The Yoga of Nutrition

Guest Blog post by our Development and Marketing Director, Alida Duncan

This post is part of our month-long blog series in celebration of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' "National Nutrition Month." This year's theme is, "Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day," so each of us here at Hunger Free Vermont will take a turn to share a personal goal, story or fact regarding nutrition through daily blog posts throughout the month.

This past fall I renewed my interest in yoga and deepened my practice. I started going to my favorite studio (Evolution) more regularly and found that the practice did so much more than strengthen my physical body. Yoga teaches me to move toward challenges and be grateful for them, to keep an open heart, have compassion for myself and others, to have a sense of humor about my practice (especially when I lose my balance and fall on my face!), and to honor and nourish my body. All of these lessons I can carry off the yoga mat and into my daily life. Now, this isn't to say that I have mastered any of this and that I walk around in a complete state of Zen. However, it does help me to be more mindful—when I am stressed a yoga class is the best medicine.

Because I fancy myself a yogi these days, I read the Yoga Journal and articles in the Kripalu catalogue. One recent article from Kripalu talks about The Yoga of Nutrition which suggests that examining our nutritional choices through a lens of mindfulness can help us become more aware and empowered. The article talks about how mindful eating brings our awareness to the present moment, reminds us to slow down, dive in, eat with all of our senses. How we eat is as important as what we eat.

I know that when I get really hungry, I am not going to take the time to be particularly mindful and notice, as the article puts it, “the experience of nourishment”. More likely, I am going to scarf down whatever I can get my hands on—and will be more apt to give into cravings. One thing that helps me, however, is I keep tamari roasted almonds at my desk—and recently I have taken to mixing in some dried cranberries for a lovely sweet and salty combo. How this helps me is that when I find myself getting hungry between meal times, I am able to have a handful of the almond/cranberry mix and it keeps my hunger at bay until I am able to prepare my lunch or get home for dinner. This way I am not so hungry that I can’t think straight and am able to make more mindful choices about my meals to ensure they are healthy.

Tomorrow is the Vinyasa for Vermont event to benefit Hunger Free Vermont. If you haven’t already purchased your tickets, please do so here or get them at the door in the morning! Come experience the power of yoga to nourish the individual and the community. Namaste.