Veganism and Yoga
There are many reasons people decide to go vegetarian or vegan. There are many yogis and yogini’s who are, but there are also many who are not. The reasons people decide to change their lifestyle are varied and sometime complex. To live more gently, to be more aware of the impact the decisions we make daily have on the planet. and the beings around us.
This is a little about how I think this relates to yoga and how my journey to veganism started. This is not the only view point on this in anyway, and I know many fabulous yogis who I love and respect who are neither veggie or vegan.
Everyone is on they own journey.
You may or may not have heard of the 8 limbs of yoga. These are the eight main practices that a yogi works towards following in their daily life. The first two are the Yamas and Niyamas, these are rules a yogi should abide by within the community around them and within his or herself. First among the Yamas is Ahimsa, this basically means, to do no harm. It is what inspired Gandhi in his peaceful, non violent, protest against the British rule in India and has inspired many more since. Non violence, do no harm. For many this is interpreted to mean all living things, this is the reason many yogis become vegan or at least vegetarian. Others view this more as a practice of being kind to yourself and others in your thoughts, words and actions.
For me I had started down the road to vegetarianism before studying the limbs of yoga. Many things came together at once, I have a good friend who has been vegan for 10years or so. I found she would say things or post things that I would find upsetting and I would agree with the sentiment of what she was saying. This started a slow drip feed of realisation that even though I had considered myself an animal lover my whole life. I was actually contributing to the untold suffering of hundreds of animals annually.
We had also just moved to the middle east and at that point it wasn’t possible to get free range anything there, which had been the only type of meat I would buy in the UK. A lot of what we could get was imported from non European countries, where the laws on food production were perhaps not as strict as the Europe. So the chicken was pumped full of god knows what, as I suspected were a lot of the other meats. I gradually started to remove things from my diet. First was chicken and turkey, followed by beef and pork. Fish and seafood I found the hardest to cut out and I have missed them a lot! But having seen the horrible damage and destruction done by these massive trawlers, the fact that they haul in everything from seals to dolphins to turtles, I was finally convinced.
Dairy for me was fairly easy because I have always been allergic to it, so although I would occasionally have some cheese and deal with the consequences. Again once I looked into the dairy industry I was shocked and knew I had to cut out even the tiny amount I ate.
Eggs were the last thing I would occasionally sneak, but I have literally gone years without eating any eggs at all. Because the only eggs I have eaten over that last 4 or 5 years are from the hens my mum keeps in her back garden. They are mostly rescues and are looked after and loved and will live long, free roaming lives.
Having grown up in a typical Scottish household where meat or fish were part of almost every meal. It was challenging for my family at first. Although my parents now actually follow an almost completely plant based diet. My husband is amazing and very supportive he still eats some meat.
I think my journey to veganism was helped by the fact that I love to cook. I really enjoy food and I have always found nutrition fascinating. While my main reason to be vegan is the animals, the nutritional and environmental side effects really contribute to why I couldn’t go back.
If you are interested in finding out more about the vegan diet. Here are some links.
Breathe Flow Relax
Kate