparable.         As to your real concerns, dietary changes may occur as you continue pratice. I caution you against giving up anything. When such time comes that you no longer feel attracted to eating something, then you won’t. It will simply fall away from your diet.         If you use your breath with more steady awareness during practice I think you will find yourself with less sense of stress after asanas. There are so many different styles of yoga, hatha being only one, that if you don’t feel benefits after a trial period, I encourage you to look at another path. I practice hatha myself but there are alternatives in this NG you might check out.         peace sandra

Response:

I do believe that meat eating may be having an effect on your experience. Of the three modes of nature- being satvic, rajisic, and tamasic, respectively purity, passion, and ignorance, meat is considered tamasic.  It can ‘weigh’ your energy down because of the heavy karma associated with it. For some, meat can be good at certain stages of development, aiding in grounding, but only organic meat is free of the many chemicals, and living condition nasties present in the industry.  I personally have never solely practices asanas.  I do kundalini yoga, which involves a set of exercises- asanas and or movements and breathing to achieve a prescribed effect.  A meditation, often chanting, follows.  It is very intense and I do not know of anyone who did not experience a life change while practicing.  Hatha can be a great start.  So, I encourage you to work through your doubts and answer your own questions to discover if perhaps yoga is very good for you right now.  If not, it’s OK.  The advancement you have made will always stay with you, and may act as a seed for future experiences. Sat Nam!  Peace!  Guru Chiter – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

Response:

Your excessively grouchy comment does not do justice to the joy of being vegetarian.  By painting a gloomy picture of it, you are not giving a true impression.  The basic concepts are quite simple and easy to apply.  Most of the traditional diets of people around the world combine the right amino acids at the same time.  Dal & rice or chapatis; tofu or tempeh & rice or noodles; pasta e fagioli; red beans & rice; succotash; frijoles & tortillas: all of these provide adequate protein.  The combinations have been put into practice for thousands of years already.  When you add milk & yogurt, protein is no problem at all.  ("Completely vegetarian" does not exclude dairy–the word for dairy exclusion is "vegan.")  Vegetarian life is delightful as long as you’re not locked into the American concept of what a meal has to consist of, centered around a big chunk of meat with other things on the side.  The vegetarian cuisine of many different cultures adds a lot of variety and fresh taste that is especially welcome in America and northwestern Europe. The lightness & happiness that results from a healthy vegetarian diet cannot be gotten any other way.  Nonviolence is one of the requirements of yoga. Even if a person feels reluctant when imagining what going vegetarian would be like, after giving it a try, for a month, many people are pleasantly surprised and have no more desire to eat meat.  Why not encourage others to give it a chance, instead of discouraging them? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Dear Bismi, You’ve probably noticed that studying Yoga is not just a physical thing.  You may start to notice your posture, breathing or how you stand in line in the supermarket. So, the meat thing.  Even in macrobiotic diets, meat is used occasionally is balanced correctly.  If you eat only meat, you’re going to feel heavy and unable to exercise.  Common sense, no?     I’ve studied Yoga and T’ai Chi and it seems to me that once you begin to work on breathing in conjunction with physical movement, you start to become aware of when you feel good.  The fact that you are worried about giving up meat indicates that you like to eat it. So, why stop?  Maybe you could try limiting the number of meat based meals you eat weekly to see if you feel any difference. A pure vegetarian diet is really a pain in the ass.  In order to get maximum nutrition, you have to make it a way of life – to eat all of the amino acids at one sitting.  To compensate for nutrients not usually found in the plant kingdom, you have to study up and shop and eat according to your findings. This is great if you’re living with someone who shares the philosophy and who will help in the investigations.  If not, prepare yourself for a Major Hobby. Eating chicken, turkey and fish  are great shortcuts to get protein and a lot of what you need to stay healthy. Good luck. Judi Haggai.

Response:

Dear Bismi, You’ve probably noticed that studying Yoga is not just a physical thing.  You may start to notice your posture, breathing or how you stand in line in the supermarket. So, the meat thing.  Even in macrobiotic diets, meat is used occasionally is balanced correctly.  If you eat only meat, you’re going to feel heavy and unable to exercise.  Common sense, no?  I’ve studied Yoga and T’ai Chi and it seems to me that once you begin to work on breathing in conjunction with physical movement, you start to become aware of when you feel good.  The fact that you are worried about giving up meat indicates that you like to eat it. So, why stop?  Maybe you could try limiting the number of meat based meals you eat weekly to see if you feel any difference. A pure vegetarian diet is really a pain in the ass.  In order to get maximum nutrition, you have to make it a way of life – to eat all of the amino acids at one sitting.  To compensate for nutrients not usually found in the plant kingdom, you have to study up and shop and eat according to your findings. This is great if you’re living with someone who shares the philosophy and who will help in the investigations.  If not, prepare yourself for a Major Hobby. Eating chicken, turkey and fish  are great shortcuts to get protein and a lot of what you need to stay healthy. Good luck. Judi Haggai.

