Ahimsa/Love practices of their own accord

I generally have a pretty solid Mysore practice schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and sometimes Friday too. Things have sort of fallen apart in the past few days though. To say last week was rough on me is an understatement, chiropractic school really took its toll. Last Wednesday we did knee palpations on each other and after school I went to practice as usual. Unfortunately, all that poking around in the joint space showed up as I reached Marichyasana B. My knees were not feeling it, sharp pains in the front of the knee. I was not about to just take savasana then, but I did skip the rest of the Padmasana-like asanas in my practice and only took one breath in Bakasana. A super long savasana was necessitated and ice later that night too. I took the rest of the week off as a preventative measure as things were still a little tweaky. As Jill always reminds, practice in a way that lets you practice tomorrow. Saturday I intended to return to the studio, but three tests, two in super tough anatomy completely drained my energy reserves and I slept through the 6:00 alarm well into practice time. Today I was ready to get back on track, healed and rested. Much to my dismay, ahimsa reared her head again today. I traveled to school mat and clothes in hand looking forward to a fresh start this week until my wonderful boyfriend needed help. My sweetie just got a new job working as an assistant gardener in the West Hills, but he seriously needs rain gear. He had ordered a waterproof suit to pick up on Saturday, but it hadn't arrived. Last week was sunny and so was today, but the showers return to the rain forest tomorrow. Today the store called him and announced that his suit had arrived! Unfortunately they close at 6 and there was no way for him to get it. In an act of love, I gave up practice this day too in order to keep my boy dry and healthy tomorrow. I picked the suit up after school instead of heading to the studio. Pray that nothing stops me from getting to yoga club tomorrow, no rough palpations on Wednesday, and all in all practice is back on track!

Farmers' Market Loot, August 6, 2009 and Yogic Diet

It has been coming for some time; here is my first 'controversial' post. First I'll give you today's tally: 2 flat-breads from Wild Flour Bakery 1 honeydew melon, 1 cantaloupe, 1 pint blueberries, 1 quart green beans, and 1 quart tomatoes from the fruit farmer 1 dozen eggs and 1 pound of bacon from the local meat producer. The cash total was $29, $9 of that was the bacon. Yes, that's right, I bought bacon. The traditional Ayurvedic diet is ovo-, lacto-vegetarian, and Ayurveda is closely tied with yoga. I do consider myself a serious yogini...but I am not a vegetarian. I continue to eat all types of meat from pigs and cows to fish. To me the yogic diet is not strictly vegetarian, but is rather to eat mindfully, keeping ahimsa clearly on the mind while choosing our food and consuming it. Ahimsa is the practice of non-harming in thought, word, or deed; expressing love and compassion for yourself, others, and the world around you. Of course, this is an impossible goal. B.K.S. Iyengar points out in Light on Life (2005) that even Gandhi, a great example of ahimsa, was in violation when he went on long fasts, harming himself in order to prove his point. Many yogis practice ahimsa of diet via vegetarianism or even veganism. I applaud all of you, but this diet is just not for me. I do not eat a lot of meat, in fact the last time I ate meat was last Saturday where burgers were the only main course available. The fact is I love the taste and texture of meat. I realize that consuming it is harming not only the animal that needs to die, but also damaging the environment. American beef farms alone have a larger carbon footprint than America's cars. Further, the large-scale meat industry typically treats its animals cruelly and feeds them monotonous diets leading to the need to pump in the antibiotics...which can lead to resistant microbes. Our health is another consideration. Consuming a lot of meat and animal products can lead to so many poor health conditions like hear disease, cancer, and diabetes. It's a bad situation. All of this so I can have cheap meat on my plate? That is not necessary. On the other hand, tofu makes me sick to the stomach; I can only eat so many bean dishes. In my everyday life, about 10-15% of my diet is meat. If I don't eat meat once in a while, I begin to feel a little off and then get sick. I come from a very meat-based culture; there is typically meat for every dinner back home. However, if I were to go home as a vegetarian, I would be hungry and make my mom upset that I didn't even try the ham, turkey, or baked beans she lovingly cooked. My personal perspective on this is that I don't buy cheap, industrial meat. I buy local, pastured animals that aren't unnecessarily pumped full of medicines. If available, I will always choose a wild animal harvested by my relative or boyfriend. I choose my fish according to A) what is likely to be harvested near me and B) choose carefully along the lines of sustainable and mercury-level charts for fish. Buying these meats is more expensive and takes more thought. The trade-off is worth it for more nutritious and flavorful meat. Because its more expensive, I take care to use all of what I get. I boil bones to make homemade broth and I save my bacon drippings in the fridge for cooking. The higher price also encourages me to eat less, having a smaller environmental and karmic impact. When it comes down to the choice of eat meat, or eat very little or nothing at all, I will choose to eat the meat every time. These are mindful choices, and I think that they are in line with mindful eating...what I consider to be the 'meat' of the yogic diet. Reference: Iyengar, B.K.S. 2005. Light on life: the yoga journey to wholeness, inner peace, and ultimate freedom. Rodale, Inc., U.S.A., 282 pp.