Yoga Diet - The Three Gunas
Written by: jennibagus
The Yoga Diet is one the Five Principles of Yoga. You will soon notice that eating properly will aid your health and make you feel fit and cleaner. The Yoga Diet is a perfect complement to Yoga Exercise. Despite the fact that the Yoga Diet is not a diet in the common sense of the word, you will probably lose considerable weight by just eating only healthy foods. Even if you do not want to become a vegetarian, following these basic Yoga Diet rules as it will make you feel so much better.
In the unmanifested universe, energy has three qualities, known as
- Gunas, that exist together in equilibrium
- Sattva (purity); Rajas (activity, passion, the process of change)
- Tamas (darkness, inertia).
Once energy takes form, one quality of the three predominates. Thus on an apple tree, some fruits are ripe (sattvic), some are ripening (rajastic) and some are overripe (tamastic). But no matter what quality prevails, an element of each of the other two will always be present as well - parts of the apple will be in all the different stages. The Three Gunas encompass all existence, all actions.
Sattvic Food
- the purest diet
- the most suitable one for any serious student of Yoga.
- nourishes the body and maintains it in a peaceful state.
- calms and purifies the mind, enabling it to function at its maximum potential.
- leads to true health; a peaceful mind in control of a fit body, with a balanced flow of energy between them.
Sattvic foods include:
- cereals
- wholemeal bread
- fresh fruit and vegetables
- pure fruit juices
- milk
- butter and cheese
- legumes
- nuts
- seeds
- sprouted seeds
- honey and herb teas
Rajastic Food
- very hot, bitter, sour, dry or salty food
- destroys the mind-body equilibrium, feeding the body at the expense of the mind
- too much Rajastic food will over-stimulate the body and excite the passions, making the mind restless and uncontrollable
- eating in a hurry is also considered rajastic
Rajastic foods include:
- hot substances, such as sharp spices or strong herbs
- stimulants such as coffee and teas
- fish
- eggs
- salt and chocolate
Tamastic Food
- A Tamastic Diet benefits neither the mind nor the body.
- Prana, or energy is withdrawn, powers of reasoning become clouded and a sense of inertia sets in.
- The body's resistance to disease is destroyed and the mind filled with dark emotions, such as anger and greed.
- Overeating is also considered tamastic.
Tamastic food includes:
- meat
- alchohol
- tobacco
- onions
- garlic
- fermented foods such as vinegar
- stale overripe substances
Warning: The Yoga Diet is not rocketscience. It is just about including more healthy food options in your diet. However, if you feel unsure on how to proceed or you have a medical condition which prevents you from radically changing your Diet, please consult a physician first before changing any of your food patterns.
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| diggygirl |
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what a fantastic site!
Just came across it and cant wait to read all the fantastic information
Thanks for taking the time to provide all this information!
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Hi!
This is more of a question because I am VERY new to Yoga. As a singer, I regularly take garlic tablets and include alot of garlic in my diet especially during cold/flu season OR when I am working opposite another singer who is or has been sick. If I get sick, I don't get paid because I can't sing. So, my question is: What properties of garlic make it a tamastic food? I have always read or been told that garlic is the best substance you can take naturally to destroy what might be attacking your immune system. As I am reading the description of "tamastic", it does not seem that garlic is best described here. Is it another thinking that garlic has no benefits to the body and actually destroys the body's resistance to disease?
Again, just need clarification. I am a BIG LEARNER!!!!
Thanks so much.
Christina
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| ravee |
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Hi!
Regarding your Garlic query-Garlic ,onions,Meat,root vegetables and certain other foods are very strength -giving foods.They make the body physically strong by inducing Rajas(activity) and Tamas(inertia).But they are forbidden for Yoga as they are not Sattvic(balanced).They are addictive,makes one passionate and Rajasic.They are ideal for warriors and people working physically for a living.In sedentary professions,they disturb the equilibrium (balance)of the mind and are not recommended for higher evolution.
Hope this helps.
Warm Regards
ravee
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| bonalee |
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What a crock!!!! Don't listen to them! I am a student of kirya yoga a very serious student of self realization through meditation.and this is a crock! I am a raw vegan and have cured diabeties and degenerative arthritis! i went from a sugar blood of nearly 400 on medication,to NO medication and a sugar blood of 108.in 4 months time.I have lost near 30 pounds.and I have had beautiful spiritual experiences in meditation! I take garlic 2x a day and eat lots of garlic!
Garlic is the most widely available medicine, the most powerful herb in the world, and it can be
found anywhere on this planet. Garlic has been used as both food and medicine in many cultures
for thousands of years, dating as far back as the Egyptian civilization.
There is no more powerful anti-viral on the earth than garlic. Garlic contains multiple
compounds and antioxidants including organo-sulfur compounds (diallyl sulfides), which are
believed to be responsible for most of its pharmacological and antimicrobial actions. Garlic is a
proven broad-spectrum antibiotic that combats harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, and
nanobacteria.
Garlic is known to contain many sulfur compounds including the sulfur-bearing amino acid
cystine, as well as various enzymatically active sulfur oils. Garlic contains at least 39 different
antibiotics and has a noteworthy history as a preventative for heart disease (which is a coronary
calcium occlusion caused by nanobacteria). It is believed that the sulfur compounds in garlic
facilitate the breakdown of the calcium shells of nanobacteria. The 39+ other antibiotic
compounds in garlic are known to kill whatever harmful organisms are left over.
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Great article! I have eaten more-or-less sattvic for many years, and when I am good about it, I find much less tension in my body. I find that garlic, though great as a medicine, can create heat (anger) when eaten regularly.
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| sunshinee |
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Garlic is great...I take a garlic supplement regularly. I am a business affiliate of TriVita ( a vitamin and supplement company), and one of our products is "Odorless Garlic." I know how good garlic is for you, but I also know the kind of breath it can give you, even the supplements give indigestion at times. The odorless garlic from TriVita has been worked well for me and doesn't leave the aftermath....if anyone is interested my website is www.trivitapromise.com . Let me know ahead of time so I can set up a discount. Great article!
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Warmly,
Sara Dawn
_________________________________________
-Aspiring Yogi
-Dietetic Science
-Business Affiliate of
http://www.Trivitapromise.com
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