Indian Food is No Good for Stretching
7 SECRETS OF NUTRITION & FLEXIBILITY
#3 of 7: Indian Food is NOT Yoga Food
Stretching Flexibility Kit
In 2006, I spent 3 months in India studying yoga.
I practiced with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, I spent time at the Sivananda Ashram in Kerala, and I met some really cool, old-school yogis at random temples and markets.
I’ve traveled to over 20 countries, but India stands out as both the best and the worst.
It witnessed beautifully-rich raditions, heart-wrenching poverty and desperation, magnificent monuments, and desolate slums all crammed together in a huge land mass that somehow always feels crowded even when there’s no one around.
And the food? Well, indian food tastes amazing, but for yoga and flexibility, it’s death!
Let me explain.
The Indian diet consists mainly of wheat, rice, and dairy—three of the most mucous-forming foods known to man (think of mucous like glue
smeared throughout your body).
Lots of Mucous = Lots of Stiffness = Guaranteed!
So why do yoga teachers always recommend that you drink milk, eat yogurt, and suck down spoonfuls of ghee every day?
Probably because they’ve never tried giving it up!
Here’s a quick tip: give up dairy for 1 week and see how much more flexible you feel. Most people notice a HUGE difference within 3 days (I’m
talking night-and-day difference).
Listen, I know what you’re thinking: “Not another crazy vegan trying to turn yoga students into
tree-hugging hippies…”
… well, think what you like. I’m not a hippy, I’m only slightly crazy, and this isn’t about the cows!
(OK, I’ll admit I do think it’s wrong to strap cows to machines, steal their babies, and pump them full of antibiotics just so we can have yogurt for breakfast… but that’s another topic altogether.)
Mucus sucks! That’s the straight story. Give up dairy, go deeper in your backbends, and your sinuses will be so clear, you won’t believe it.
After 1 week, if you just can’t go another day without Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey, well then at least you’ll know why your hamstrings are so stiff when you wake up the next day.
2 Comments
at 7:06 pm - 23rd February 2010 Permalink
What are you, [omitted]?
mucous does not spread throughout the body in the way you describe. not even in the slightest. it is found in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, urogenital, visual, and auditory systems. notice not SKELETAL or MUSCULAR systems? the ones actually involved in yoga?
because THAT IS NOT HOW FOOD OR THE BODY WORKS.
furthermore, your understanding of mucus is excessively flawed. it is produced by the body no matter what you eat. it is not a ‘glue’ or whatever the [omitted] you think it is for, it is an antiseptic and a protectant for sensitive parts.
maybe, POSSIBLY, what you are describing could be caused by the general inability of humans to digest lactics well, but you are ABSOLUTELY MISTAKEN to think it has anything to do with mucus. this is a scientifically poisonous viewpoint and I strongly recommend you review your basic anatomy, chemistry, and health information if you are espousing anything this blindingly incorrect.
at 3:25 am - 24th February 2010 Permalink
@Tom – first time I had to bleep out a blog comment:) Appreciate if you could keep the language polite here.
In regards to your thoughts, if you’re never experimented with food in a systematic way, this can be kind of upsetting, I know, especially because milk is such a staple for many people.
But if you’re open to it, simply spend one day eating a hefty portion of dairy at each meal. Like milk for breakfast, yogurt at lunch and ice cream at dinner. Keep a little journal.
The next day, eat nothing but cooked and/or raw plants. The difference is nothing short of profound. For people with chronic allergies (tens of millions) and blocked respiration (zillions), it can be life changing.
You mentioned mucous only affects: “respiratory, gastrointestinal, urogenital, visual, and auditory systems”
ONLY those, huh? Geez. And if that’s not all throughout the body, I don’t know what is.
If you’re not interested in the health of those systems, you’ve probably landed on the wrong site.
Those systems are ALL involved in yoga… EXTREMELY involved and very important. But everyone is different. Experiment yourself and draw your own conclusions. Perhaps your body responds extremely well to mucous forming foods.
Appreciate your thoughts… thanks!
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