Dear Students,
Here is the Ashtanga Yoga Jiva Newsletter for September & October 2011.
Dates For Your Diary :
September
Monday 12th : No Class (Full Moon Day)
Thursday 15th : Class must finish strictly by 9:30
Tuesday 27th : No Class (New Moon Day)
Please note: Saturday 10th : Back Bends Workshop is Postponed
October
Tuesday 11th : Nigel’s last class of the year!
Wednesday 12th : No Class (Full Moon Day)
Thursday 13th : Chris Conn’s first class!
Thursday 27th : No Class (New Moon Day)
Bangkok Class to be covered by Christopher Conn
Nigel is taking a break from teaching and from Bangkok. His last class of the year will be on October the 11th. He will return! And resume teaching the Mysore program in Bangkok from January the 3rd, 2012.
From October 13th to December 22nd, the class will be taught by Authorized Ashtanga teacher, Christopher Conn.
Chris is a direct student of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and is authorized to teach by the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, India.
He has been teaching consistently since 2004.
Chris is coming to Bangkok all the way from Edinburgh, Scotland, where he is currently running the daily Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga program at Union Yoga. It is his first time in Thailand and I really hope that the students of Bangkok will offer him their support and friendship.
More Information on Chris
Prices as usual.
Please note: It is very important and it is your responsibility that you let your yoga teacher know about your injury / difficulty / idiosyncrasy. Your teacher does not posses x-ray eyes or a special power to know about your body! Please go here for this and other class guidelines.
After several conversations recently, the following, originally sent out a few years ago, is offered again...
Healthy Eating and the Yoga Diet
What constitutes healthy eating is a controversial and divisive subject. Expert nutritionists and laymen alike all have there own theories. If one tried to feed oneself based on a combination of all the theories on healthy eating, one would probably find that there was nothing left to eat! In fact, there is even a recognized disease called Orthorexia, a form of eating disorder, which describes an individual who is excessively focused on eating healthy foods.
But make no mistake; the contemporary diet, one that is based on immoderate meat and dairy consumption and food that has been denatured by being highly processed, permeated with chemicals, artificially flavored and preserved, is a diet of poison.
Food should be eaten for health first, and taste second. It is the natural duty of all individuals who are lucky enough to have options, to make intelligent food choices. Choosing a healthy diet has a huge positive impact on ones physical, mental and emotional life, the lives of others and the environment. And this applies particularly to the student of yoga, not least of all because ones practice will benefit immeasurably.
This is not to say that one should never eat junk food. Yes we may enjoy our sweets, fried foods and favorite treats. But we should enjoy them in moderation, in the context of an overall healthy diet. Some diet theories say that a ratio of 80% healthy / 20% not healthy, is acceptable.
Most of the sensible theories about natural holistic healthy eating seem to agree on the following basic points:
Our food should be...
Fresh. Properly cooked and eaten immediately, or eaten raw. The fresher the food is, the more nutrition and health giving qualities it has. Some theories state that three hours after cooking, most food is spoiled and provides virtually no nutrition whatsoever. Furthermore, food should not be from frozen, a tin, a packet, ready-made, precooked, reheated (especially in a microwave oven), left-over, preserved etc.
Whole. Food that has been processed or refined as little as possible and is as close to its natural form as possible - whole grain, whole fiber, etc. For example, that means white (i.e. processed) flours or starches are to be avoided or to be taken in moderation. Most bread / pasta / pizza / cookies / cakes etc are not healthy! As if you didn’t already know! One should also avoid sugars that are not whole - that are refined / processed / white. Brown raw cane sugar is much more tasty than white and is more easily absorbed into the body than processed sugar. Watch out! Processed sugar is added, often covertly, to a depressingly vast array of commercially available foods.
Chemical Free/Organic. Food should not contain chemicals OF ANY KIND. No artificial preservatives, colours, textures, flavourings, pesticides etc. Read the label!
Vegetarian. Quite aside from any moral / yogic ideas of Ahimsa (harmlessness) many nutritionists agree that a diet for superior health is one based on vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes (beans & pulses) etc. It seems incredible that with all the well-documented health scares, and information available these days, that any intelligent person really believes that a diet based on eating lots of meat is good for their health. Incidentally, Guruji was adamant that eating dairy products is good for us! Many contemporary nutritionists would probably disagree. It is interesting that studies have found that the majority of people are intolerant to dairy products. It is said that at least 90% of Asian people are intolerant of dairy. Maybe we can generously conclude that a small amount of organic dairy product is okay for some people?
There are many other issues and ideas worth considering, a few examples being :
- Minimizing foods that dramatically increase the acidity balance in the body.
- Food Combining. How to mix different kinds of food for proper digestion and maximum benefit.
- Quantity, proportion & times of the day to eat.
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-Food Supplements.
- Avoiding stimulating foods in excess. Ie coffee, alcohol, drugs, spices etc.
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-Fasting and detoxing.
- The Ayurveda System (traditional Indian medicine) concerned with the particular constitution of the individual, and what foods are suitable for them.
- The ancient system of “Guna”. A way to understand the three energetic qualities of everything in the universe, including food.
Some links on diet and health :
Website for an interesting documentary : Food Matters
Intro to a yoga diet : Sivananda Diet
101 Reasons Why I’m A Vegetarian : VivaVegie
Food combining : Internet Health Library - Food Combining
Daniel Reid, detox guru : Dan Reid
John Robbins author of the excellent Food Revolution Food Revolution
See you in class!
Namaste
Ps if you are wondering what the picture is all about...
The time is 11.39 am. Workers crowd at the chained-shut exit. The foreman carefully checks the clock. Lunch time is 11.40...
But those who have the food are so unintelligent about their diet; they merely eat to satisfy the palate, they love to eat. Look at your body. Do not smile and pass it by. You just eat what you have been accustomed to. If you are accustomed to highly condimented food and if you are deprived of it, you are lost. You have actually given no consideration to diet. If you did, you would soon find out how simple it is to know what to eat. I cannot tell you what to eat, obviously, because each person has to think out and organize what is most suitable for him. Therefore, one must experiment for a week, for a month. You do not want to experiment because you want to continue with what you have been eating for the past ten or twenty years.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you, and be silent.
Epictetus
The foods that prolong life and increase purity, vigour, health, cheerfulness and happiness are those that are delicious, soothing, substantial and agreeable. These are loved by the Pure.
Those in whom Passion is dominant like foods that are bitter, sour, salty, over-hot, pungent, dry and burning. These produce unhappiness, repentance and disease.
The Ignorant love food which is stale, not nourishing, putrid and corrupt, the leavings of others and unclean.
The Bhagavad Gita
Guy (Donahaye) : How far do you think the physical practice can take you?
Norman (Allen) : In most cases probably nowhere, without taking other steps…
Guy: Without the right intentions?
Norman : Without the right intentions, without the right diet, without Yama/Niyama it ain’t happenin’. It’s just not happening...
An excerpt from Interview with Norman Allen 2001
