Eating Vegan for the Nine Days...it is all done now why?

Tisha b’Av is over and so is my nine days cleansing diet. I survived without much problem and it has given me lots to think about both in the short and long term. Some people do fruit fasts and some do colonics but I wanted to shake up and wake myself up to how I nurture this temple, this body and see if there is a better way. The vegan part of the diet was not new, I followed it last year so my system had little to adjust to for day to day meals. I planned better this year eating up the animal products in my fridge before the nine days started. It felt a bit like preparing for Pesach in this way of using up forbidden food. I gave up any food item that came from an animal and/or animal products were used in making it. No meat, chicken, fish, dairy, eggs, milk, cheese, honey, and white & brown sugar (cow bones are used to refine it, yes really!). This diet goes further than the Jewish tradition of giving up meat and wine for the nine days. I also decided to simplify. Instead of replacing my dairy latte during the nine days with a soy latte I would switch to tea. Then realizing a yogi diet wouldn’t allow for stimulants like coffee and tea I just switched to herbal tea.

 

My vegan/yoga breakfast of oatmeal, soy milk, apples, nuts and herbal tea.

Which brings me to the totally new Bhakti Yoga piece of my cleanse. Staying for a week at an ashram in the Bahamas in June I was exposed to and fed really good food, mostly vegan meals without garlic, onions, mushrooms and light spices. The chef told me the food is supposed to be good for the daily meditation, devotional prayer and yoga sessions. I started reading lots of different articles to find out more of the "why" of the yoga diet. My limited knowledge of one kind of a yoga diet is the belief that you are what you eat and the energies of life including food energy can provide clarity or dullness. The kind of food, the manner in which it is cooked and the way it is consumed all contribute to helping reach enlightenment or darkness. I read a lot of information but in just nine days it would be impossible to have become an expert. but I did learn that according to Ayurveda, the Vedic science of medicine, all food is seen to have a influence on mental and physical health and is classified into three groups. 

My vegan/yoga lunch of rice, avocado slices, nuts, lentils, watermelon and grapes.

Sattvic food (promotes clarity and serenity of mind and helps for spiritual growth) is lightly cooked with minimal spices and includes most fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables, whole grains, honey, pure water and milk. Rajasic food (feeds the body, but promotes restlessness in the mind) is most spicy foods, stimulants like coffee and tea, eggs, garlic, onion, meat, fish and chocolate, most processed food and eating too fast. Tamasic food (induces heaviness of the body and dullness of the mind) is alcohol, meat, stale or overripe food, processed, canned or frozen food as well as overeating. All food is seen as made by God and worthy of eating but Sattvic food and the manner in which Sattvic food should be made is seen as what will better assist you to devotion and enlightenment. I gave up onions, garlic, mushrooms, stimulants (coffee, tea, chocolate, chicory), liquor, fermented foods, vinegars, most processed, highly spiced, fast and canned foods,  and microwaving. As noted above most of these items fall into the categories of foods that don’t promote clarity. Canned foods, frozen foods and left overs are seen as having their energy changed and no longer alive. Microwaving is seen as a method of cooking which doesn’t cook everything and so again the spirit of the food is out of order.

My vegan/yoga dinner of corn, roll, cucumber, peppers, lentils, blueberries and watermelon.

Changing one’s diet for a short amount of time is a double edged sword. In one way it narrows the foods you have to think about. In another way you spend more time figuring out what to eat and planning meals that are nutritious and pleasing. I learned I can live without a lot of the foods I regularly eat. I didn’t have any short term issues with the food items I ate for my meals. It wasn’t that I didn’t miss foods but I was able to do without. Maybe that is because I eat a lot of fruits and veggies anyway. What is amazing to me is how easy it is for me to give up all these foods. I won’t do it to lose weight but I will do it for spiritual reasons. What is with that? I mean I adore lattes, ice cream and anything made with eggs. I love sitting on the fire escape with a margarita and chips and salsa. There is nothing I like better than some kosher bar-b-que chicken with the sauce all sloppy on your lips. I like to eat out and I like to eat and drink with friends. All gone. For the moment. What have I got instead? Thoughtful planning of meals. Quiet eating of meals. A tummy that hasn’t felt overwhelmed except for one bout of eating a whole can of cashews. Could I stay on this path? I don't know about but I am going to eat less dairy and less meat. I also will try and eat less processed food. l am using up the white sugar on my shelf and won't buy any more. Small steps.