I Can't Do Yoga: H isn't just for Holidays

​​According to the Yoga Sutra, Chapter One Verse Two, the ancient yogis described Yoga as containing fluctuations in the psyche. Each part of Yoga is meant to calm the mind, heart, body, and spirit. The goal is to focus on God when suffering comes our way. Finding comfort from the Divine within can be easy when we are calm. But in times of heightened emotions, what is our default mode? I think about the acronym HALT: don’t let yourself get too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. My Aunt used to tell me that when I was going through tough times. Why do those things matter to our well-being and to make it through the day? Why is it so hard to calm our minds, heart, and body today? Let’s break it down into the parts of HALT. Today, we will focus on H or hunger.
Hunger can drive us to do things we wouldn’t normally do, but food can also do that. Like many products on store shelves, Ultra-processed food contains more chemicals than nutrients. You may not be aware that those foods are designed to keep you eating. When you tear open a bag of something crunchy, salty, maybe orange in color, your tastebuds come alive. Have you ever craved that kind of “food”? That craving is what the chemicals are meant to do. So, eating ultra-processed foods creates the H in Halt! Even after learning this, I still buy crunchy, colorful, bagged items now and then, but awareness is the first step to overcoming. We can overcome hunger by reminding ourselves to eat food close to its natural state without processing. What a topic to discuss during the holidays, right? It can explain why we may feel down after eating sugary, chemically enhanced treats during celebrations. Go for the homemade versions of those foods, for sure!
Yoga Sutra Chapter One, Verse 30, tells us that overindulgence is one of the distractions of our psyche. We can go back to the breath to help us, but again, it takes practice. Do you remember when I said that the magical factor in Yoga is YOU? You have the power to change things and can also influence that power with awareness of the foods you eat. If you missed the big reveal, read my previous blog posts, starting with the breath. Practice is the way we can help ourselves! Here’s a video from Dr. Andrew Weil on a short-breath meditation. Try it and let us know how you feel.