om living
bodies’ unique responses to food, their
lifestyle and their preferences. If you are
omnivorous, you can still be more yogic
about it by choosing meat from more
humanely farmed sources and eating it
in moderation, thereby still following a
predominantly plant-based diet; we could
all do with adding more vegetables, fruits,
nuts, pulses and grains to our diets for
health purposes.
I also see people adopt vegetarian
and especially vegan diets very quickly
and without nearly enough research into
understanding how to achieve a nutritional
balance. It’s important not to simply take
ingredients away, but to replace them.
These ostensibly healthy ways of eating
can create serious dietary deficits, as many
meat and dairy replacements are very
processed and can be high in added sugars.
Therefore look at making your own using
wholefood ingredients rather than opting for
easy off-the-shelf solutions.
Excluding food groups without
professional advice can be dangerous if it
aggravates underlying health conditions
and can potentially lead to osteopenia/
osteoporosis in later life. Supplementing
with vitamin B12 is especially important for
vegans as the body cannot manufacture
this without animal sources. There is a big
difference between making an ethical choice
and knowing how to adequately nourish
your body; make sure you seek help before
making significant dietary changes or
enforcing any restrictions.
Finally on this one, remember that non-
judging is a crucial aspect of our yoga
practice. I do not expect to be harangued
for eating meat just as I don’t abuse people
who choose a plant-based lifestyle. My
perspective is that of a trained nutrition
coach and one way of eating simply cannot
be applied to everyone who practices yoga.
If you are a teacher, think carefully about
the messages you send your students about
what is acceptable in your class and try not
to be didactic about issues that may well be
none of your business or may simply not be
applicable to clients with health problems or
lifestyle limitations you are unaware of.
Yoga poses can detox the body
and you should cleanse regularly
Another long standing myth that needs
debunking. Yoga poses, especially twists, often
come with the inducement that they ‘wring out
and soak the internal organs’ and encourage
the body to detox. These poses can, through
the massaging movements and gentle
squeezes they create, potentially encourage
digestive motility. Your liver, however, and
your lymphatic system clean out the body of
toxins and you can support them by taking in
fewer toxins in the first place. We live in a very
polluted environment but looking at what you
put into and onto your body can help support
this natural function. Yoga poses cannot do
this task for you.
Cleanses and detoxes are also often
recommended as part of the yoga lifestyle
but they are not necessary from a nutrition
point of view if you mostly cook your food
from scratch, drink water when you need
to (flushing out your system with large
quantities of liquids is potentially dangerous
for your electrolyte balance) and keep
processed food and treats to a minimum.
And can I put to bed the whole lemon water
phenomenon? Certainly, a glass of water
with lemon in the morning will hydrate you
after seven to eight hours without fluids but
that’s about it. It has no miracle properties, it
can’t detox you nor can it ‘alkalise’ you. And
don’t get me started on the nonsense that is
the alkaline diet – so have it if you enjoy it
but don’t expect miracles.Yogis don’t eat junk food
(or sugar or drink alcohol)
In my opinion, yogis can eat whatever they
like! However, many practitioners find they
feel better on and off the mat when they
eat more mindfully and avoid a full stomach
before a class. The yoga value of tapas or
self-discipline is a useful reminder not to
do anything to excess and maintain overall
health, including avoiding over eating or
having too much alcohol. I certainly enjoy
the occasional glass of wine or beer as my
Insta followers know and, while I aim to eat
well for most of the week, I have a few treats
on a Saturday and won’t say no on another
day if something is too good to pass up.
Some of the ‘clean eating’ and raw food
dietary advice I see on social media from
yoga teachers can seem extreme, though,
and you should be wary of adopting
evangelical guidelines from people who may
know their yoga but who lack any nutrition
qualifications. We evolved shorter digestive
tracts than our close relative the gorilla as
we learned to cook food, and that’s why
many people experience significant gastro-
intestinal distress when they go raw with all
those fibrous veggies to break down.
Any diet that imposes severe restrictions
needs to be questioned and professional
advice sought before being adopted. Not
only could you be setting up a nutritional
deficiency but some restrictive ways of
eating border on disorders and can triggerproblems in the vulnerable, so please be
careful before posting recommendations on
your social media feeds if you are a teacher;
you may be surprised by how willing your
followers are to take your lead.Yoga teachers are good
sources of dietary advice
Leading on from the above, respecting
professional boundaries is crucial. Unless
you are a trained nutrition professional, you
should not be giving dietary advice to your
students or online. If you are a student,
please ask questions before looking at the
way your favourite teacher chooses to eat
and adopting it, and ask if it would suit your
lifestyle and meet your personal nutrition and
energy needs first. Don’t let teachers become
gurus and certainly don’t copy bloggers who
are simply good at creating a pretty plate.
And even though I have three nutrition
qualifications, none of them allow me to
tell clients directly what to eat or give them
menus and meal plans; you must be a
state-registered dietician in the UK to do this
legally. I can give suggestions and ideas only.
I cannot diagnose conditions, recommend
supplements (herbal or otherwise) or write
out diets to follow. Yoga teachers should
not be giving nutrition advice at all as part
of their work with clients unless they are
legitimately qualified to do so and wish to
take on this kind of coaching, for which you
should also be appropriately insured.
Discussing what is traditional in yoga,
including diet and nutrition, is fine and
absolutely part of the teacher’s role. But we
have to leave it there and let students make
up their own mind as to what is best for
them. As with teaching asana, we must meet
our clients where they are, and choose to
be grateful that we all found yoga in the first
place for the array of gifts it brings us.Tracy Johnson is the founder of Brainbox
Coaching and Empower Yoga and is based
in Bristol (brainboxcoaching.co.uk)