Coinciding your diet with Nature

 

Eating is an essential life process. No doubt. All living organisms eat. But eating can do more wrong than good if done wrong. I observed our modern eating pattern and compared it to that of other animals. Turns out parallel to our evolutionary success, we have the most messed up eating habits. Eating is a spiritual process, and should be done very cautiously.

Here are some habits I've added/ removed/ improved;

Eat only between sunrise and sunset;

 

This is because our digestion is largely dependent on the Sun. According to Ayurvedic texts, our digestive fire rises as the sun rises, and dampens as the sun sets.

It warns that any food which is eaten after the sun has set won’t properly get digested in the body. This undigested food then leads to accumulation of toxins in the body which lead to short and long-term health issues.

This might sound like the modern-day concept of intermittent fasting. Except, here the timings are not decided by you, they’re decided by the nature.

Lunch is the heaviest meal of the day;

For the same reason as mentioned previously, the digestion is at peak during noon, hence it can digest large amount of food easily (comparatively).

 

While eating, don’t do anything else;

What is the right amount of food you should eat? How would you know? The answer is while eating food, the body gives subtle signals of how much food is ideal. But if you’re eating along with watching something, you are very prone to miss that signal and over-eat.

 After all, how many animals have you seen who multi-task while eating?

Eat only when hungry;

This one is obvious but requires attention. Body tells you when to eat and when not to eat. Ignoring these signals and delaying food doesn’t seem to be good does it?

 

Consume more seasonal fruits;

I personally replaced my micro hunger with Custard Apple and Mosambi (sweet lemon in case I have international audience). They have replaced Pringles in my life.

 

Go Vegetarian;

Meat generates a tremendous amount of heat in your body. And for me personally, non-veg food gave rise to a lot of aggression within me. I’ve been a vegetarian for a while now, and the effects are subtle, but noticeable.

 

Keep fast on Ekadashi;

I can't emphasize enough on the benefits of keeping a fast according to Ayurveda. Out of all the days of month, keeping a fast is easiest on Ekadashi due to lunar alignment. Ekadashi is the 11th day after the full moon and the 11th day after the new moon. Each month has 2 Ekadashis'. A quick Google search, and you are good to go.

Here are some other points;

-Always touch your food before eating it. Feel it.

-Use hands for eating as much as possible.

-Eat mostly warm foods, consume within 3 hours of preparation.

-Do not consume cold food after evening.

Here are some of the effects I've experienced;

I personally had a TERRIBLE sleeping pattern during the entirety of lockdown. But only by following some basic Ayurvedic principles, in a matter of days, my sleeping routine got fixed. Now I sleep somewhere between 9 to 10 pm and wake up somewhere between 3:30 to 4 am, without alarm.

I’ve seen huge increase in my focus period. I had never read a book in my life other than textbooks. To my shock I recently finished a self-help book in 3 sittings.

Now that I'm giving good rest to my digestive system, I don't need a lot of sleep and I feel fresh the whole day. This feeling is priceless.

It hasn't been a long time since I've adopted these habits, but they've been a blessing so far.

Why did I go for it?

You might have noticed that most of these habits are those that our constantly hammered by parents. I mean they're not wrong, but I think the problem is in their reasoning. I implemented these after listening to numerous Sadhguru's videos and darshans. You see, we tend to follow things coming from others we trust rather than our owns. This makes no sense.

Well the bottom line is, nature, food and Ayurveda have magical healing abilities, its all a matter of consciousness.

"eat food as your medicine,

or else, you'll have to eat medicine as your food"

*****

Here are some Youtube channels you'd like if you're into Ayurveda, health or philosophy:

i.   Fit Tuber

ii.  Sadhguru

iii. BeerBiceps