Yoga and Vegetarianism

Drawing upon her studies of Vedic traditions, Sharron Gannon explores how the physical and spiritual practice of Yoga is historically and structurally tied to a vegetarian lifestyle. Integral to one another, both Yoga and Vegetarianism form a framework for physical and spiritual attunement, and when practiced as a whole provide engender an incomparably healthy lifestyle. Samadhi is the aim of the Yoga practice. It is a Sanskrit word meaning 'same as the highest'. It is the identification of the individual with the Absolute supreme consciousness which is truth, knowledge and unending bliss. The first step in Patanjali's system of Yoga is Ahimsa, which means the practice of non-harming and nonviolence. This is the reason vegetarianism is a main tenet of Yoga. You simply cannot eat another being without harming them first. The practices of Yoga are meant to be practices, meaning you work toward the attainment of perfection, knowing that perfection may never come. Yoga has been called the perfection of action. All actions originate as thoughts, so a perfect action must come from a perfect thought. What is a perfect thought? A perfect thought is one that is free of selfish desire, anger and hate. We return to Ahimsa as the means to perfect action. See yourself in others, all others, and then go beyond seeing. BE yourself in others until there are no others, until there is only Love, only One. The single most important part of your yoga practice is the strict adherence to a vegetarian diet, a diet free of needless cruelty, harm and injustice. Ahimsa is not an optional part of the program, it is the first step.

Drawing upon her studies of Vedic traditions, Sharron Gannon explores how the physical and spiritual practice of Yoga is historically and structurally tied to a vegetarian lifestyle. Integral to one another, both Yoga and Vegetarianism form a framework for physical and spiritual attunement, and when practiced as a whole provide engender an incomparably healthy lifestyle. Samadhi is the aim of the Yoga practice. It is a Sanskrit word meaning 'same as the highest'. It is the identification of the individual with the Absolute supreme consciousness which is truth, knowledge and unending bliss. The first step in Patanjali's system of Yoga is Ahimsa, which means the practice of non-harming and nonviolence. This is the reason vegetarianism is a main tenet of Yoga. You simply cannot eat another being without harming them first. The practices of Yoga are meant to be practices, meaning you work toward the attainment of perfection, knowing that perfection may never come. Yoga has been called the perfection of action. All actions originate as thoughts, so a perfect action must come from a perfect thought. What is a perfect thought? A perfect thought is one that is free of selfish desire, anger and hate. We return to Ahimsa as the means to perfect action. See yourself in others, all others, and then go beyond seeing. BE yourself in others until there are no others, until there is only Love, only One. The single most important part of your yoga practice is the strict adherence to a vegetarian diet, a diet free of needless cruelty, harm and injustice. Ahimsa is not an optional part of the program, it is the first step.