Let’s all be honest in answering this question. When sitting down for our meal, how many of us pause to truly taste our food, to feel its texture, aroma and energy before swallowing a mouthful?
Today, as we all chase time, meals have become more about a routine to get over with rather than an activity requiring conscious awareness yet ancient yogic wisdom tells us that food isn’t just fuel it’s ‘prana’, the vital force that nourishes both body and mind.
Combining the use of a Yoga App with a yogic diet is transformative because it helps us choose food that protects and elevates inner energy, sharpens the mind and guides human emotions to a place of peace.
We should teach ourselves to eat, not because we are bored, stressed or for entertainment, but because our body gently whispers that it’s time to refuel.
That’s the essence of mindful, yogic eating. Yoga teaches us to keep one quarter of our stomach empty at all times, for easy and thorough processing of food.
Eating mindfully entails eating with discipline at regular hours. Food should be consumed between twelve noon and six in the evening. A long gap thereafter ensures full assimilation of food and time for healing and fixing.
The Philosophy Behind the Yogic Diet
The concept of a yogic diet stems from Ayurveda and the philosophy of sattva- purity and balance. Ancient yogic texts state that what we eat influences our thoughts, emotions and even our spiritual growth. Food prepared with love, eaten with gratitude and digested with mindfulness doesn’t just nourish the human body, it transforms the ‘prana’ (life force) within.
Unripened food is ‘Tamasic’ and it encourages inertia over cooked food is ‘Rajasic’ and it overstimulates and exhausts us to qualify as pure ‘Sattvic’ food, it should be as fresh as possible and lightly cooked. Different foods fall into one of these three categories. Essentially our diet should be full of fruits, vegetables nuts and seeds. We should stay away from eating animal meat because it is ethically wrong and also harmful for our system.
Here’s a table on how yogic food categories influence the mind and body.
In a nutshell, when someone’s plate is mostly sattvic, their energy feels lighter, they sleep better, think clearer and radiate calmness. It is seen that those who consume Sattvic food, will find that their relationship with food becomes less about craving and more about connection.
Eating with Awareness
Yogic eating encourages individuals to eat mindfully turning off distractions, sitting cross-legged, taking a deep breath and thanking one’s food before eating. Chewing slowly and deliberately, savouring every bite and noticing how the body feels full sooner, how digestion improves and how even simple meals bring deep satisfaction. Each meal becomes a meditation a moment of gratitude and presence. When someone eats with awareness, they are able to make a connection of how different foods affect their mood.
The Subtle Transformation
Once somebody starts following a yogic diet, they start craving food that is naturally good for the gut. The body becomes a guide, and one’s plate is then a reflection of our balanced choices.
A yogic diet goes beyond what somebody eats it’s also about how one lives.
So, try this the next time you sit down for a meal, put your phone aside, close your eyes for a second and feel the energy of your food because, remember, you are not just eating you are infusing your system with life energy.
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