First of all, keeping things simple, diet for people who do yoga is something edible only, available on the earth. The Vedas, the inceptor of yoga, says that every human being is free in terms of his/her eating habits. However, it is essential at the same time to understand that each kind of food has its effects on the body and mind. Also, the food recommendations have to vary from people to people by their profession. In this context, the following abstracts explain the nature of foods that it should be for people who do yoga and the reasons behind it.
Yoga and diet are quite inter-related. As explained above, the food should be based on someone’s profession. For example, someone, an athlete, representing the nation, has to take foods rich in protein content. But a yoga practitioner who doesn’t have to burn too many calories in his profession should prefer a sattvic diet. Every person in general life is recommended to go with a sattvic diet only.
Categorizing the foods according to yoga
Sattvic foods mostly consist of vegan diets, including vegetables, fruits, whole greens, clarified butter, fresh milk, and legumes. In the case of cooked meals, those are consumed within three to four hours are also considered sattvic. On the other hand, the tamasic foods are the ones that make the body more cumbersome or those who take comparatively more time for digestion. These include meat, garlic, fats, oils, sugary items, etc. Foods containing preservatives also fall under this category. These foods, upon being taken in excess, turn the mind stubborn, dull, and the body sluggish. Finally, the Rajasic foods are the ones that involve higher spice content, too hot like tea/coffee, too sour, etc. These foods make the body-mind activated. It would be a better idea to visit yoga schools and ask an expert for more excellent knowledge of yoga and health tips.
Food for a yogi:
It is now evident that a yogi should prefer an organic food diet for yoga. So basically, it should be more on sattvic foods, with only the due content of rajasic foods for regular life working. A proper sattvic diet itself involves that little rajasic content, as well. However, tamasic foods, especially meat, should be avoided. It indeed makes the body heavy and sluggish and minds not-so-active. Vedas suggest that one should go with vegan diets or those prepared with ahimsa (non-violence), unless it is for survival, for national responsibility, or getting healed.
Preparing the diet chart:
The best effect of yoga for health improvement can only be achieved if it is combined with proper diets. Yoga is about getting physically stronger, as well as to attain the ultimate tranquility in mind that develops the pure intellect. As explained, sattvic foods help in understanding the mind tranquil or while meditating. Sattvic foods contain a due proportion of desired nutrients that keeps the body fit. It would be even better if you contact a dietician to know proper nutrition food for yoga practitioners. You can also Google about various foods that fall under the sattvic category of different nutritional values, like protein, vitamin, mineral, etc., and prepare the best combination.