SATTVIC DIET LIST
The list of foods is recommended for yogis and can be followed by everyone who wants to experience clarity and purity of the mind and body. You may also want to follow this diet if you are on yoga teacher training, intense practice, yoga retreat, and beyond…
Sattvic food is for those who practice asanas daily. It promotes clarity and calmness of mind, balances the glands and chakras, and is favorable for spiritual growth.
According to the ‘Hatha Yoga Pradipika’, an ancient yogic text, sattvic food is “sweet, fresh and agreeable” and includes most fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pure water, and nuts/seeds.
We are what we eat. Food affects our minds, chakras, and behavior…
Yogis want to strengthen the Sattva Guna (sattva quality – love, light, life) in bodies and minds
The following items are included in sattvic foods:
All the staple food grains such as rice, wheat, barley, etc
All pulses except Masur (an orange-colored lentil)
All fruits and roots; all kinds of vegetables – EXCEPT white eggplants, onions (rajasic and tamasic qualities), garlic, and mushrooms, which are all tamasic. Tamasic foods are considered injurious to the yogi.
Milk and dairy products were traditionally sattvic, though, in today’s world, this may not be sattvic any longer
If you know those people, who produce milk and its products on their own, on their farm, with ethics and respect for the animals, it is alright to ingest dairy products. For example, we were consuming milk products in the Himalayas, as the village had its cows. It was the best milk and yogurt ever!
All green and leafy vegetables except mustard leaves
Purple-coloured carrots have no sattvic energy (nothing to do with the colour)
All varieties of spices except Garam masala
All kinds of sweets – except refined sugar, a little bit of sugar is OK
A hot mixture of spices – except red chilies, one green chili per day is OK
Seeds and nuts
Herbal teas only. Also, 1 cup of green tea per day is allowed
Chicory is an alternative to Coffee. Coffee is not a suitable drink for yogis and meditators. Plus coffee makes the muscles stiffer. Coffee has Rajasic quality and those whose aim is peace of mind should be avoided
To experience the fullest possible benefit of the asanas, meditation, and all the other practices, a sattvic diet is a must. Energetic purity is essential while engaging in deep breathwork and asana practice.
If you need to cut off some food, you can also do it at a slow pace, gradually reduce, and then let it be. You will get better and stronger on your yoga or any spiritual journey
Also, remember – overindulging even in healthy food, is unhealthy and becomes tamasic. Eating and doing things becomes rajasic.
Honey becomes tamasic with cooking
Grains become sattvic after cooking, even if they should be also aged a bit, become more sattvic. But fruit shouldn´t be aged, it would turn into tamasic quality
By ingesting meat, we are ingesting fear and agony. Meet (tama guna) is harmful to the body and the mind, just like processed food. Processed food can be also the cause of infertility…
If you like to STEP FURTHER, choose the food that can lead to the highest states of consciousness. That elevates the mind and will support your spiritual endeavor
Especially YOGIS, we always should choose from whole and superior food, to strengthen the SATTVA GUNA in our bodies and mind
WORKSHOPS ARE ESSENTIAL
JOIN OUR UPCOMING EVENT ABOUT THE SATTIC DIET