Response:

Hello fellow human being, I am 30 Yrs old and I recently took to Yoga. My first experience being the class oraganised by my employer after work. I found it tough initially and after few classes, I found it pretty easy going though the asanas that we do are rudimentary. My collegues claim they have benifitted immensely from asanas-with regards to their stress level coming down and productivity, efficiency and power to think going up.But I haven’t gained any siginificant advantage from asanas.

  First, you will serve yourself by being patient and allowing time for the asanas to have their effects. Second, you may well add regular meditation – it may largely enhance your spiritual advance. At The Third Circle Web Site, which URL address is given at the signature of this post, there is a free online meditations manual. Does anybody know if Food plays an important role in maximising the benifits? I am a meat eater and I haven’t quit eating meat whereas my collegues have reduced the intake and some of them have quit completely. Is that the difference that is letting me to abandon Yoga !! Please help me, as I am too self conscious about discussing such a matter with my teacher.As a matter of fact my teacher has really appreciated my skills of asanas. Is there anybody out there who has experienced this kind of situation!

  Many Yoga practitioners and meditators switch to a vegetarian diet at some point, though some continue to eat meat all along. The best is to let changes take place on their own accord – all changes, including possible diet changes. Best is to go on with your life as it is, enjoy your life, practice your practices and see what changes will take place, or what changes you may decide upon – willingly, without any coercion May your own Light and Love guide you. White Eagle (Joshua Gomeh). change eagle_w into eaglew). The Third Circle (TTC) is because you are your own Master. The Third Circle Web Sites: www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/5715/    (Main Site – USA) members.iol.co.il/weagle/                   (Israeli Mirror)

Response:

Bismi . . . My advice is to examine what is the reason you have taken up yoga. If you intend it as nothing more than some exercises to tone the body, I don’t suppose it makes much difference whether you go vegetarian. But if you intend yoga as a spiritual path, then it would be only proper to pay heed to the requirements of that path. There are eight limbs of classical yoga according to Patanjali.  They are cumulative: you have to accomplish each one in order before going on to the next.  (Pardon me if I am repeating what is already common knowledge). The first is yama–restraint.  There are five basic yamas: 1. Ahimsa (nonviolence) 2. Satya (no lying; truthfulness) 3. Asteya (no stealing) 4. Brahmacarya (chastity) 5. Aparigraha (no covetousness). You see the very first step to take upon the spiritual path of yoga is nonviolence. If you can find a way to reconcile eating meat with nonviolence, go ahead.  This is just something to think about.  Eating meat is not at all necessary for good nutrition. Furthermore, when it comes to the second limb of yoga, niyama (discipline), vegetarian diet assists in sauca (purity), because in yoga physical purification has to be done from within, cleansing the body of toxins resulting from imperfect digestion.  If you are vegetarian, you are already well on the way to accomplishing this, but if you eat meat, you are making it more difficult, since meat eating always adds to the toxins that stay in your body.  Another niyama is tapas (physical discipline, gaining control over the bodily appetites).  Going vegetarian could help accomplish this too.  Once you get a taste of nonviolence and purity, perhaps you will find them more appealing than animal corpses.  Just try going vegetarian for, say, a month. See how you feel.  You may like it so much you’ll never want to go back! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello fellow human being, I am 30 Yrs old and I recently took to Yoga. My first experience being the class oraganised by my employer after work. I found it tough initially and after few classes, I found it pretty easy going though the asanas that we do are rudimentary. My collegues claim they have benifitted immensely from asanas-with regards to their stress level coming down and productivity, efficiency and power to think going up.But I haven’t gained any siginificant advantage from asanas.   First, you will serve yourself by being patient and allowing time for the asanas to have their effects. Second, you may well add regular meditation – it may largely enhance your spiritual advance. At The Third Circle Web Site, which URL address is given at the signature of this post, there is a free online meditations manual. Does anybody know if Food plays an important role in maximising the benifits? I am a meat eater and I haven’t quit eating meat whereas my collegues have reduced the intake and some of them have quit completely. Is that the difference that is letting me to abandon Yoga !! Please help me, as I am too self conscious about discussing such a matter with my teacher.As a matter of fact my teacher has really appreciated my skills of asanas. Is there anybody out there who has experienced this kind of situation!   Many Yoga practitioners and meditators switch to a vegetarian diet at some point, though some continue to eat meat all along. The best is to let changes take place on their own accord – all changes, including possible diet changes. Best is to go on with your life as it is, enjoy your life, practice your practices and see what changes will take place, or what changes you may decide upon – willingly, without any coercion May your own Light and Love guide you. White Eagle (Joshua Gomeh). change eagle_w into eaglew). The Third Circle (TTC) is because you are your own Master. The Third Circle Web Sites: www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/5715/    (Main Site – USA) members.iol.co.il/weagle/                   (Israeli Mirror)

