Morning Food and Drink

[Guest guest]

What do you morning practitioners eat or drink in

the morning? Does the stomach really need to be empty

for practice -- and why? If I wake up and practice

empty, I run out of energy in about 45 minutes. If I

practice a few hours after breakfast I last twice as long.

Is it alright to have something in my belly in the

morning? Thanks

[Guest guest]

trust your body, its no fool...

[Guest guest]

Well Monkiji, I asked my body what to do and it answered, "I'm not talking to

you, damn fool!"

[Guest guest]

I often have a couple of handfuls of trail mix

(simple kind--some nuts and raisins, no funky high-sugar

dried fruit), just to have a little something in my

stomach if I'm doing an early practice. I find it helps

keep the energy level up, but is not too much for my

system to digest. I guess the argument against eating

before practice is that the digestive process diffuses

the body's heat and energy, concentrating it on

breaking down food instead of on the energy needed for

yoga. I would love to be able to practice on an

absolutely empty stomach, because ultimately I feel lighter,

but it's no fun to feel exhausted and starving in the

middle of practice. I've heard also that a piece of

fruit an hour before is fine. I also drink a little tea

to warm me up on the inside, but hold off on any

major liquid drinking till after practice.

[Guest guest]

Glenn,<br><br>I used to have to eat a little

something (fruit or toast or cereal) to keep my blood sugar

up during practice when I practiced in the early

morning. Now that I've been doing the primary series more

regularly (6 days/ week rather than sporadically 3-4 times

a week) and I always do it early in the morning

(rather than sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes in the

morning depending on the class schedule, etc.) I find

that I'm not "calorically deficient". (I might have a

bit of tea also beforehand, but drink water

afterwards). I'm not sure if this was because my body got used

to the practice (after three years of the sporadic

stuff) or my new found regularity is conditioning the

body not to freak out while in the middle of it...I'm

not sure. One of my teachers (who's a fruitarian and

thus lives off of fruits and nuts and maybe some kale)

always kept telling me when I asked him about food

before practice that soon I wouldn't need to have a

breakfast before practicing. I was a bit suspicious,

thinking that "soon" for him could have meant 10 years.

And, that I had been so socialized into believing that

my body would "need" food before any strenuous

activity. But, after just a few days of the more regular

schedule, I no longer felt like I would pass out if I

didn't eat (ok, exaggerating a bit). <br><br>So, my

recommendation would be (also) to listen to your body and maybe

eat a bit of energy-enhancing substances (such as

carbs- like granola- or sugars - like fruit) just to

give you the energy you need, but then slowly cut

back. My practice is more flexible if I don't eat

beforehand in the morning (even an hour or so before). The

twists are obviously easier, and I don't feel so "heavy"

in general. I fully agree that the body uses so much

energy to digest food that it is best to practice on an

empty stomach.<br><br>I believe that guruji recommends

a small cup of coffee beforehand. Really. Now,

whether you really want an energy-enhancer such as

caffeine working within you is obviously up to you.

<br><br>This all is obviously just my experience, so it would

be great to hear from others' experiences of

practicing with or without a bit of calories in their

system. And, how long it may have taken them before they

could practice in the morning without fears of

starvation. <br><br>namaste,<br>Gabita

[Guest guest]

Cool, I just learned that by following my

intuition I've beem following Guruji's suggestion! I gotta

have that morning expresso immediately before practice

(sometimes with mall amount of sugar and cream).<br><br>If I

practice in the afternoon, I might have an

oj/banana/water/whey blender drink 3 hours or so before mat time.

Liquids are definitely better than solids in this wise.

[Guest guest]

trayam, there are lots of things that help in

many situations that are not helping us at all, only

the momentary situation. i love a cup of good coffee

too, but would be wary of making it a habit,

especially one bound so closely and pragmatically to my

practice. coffee is addictive, and weakens the adrenals and

the kidneys, the seat of our vitality. we are not cut

off from the infinite energy of the universe, yoga

can open us to this in a very real way and help us to

function with vitality and ease without stimulants that in

the long run may close us down and cut us off. take

care there.....lest the left hand teareth down what

the right hand buildeth up...

[Guest guest]

It's interesting that you run out of energy in

the mornings. My morning problem is usually that I

move like slightly wet concrete, and inflexibility can

sap one's confidence.<br><br>I used to try to wake as

long as possible before the morning practice and drink

a cup of tea beforehand.<br><br>Last summer I found

that twenty minutes or so of meditation in lotus or

some variant thereof leaves me feeling relaxed, alert

and somewhat more flexible. Tea is no longer a

necessity.<br><br>Everybody's different, but perhaps this may be of some

use.<br><br>Peace and Good,<br>Homer

[Guest guest]

Thanks G, for your comments. I have to say

though, I've come a long way in revivifying my dietary

habits over the last year or so. Coffee is next on the

list . . . I definitely want to experiment with no

coffee at all for a month or so to gauge the effects.

[Guest guest]

It's good to reduce the amount of coffee in your

diet. I just use it now when I really need a kick in

the pants.<br><br>Dr. Weil recommends substituting

green tea for coffee. It gives you the beneficial

properties of antioxidants and a bit of a buzz, but without

all the gunk of coffee. Black tea is also good for

you, especially over coffee.

[Guest guest]

Black tea has recently been found to contain high

levels of cancer-fighting polyphenols and anti-oxidants.

I used to be a real coffee hound, and found that

once I switched over to black tea, I felt much much

better. You still get some energy form it, but the

quality of the energy, at least for me, is much less

frenetic than what I get with coffee. Much more soothing

and even-toned. I do have an occasional cup, though,

when I really need a kick in the pants, but find my

mind races during practice.

[Guest guest]

I start my practice around 5:00 a.m. during the

week (mon-fri). Before I practice I usually have fresh

lemon juice squeezed into almost boiling water. On the

weekends I practice later in the morning after I've had

some nice hot chai. I really like weekend practice as

I find that my body moves a lot easier after I've

been up and around for a bit!