Vegetarian food allows more sensitivity and ecstasy in the energy flow that happens in your system. We feel light and ecstatic with this diet. Definitely, vegetarian food is better for people who want to enter the spiritual path.” – “A further refinement of vegetarian food is dining on what is called as sattvic food. People on sattvic vegetarian diet avoid jalapeno peppers, onion, and garlic…” – Paramahamsa Nithyananda 

The sattvic diet supports the lifestyle of a yogi. Yet we don’t need to be a yogi to follow this diet and lifestyle, simply the wish to improve our health and live a better life is sufficient. The yoga diet is based on sattvic food which applies many of the ayurvedic cooking principles. Most importantly the three gunas which are the inherent qualities or attributes of human nature or behavior: sattva, rajas and tamas.

• Tamas, tamasic: the lowest guna of laziness or inaction. Inertia is a lifestyle: tamasic people often live off other people, sit too much in front of the TV, and run their life and mind by the influence of its programs and propaganda.
• Rajas, rajasic: the middle guna of restlessness and aggressive action. Rajasic behavior is about competition which is overly stressed in our society today and causes, just like the tamasic lifestyle, a lot of health issues.
• Sattva, sattvic: the highest guna of spiritual calmness and passive action. The sattvic guna emphasizes a clear and calm mind, so you begin to see things as they are. You start to look within. Emotions are released and you begin to understand yourself better and on a deeper level. This is where healing, wholeness, and yoga happen.

This means your life and lifestyle are greatly influenced by what you eat, and on a much deeper level as meets the eye.

The three gunas translate to food as follows:

• Tamasic food: canned, frozen, pickled, deep-fried, fried, or micro-waved food, reheated or stale food, meat and meat products, eggs, onions, garlic, mushrooms, white sugar, Monsanto-treated food. Foods made with preservatives, food coloring, too much fat, and too much salt.
• Rajasic food: coffee, black tea, green chilies (jalapenos), other stimulating foods.
• Sattvic food: vegetarian, freshly made, home-cooked food from a variety of grains, brown rice, lentils, fresh vegetables cooked and as a raw salad, fresh fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. Dairy products are optional.

Food is our main source of energy. Consuming tamasic food does not provide for much energy. It also takes a lot of energy to digest it. This kind of food does not belong into a yogic diet, neither rajasic food that stimulates the mind and produces restlessness which is counterproductive to meditation.

Sattvic food is that kind of food that raises our energy level and at the same time induces spiritual calmness, clarity of mind, and a blissful state of being to aid in raising our individual consciousness to the highest possible state. It is a well-balanced diet that uses fresh ingredients and is inspired by South Indian cooking but can be based on any cuisine of Planet Earth.

To treat body and mind in yoga is to increase satva guna. Satvic food is an important step to do this. It simply is a step into preparing food and eating consciously and with awareness, an awakening into higher consciousness.