Watch how and when you eat

Advice on how and when you must eat your food. In general, eat your food with relish for best results

02

Feb

2012

First and foremost, eat to live, but don’t live to eat. Second, eat food that is beneficial and last, eat in moderate quantities. There are among the several dos and don’ts about food formulated by ancient sages keeping your wellbeing in mind. For instance, never eat your food in a hurry or when you are in a disturbed state of mind, full of tension, strain and emotional outbreaks. Eat when you have regained your piece of mind – when you are happy.

Eat after you have washed your hands and mouth, in a clean, well-ventilated and well-lighted dining area. There are rules for how much you should eat as well – fill half your stomach with solids, a quarter with water and liquids and keep a quarter empty for air and the digestive process.

A yogi or committed yoga practitioner takes only one full meal a day. He begins his day with a very light breakfast, and this is the best formula for living a healthy and hearty life. A person who eats two full and hearty meals a day might live mostly to eat and will suffer from illnesses from time to time.

A person who greedily eats more than twice, will definitely be ill, and in yoga and Ayurveda, he will be called a rogee, or sick person. Such a person is gluttonous and always ill.

You should also watch how you eat – it shouldn’t be either too fast or too slow. Eating slowly leads to excessive consumption and eating fast is not good for the digestive process.

There are other guidelines too. Don’t do yoga and other exercises immediately after taking food. It is better, therefore, to do yogic exercises early in the morning or in the evening when the stomach is empty. After you have finished your exercises, take food after one hour. Don’t go to bed immediately after your supper either. Wait for an hour after food before you retire to bed.

According to Ayurveda, a well-balanced diet consists of foodstuffs having six tastes, namely sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent.

Excerpt from A Book That Nourishes Body, Mind and Soul by Yogi Dr Amrit Raj, Arogyadham Publication House