rawfood and Superfoods

Vibrant, juicy, sensual and energising, raw food is the optimum in nourishment for the body, mind and spirit.  Full of vitamins, minerals and living enzymes, it is nutritionally superior and has a higher vibration than the cooked and processed foods we have become used to.  It is alive, energetic, satisfying food that leaves the body nourished, limber and light, rather than with a feeling of heaviness and tiredness commonly felt after a cooked or processed meal.

Raw foods are all fruits and vegetables eaten in their natural, unprocessed form as well as nuts, seeds and sprouted pulses and grains.  They are foods that still have their living enzymes intact. Raw food, bursting with enzymes, is living food that keeps you feeling alive.  Enzymes are catalysts needed for almost all bodily functions.  We are born with a limited amount of enzymes and by eating raw foods we are allowing our bodies to use them for what they were originally intended for: healing, rejuvenating, keeping our bodies fit and young.  Processing and cooking destroy these precious enzymes and therefore force the body to draw from its precious reserves to digest the food.  Less enzymes become available for cell regeneration and premature aging and degenerative disease sets in.  Not only do raw foods conserve valuable enzymes, they are also nutritionally the best foods available.  They are rich in vitamins and minerals, which are otherwise almost completely destroyed by heat, oxygen, and processing.  Therefore they nourish the body, unlike cooked and processed and nutritionally deficient food which acidify and demineralize the body. When eating cleaner foods, the body begins to eliminate all that is no longer necessary, releasing toxic negative emotions and behavior patterns.  Less energy is used for healing and more is used for digestion.  The more living enzymes you consume, the more you eradicate disease and cleanse your body.

Properly nourishing the body allows us to nourish all parts of ourselves.  And once we begin to really nourish the body, giving it the love and attention it deserves, it becomes easier to identify destructive behaviours and patterns and transform them into life-affirming, healthy practices that help our peronal growth and spiritual development.  Health creates health and the more we treat our body as a temple the more space we make for inner peace harmony, love and the divine. 

For many people who begin to eat raw food, their dietary choice is about transformation.  Be forewarned! Raw food is a very powerful way of transforming ourselves on all levels.  Many people are amazed by the emotional and spiritual transformation they have undergone since they have changed to a raw food diet.  Old constricting patterns begin to slip away, the emotions begin to stabilize, the body and soul become lighter, as the addictions slip away.  There is suddenly more energy for yoga meditation and creativity as less is spent on cooking and digesting.  Combined with a natural lifestyle, it can free you from supermarkets and consumer culture as you move away from the environmentally-unfriendly impact of processing, packaging and transporting food.  It can help your return to the source, by buying anc growing the original product and therefore living much closer to the earth.

Yoga and raw foods are complementary.  Both will increase your energy and give you greater clarity of mind and emotional balance.  Practising yoga while transitioning to a raw food diet helps fight cooked food cravings, makes it easier to change your patterns, and is especially helpful with both physical and emotional detoxification.  By combining a raw food diet with your yoga practice, you may notice yourself becoming much more flexible then before, allowing you to go past your previous emotional and physical limitations.

yoga

The word Yoga comes from Indian philosophy, it literally means union, and in this context refers to the union of the individual's soul with the universe. Yoga is an ancient philosophy of life as well as a system of exercises that encourages the union of mind, body, and spirit. In the words of Patanjali, author of the Yoga Sutras, "yoga is the ability to focus the mind on a single point without distraction."

Yoga is a physical discipline; it uses the body and breathing to develop self-awareness and mental clarity. This art of holistic living was developed and practiced in India thousands of years ago. But, since yoga deals with universal truths, the teachings are as valid today as they were in ancient times.

Then there is the Devotional Path (Bhakti Yoga) Through various practices such as chanting, prayer and repetition of mantras, emotions are channeled into devotion, transforming negative emotions in a positive direction. The philosophical Path (Jnana Yoga), usually regarded as the most difficult of the four paths, a sharp mind and unclouded intellect are necessary.

This intellectual approach to spiritual evolution describes the world as illusion. Using the two powerful techniques of Viveka, (discrimination) and Vairagya (dispassion), the veils of illusion or 'Maya' are lifted. And the Path of action(Karma Yoga) Selfless service, to serve humanity without expecting rewards, and to see unity in diversity. Through this path, the mind is purified and it's limits transcended. But only when we collectively draw on the techniques of all four branches of this 'tree' can we truly unify our body, mind and soul...