Response:

Dear Bismi, who better to ask than your teacher?  If you feel anything is holding you back from progressing in yoga, could it be that you don’t feel free to completely open up to your teacher in perfect trust?   Not knowing you or your teacher, I couldn’t say, but I feel that a yoga student should be free to ask the teacher anything, if he or she is an authentic qualified teacher. Speaking personally, not authoritatively, I cannot imagine living the yoga way of life without being vegetarian.  Both times in my life I approached yoga, it was after first becoming vegetarian, and then after some time naturally feeling drawn to yoga as a result of the postive changes brought about by vegetarian life. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I just naturally don’t want to eat meat, it has no appeal at all, and this naturally integrates with the whole yoga way of life. Maybe others around here more knowledgeable than me will explain how regular practice of yoga and certain breathing techniques will help you want to be vegetarian, and ease the transition to the vegetarian way of life. But anyway I hope you will be able to fully confide in your teacher for all yoga questions. "Esse qua esse bonum est (being, as being, is good)."–St. Augustine

Response:

I am 30 Yrs old

Me too! and I recently took to Yoga.

I started with it 9 years ago – and I’m teaching now for 6 years… My first experience being the class oraganised by my employer after work. I found it tough initially and after few classes, I found it pretty easy going though the asanas that we do are rudimentary. My collegues claim they have benifitted immensely from asanas-with regards to their stress level coming down and productivity, efficiency and power to think going up.But I haven’t gained any siginificant advantage from asanas.

How long are you doing this now? Do you relax during and after the postures? Or is it just an "exercise" (like stretching or aerobic) to you? Does anybody know if Food plays an important role in maximising the benifits? I am a meat eater and I haven’t quit eating meat whereas my collegues have reduced the intake and some of them have quit completely. Is that the difference that is letting me to abandon Yoga !!

No, I wouldn’t say so. Allthough this may be an important lifestyle adjustment that you usually do in Yoga. I experienced that some ppl don’t feel any effect because they don’t want to feel it (but as a teacher you can see it in their faces . Many do forget that Yoga can have strong emotional effects. To relax means allso to open. And to open up means to allow the hidden emotional blocks / wounds we all collect throughout our lifetimes to come back to consciousness. Everything that have been pushed away so successfully comes back – and not everybody want’s to encounter this! This is just an idea of mine… What do you think of it? Please help me, as I am too self conscious about discussing such a matter with my teacher.

LOL ! ;-D What?? You are tooo selfconscious to diskuss it with your teacher??! I never beliefed I would give this advice, but you should lower your "self consciousness" (whatever you think that may be!) a bit, so that you are able to talk to ppl again! As a matter of fact my teacher has really appreciated my skills of asanas.

Congratulations! Yes, but that’s the physical part of the Yoga. What about the emotional part (stress reduction etc.)? She/he is not in your head and/or heart – you have to talk about your emotions with her. You are self-conscious. You will manage that, hm? ) Is there anybody out there who has experienced this kind of situation!

I sometimes felt while I did Yoga that it has "no effect". Mostly I experienced this (afterwards) as beeing to tense to much encapsueled to allow the experience to come. Sat Nam – Hari Har Singh, Teacher of Kundalini Yoga Visit the 3HO homepage:  http://yoga.home.pages.de/ [http://privat.schlund.de/harihar/3ho.htm] 3HO international: http://www.3ho.com/ Yogi Bhajan: http://www.yogibhajan.com/ Sikh Dharma: http://www.sikhnet.com/ IKYTA: http://www.sikhnet.com/IKYTA

Response:

I am 30 Yrs old and I recently took to Yoga. My first experience being the class oraganised by my employer after work. I found it tough initially and after few classes, I found it pretty easy going though the asanas that we do are rudimentary. My collegues claim they have benifitted immensely from asanas-with regards to their stress level coming down and productivity, efficiency and power to think going up.But I haven’t gained any siginificant advantage from asanas. Does anybody know if Food plays an important role in maximising the benifits? I am a meat eater and I haven’t quit eating meat whereas my collegues have reduced the intake and some of them have quit completely. Is that the difference that is letting me to abandon Yoga !! Please help me, as I am too self conscious about discussing such a matter with my teacher.As a matter of fact my teacher has really appreciated my skills of asanas. Is there anybody out there who has experienced this kind of situation! Thanks, Bismi

Response:

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