Eat vibrant, live vibrant

Are you listening to the poetry created in you by the food you eat? Please open yourself to the bounty of joyful health that food can bring to you.

Don’t shun wholesomeness and lock yourself in a prison of careless indulgence that systematically undermines body and soul. Follow these five comprehensive principles:

* Give the body what it needs, not what you want. Recently, a little voice was chanting inside of me, “Get more sun, get more sun.” I did. I walked on a sun-flooded bridge for half hour and…voila! the body became more flexible, more energetic, more robust. Conclusion: In addition to the daily cereal, pulse, vegetable, dairy, take in a bodyful of golden sunshine rich with Vitamin D3 and bioenergy.

* Open your tastebuds to nature’s delicacies. You can’t suddenly give up everything unhealthy and eat healthy stuff. It can be irksome. Be wise. Woo your tastebuds back to nature’s wholeness. Start with your favourite fresh fruits; minimize sugar. Gradually introduce baked potatoes and oust fried ones. Think of yourself as eating vibrant, live, delicious foods so that the tongue and mind too re-discover their original higher levels of enjoyment. Fine-tuning: Don’t dub old greasy foods as ‘real’ foods. They aren’t. Learn to love the lightness and clear-headedness that wholesome food creates. Be cautious of blindly bingeing on fats which leads to indigestion and discomfort.

* Don’t limit yourself with labels of ‘vegetarian’, ‘vegan’ and ‘non-vegetarian’. Recently, a vegetarian gentleman was bedridden with a stroke. Now, out of danger, he has shown dramatic improvement by introducing one egg in his diet. Its superior protein has strengthened his muscles and made movements easier. Conclusion: A label is not important, being able is. Experiment to find what empowers you. Some people may have to give up dairy if they are lactose-intolerant; meat if they have chronic constipation. Follow what’s best for your well-being.

* Be mindful about what you eat with your food. When you eat, give your full attention to it. I had the typical urban habit of automatically switching on the TV as I sat down with my plateful of low-fat, healthy food. Yet, I was not feeling energized as I used to earlier. Then, one day, the cable was off. It was a Godsend. I savoured the meal as if it was a masterpiece cooked by a gourmet chef. That’s when it hit me: Along with the food, I’d been eating crime, violence, conflicts even if laced with humour; now I knew that silence is the best, most delicious accompaniment. What’s more, I felt nourished, satisfied, contented, and absolutely tranquil. Fine-tuning:  Take smaller helpings. When there are no distractions, you feel full on less food—you touch your true satiety levels

* Always include high-fibre foods in your meals. When I’m clean inside, I feel like an emperor. And this is where high-fibre foods help—it’s like pressing the ‘Delete’ button on your system—all the toxins, the excess particles are…well…deleted! The two foods I recommend are ladyfingers and carrots. They never fail. Fine-tuning: Drink plenty of water with such foods. Once, a Yoga teacher told me that he eats raw ladyfingers daily to cleanse his system as fasting did not suit him. He said being particular about cleansing took care of four things: Low energy that earlier had him cancelling Yoga classes; indigestion; general weakness and poor concentration and confusion—he’d forget what he was saying mid-sentence while lecturing, much to his embarrassment.

Cleansing is imperative as we take in environmental pollutions and chemicals contained in foods packed in plastic containers. Conclusion:  Eat clean, think clean, live clean.
And let your bliss sing.