There are many reasons for doing something.  The practices of yoga, however, spells it out for us: yoga=union.  śrī Brahmananda Saraswati defines yoga as “The state of missing nothing.”  Once we unite things we are no longer able to tell them apart.  Through the consistent application of the principles of yoga, we will find that happiness and peace extend beyond our daily yoga class, perhaps beyond the gross physical into the subtle energetic, emotional, and mental.  So if that is your purpose for practicing yoga, read on.

We may practice asana.  Asana purifies karma: past actions.  The process then requires us not to create the same karma we purged ourselves of.  Otherwise, it is like going to the gym and burning 500 calories, then immediately eating a snack which contains 500 calories.  We don’t get anywhere.  We want to purify more karma than we create, or at least create less harmful karma. ie: by eating vegetables instead of other sentient beings.  How can we expect to reach a state of union, eternal bliss, when we deprive others of happiness by seeing them as ours to eat?  It’s no coincidence that yoga practitioners who adopt a vegetarian diet are more flexible than meat eaters.

śrī K. Pattabhi Jois, the aṣṭāṇga yoga guru, when questioned on the subject of meat eating and yoga:
Questioner: “Some yoga teachers say that a vegetarian diet is not necessary.”
Guruji: (laughing) “Oh… a new method!”
Q: “Many Indians and Westerners eat meat.”
Guruji: ”They are not practicing yoga.  Meat eating makes you stiff.”
Q: “What is the most important Yogic practice in this time?”
Guruji:  “Vegetarian diet is the most important practice for Yoga.”

महर्षि पतञ्जलि योग सूत्र ।१।
अहिंसा प्रतिष्ठायां तत् संनिधौ वैर त्यागः॥३५॥
Maharṣi Patañjali Yoga Sūtra |1|
ahiṁsā pratiṣṭhāyāṁ tat saṁnidhau vaira tyāgaḥ ||35||
When in the presence of one firmly established in non violence, all hostilities cease.

If we have not yet reached the goal of yoga and still perceive others, the Yama are guidelines as to how we must treat them to maintain the serenity of our minds.  Master Patañjali gives the first limb of the eight limbed path of Yoga as Yama: that which we do to others.  Ahimsa, or non-harming, is the first practice of the first limb.

All our yoga practices must, if we still believe in the goal of yoga, be based upon a solid scriptural source.  We cannot simply create or disregard that which is inconvenient.  If I wish to bake a chocolate cake (vegan, of course) I cannot leave out the sugar simply because I don’t have it.  The result will not be the same as if I used it.  These sutra are also commonly translated and manipulated to suit us: “I practice ahimsa toward myself, I don’t want to hurt myself, so I eat meat.”  What!?  Meat itself is harmful, both spiritually, as our bodies become the graves of murdered beings, and physically, as our bodies are not suited for meat consumption.  Further, there is no nutrient necessary to our survival that can only be gained from the consumption of meat.

Master Patañjali gives the first two limbs as: Yama-Restraints, that which we do to others and Niyama-Observances, that which we do to ourselves ie: cleanliness, contentment…  After introducing each Yama specifically ie. ahiṁsā, he then gives the benefit to the sadhak (spiritual practitioner) pratiṣṭhāyāṁ tat saṁnidhau vaira tyāgaḥ.  This would be redundant if the Yama were indeed practices we do to ourselves.  With this in mind we could turn it into the negative:  One who is firmly established in violence or who causes violence to be performed will continuously encounter violence.
 
The Ethic of Reciprocity states “Do not do to others what you would not like to be done to you.”  This is actually an evolution of the commonly known Golden Rule.  Every wisdom tradition has a similar version.

We get closer to Yoga when we realize that if we do something to another it will eventually come back to us. Keeping this in mind we strive to practice compassion in our food choices by choosing not to contribute to the suffering of others.  We attain Yoga when we realize there are no others.

We may not practice Asana every day but we eat every day, sometimes more than once.  Our fork can be a weapon of mass destruction.

ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्तिः
om śānti śānti śāntiḥ

Mark Knowles
Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher
www.bahamayogi.com
843.991.2272

by Georgia Schrubbe

posted by Caroline Brennan

Some people don’t really think about what they’re eating or where it came from. Even when we make a choice that is bad for us, we eat it because it’s convenient, not stopping to consider it clogging our arteries and contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer.

   Luckily, there is an accessible alternative in the vegan, organic, raw, and sustainable options of the recently opened Sprout Café.

   Accessible through the doors of Seeking Indigo on 445 King or around the corner on 7 Radcliffe, The Sprout is a little grab-and-go vegan café sprouted from its parent café in Mount Pleasant.

   Owner Mickey Brennan has set up shop at the Marion Square Farmer’s Market every Saturday with enthusiastic patrons, so he decided to plant a permanent Sprout in downtown Charleston.

   “Getting into that space primarily was to just see how everybody would receive it. We plan on expanding…It’s more of a little sprout- It’s going to sprout bigger,” says Brennan.

   Brennan feels confident that The Sprout will be well received because of the distinctiveness of the fare, and The Sprout’s commitment to sustainability and organic, locally produced ingredients.

  “We’re something different to the market. You can go anywhere and get shrimp and grits or a burger, but where else can you go to get a casein, gluten-free vegan entrée?” Brennan says.

   These entrees are not the bland, gray tofu-pretending-to-be-meat options typically associated with vegans, but instead creative combinations of vegetables and punchy flavors that make you forget that what you’re eating hasn’t even been cooked.

   One of Brennan’s specialties is The Sprout Burger, a spicy patty made of ginger, walnut, and portabella mushrooms, topped with a puree of jalapenos, tamari, red onions, carrots and peppers, all on a bun made of “sprouted” grains. The Burger is unexpectedly punchy and filling, even though it is completely raw and doesn’t have gluten, casein, wheat, soy, or dairy.

  The Sprout also serves a raw version of Pad Thai, with noodles constructed out of zuchinni and carrot spirals and covered with the Sprout’s vegan version of a pungent peanut sauce.

   Still skeptical? Brennan encourages everyone to step outside of his or her culinary comfort zone and give the Sprout a chance.

   “I only make food that I like. It’s going to taste good, you just have to give it a try,” he says.

   With almost everything on the menu under $10, trying out the Sprout won’t break the bank, and it will help contribute to the Sprout’s mission of raising the level of health in the world!

   “The object of our business when we set out was not to make a million dollars. It was to improve the life and the health of the world, and that is what we do” says Brennan.

   So next time you are tempted to settle for food that is not good to the earth or your body, head instead to The Sprout for an organic Harvest Burrito packaged in a 100 % biodegradable and compostable container and raise your glass of kombucha to the health of the world.

www.thehealthysprout.com