why raw food is like yoga

By Emma Calvert, previous owner of Raw Food Scotland blog

Have you done yoga?

 

I’ve just started really getting in to it after being a yoga dabbler for a few years.  This dabbler thang basically means I’ve been to a few classes (including a very strange hot yoga class with a funny little man in his living room with some heaters he’d put on) and bought lots of dvds which I’ve done for a few days then promptly forgotten about.

 

Since working at the retreat here in Portugal however, I’ve been fortunate enough to have very intimate classes (not in that way, pervert!) with an amazing yoga teacher Micha.  I love you Micha.  Not in that way!  *Awkward

 

Over the last five weeks my downward dog has improved from being a dog you’d take to the vet to have put down to something slightly resembling an actual dog.  In a good way, in case that isn’t clear.

What I was thinking about this morning is how raw food is like yoga.

 

You see, when you move in to certain yoga postures, there can be some tension created between mind and body.  For me, this usually means my mind saying to me:

 

why the fuck can’t I do this?

this is too difficult!

how come she does it so easy?

how does any bastard do this?

I give up, I’ll never be able to do it!

 

And so on.  Usually with a few swear words thrown in for good measure.  Ok, so quite a lot of swear words.

 

What any good yoga teacher will tell you is what I think is equally as valuable when it comes to eating raw food or moving towards a raw food lifestyle.

 

Listen to your body – so often the mind has something to tell us about what we can or can’t do, what we should or shouldn’t be doing.  Realise this is just the mind doing its little mind thing.  The body is a wondrous, truly stupendous machine that is way more intelligent than your mind ever will be.  Your body will tell you very quickly when you are taking things too far.  Learn to tap in to what it is telling you rather than self impose limitations on your self.  How do you feel?  Really ask that question and wait for the inner guidance.

Pay no attention to your mind -wanting to be able to do things is not the same as allowing the process to happen and unfold naturally.  No amount of wishing with your mind will help.  You can’t force a flower to open, nor would you want to.  When it opens of its own accord it’s a beautiful thing.  What’s the rush?  Why do you need to be able to do it now?  In fact, ask yourself this, if you could do it all now where is the fun in that?

See if you can go deeper – we often decide what we are able to do or not do.  Sometimes, just sometimes, this is because we have ourselves locked up in our own self-imposed boundaries.  The truth is that you probably can go a little deeper in to it.  Maybe not, but see if it’s possible.  Test your own limits!

 

Go at your own pace– this isn’t a competition.  You will enjoy the process much more if you tune in to yourself and what you are doing and stop looking outside to see what everyone else is doing.  There’s no finish line to get to.

Relax & Breathe – When you feel yourself getting annoyed or upset you need to relax and breathe.  This shouldn’t be a stressful process.  You’re doing it for the love of it right?  Why make a problem out of it?  Take a step back and realise that this is an ongoing process.  A self evolution.  Love it all!

 

So I’ll leave you with this sexy little pic of me downward dogging it.  Not dogging obviously, that would be wholly inappropriate…even for my blog.