Foods injurious to a Yogi or Yogini
Today, we have so many ideas on what is healthy and what is good and bad. Every time i blink, I am seeing another idea of a superfood being sold to the ignorant or another diet or detox being exploited to create just more sales or for someone’s fortune or fame.
We can easily see if we step out of the modern consumer world of spirituality that this is not the path.
Furthermore, detoxing, juicing, raw food, the list goes on and on, is not part of yoga or a yogic lifestyle at all. The understanding of ayurveda, yoga’s sister science, allows more light to be shown upon this area of health as well.
The following is from The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, it is the end of the first chapter or lesson one.
Foods injurious to a Yogi or Yogini
-Horrible translation by Pancham Sinh
- Bitter, sour, saltish, green vegetables, fermented, oily, mixed with til (sesame) seed, rape seed, intoxicating liquors, fish, meat, curds (yogurt), chhaasa pulses, plums, oil-cake, asafoetida (hinga), garlic, onion, etc., should not be eaten.
- Food heated again, dry, having too much salt, sour, minor grains, and vegetables that cause burning sensation, should not be eaten. Fire, women, traveling, etc., should be avoided.
- As said by Goraksa, one should keep aloof from the society of the evil-minded, fire, traveling, early morning bath, fasting, and all kinds of bodily exertion.
- Wheat, rice, barley, shâstik (a kind of rice), good corns, milk, ghee, sugar, butter, sugar candy, honey, dried ginger, Parwal (a vegetable aka. pointed gourd), the five vegetables, moong, pure water, these are very beneficial to those who practice Yoga.
- A yogi or yogini should eat tonics (things giving strength), well sweetened, greasy (made with ghee), milk butter, etc., which may increase humors of the body, according to his or her desire.
- Whether young, old or too old, sick or lean, one who discards laziness, gets success if he or she practices Yoga.
- Success comes to him or her who is engaged in the practice. How can one get success without practice; for by merely reading books on Yoga, one can never get success.
- Success cannot be attained by adopting a particular dress (Vesa). It cannot be gained by telling tales. Practice alone is the means to success. This is true, there is no doubt.
- âsanas, various Kumbhakas, and other divine means, all should be practiced in the practice of Yoga, till the fruit óf Râja Yoga is obtained.
trueayurveda 
Is chaas(buttermilk) bad because it absorbs water and causes dryness in intestines?I have ama problems and a very very weak digestion with no ruchi in food and severe constipation.I have found buttermilk and gomutra to be of big big help.
Once again, cannot tell you much of anything because proper diagnosis of your situation needs to be done. Buttermilk is contraindicated when there is constipation.
Buttermilk is contraindicated in constipation. Buttermilk is not bad, people self diagnosing without proper knowledge of diagnosing is bad. 😉
Agni is the most important thing. Read the articles on agni.
What are the five vegetables?
Patol leaves, Leaves of bala, white jute, Brahmi, Vastaka or Lamb’s Quarter
What does “good corns” refer to in point 4? Does it refer to the common yellow corn, maize?
Godhum-Shali-Yav-Shahashtik-Shobhannanam
Kashi Rajya-Khand-Navneet-Siddha-Madhuni |
Shunthi-patol-kafaladik-panch-shakam
mudgadi-divyamudakam y yamendra-pathyam || 45 ||
Yogis eat alot of this stuff……
https://www.kashi.com/en_US/products/kashi-7whole-grain-puffs-cereal-product.html
It is the modern world of yoga after all. 🙂
Rohith, Your homework assignment, if you should choose to accept it, is to gather as many copies of the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika to source this one shloka and read all the different translations and post them here. If you do this, you will have a big lesson.