The Yoga of Eating and Charaka's Ten Eating Principles
Our Relationship with Food
Our relationship with food is of great importance in our lives. Due to the culture we have around food + eating, many may not be ready to hear that it is meant to be sacred or nourish something deeper than the tongue. It is important to make the connection between our emotions, physiology, and our ability to process food effectively.
Connecting with the cycles of nature, including that of our own body, can mean baby steps towards recognizing how to eat properly and create a daily rhythm around nutrition and wellness. Many of the health problems we face in the western world are largely related to our relationship with food and the sacred nature of eating.
Eating mechanically and with disrespect for the body is not our natural state of being. Generally an imbalance of the dosha(s) caused by poor diet and living will imbalance the mind and further exacerbate the problems with food and digestion. We generally think that this way of eating is not an issue because it does not have an immediate repercussion. When disease pops up we are confused as to why it has come.
50% of our diet is what we eat and the other 50% is how we eat.
Over time, following general sattvic eating and lifestyle guidelines regularly will balance agni, the doshas, and will minimize our compulsions around certain acts (including eating) that bring disease. Each day we have multiple opportunities to honor the gift of our body / mind vessel through the meals we consume. Remember that the food we eat ultimately becomes our consciousness and nourishes every cell of our body.
Charaka Samhita’s Ten Conscious Eating Principles
Health individuals and most who are facing some level of dis-ease should observe the following. Even if we have the most wholesome foods, if they are not consumed in the proper way they will create imbalance over time.
1. The food should be hot
When food is taken warm, it is delicious; after intake it provokes the enzymatic factors in the digestive system responsible for digestion. It gets digested quickly and helps in the downward passage of vata (wind) and detachment of kapha (stools, wastes, heaviness in the body).
2. The food should be unctuous
Unctuous means healthy oils. These healthy oils provoke and catalyze the power of digestion. It helps in the downward movement of vata (wind) it increases the plumpness of the body, strengthens the senses, promotes strength, and brings out the brightness of complexion.
Healthy oils include Vedic ghee, and unrefined cold pressed organic sesame, sunflower, olive oils. Coconut oil is okay sometimes as well.
3. The food should be taken in proper quantity
“When taken in proper quantity, food promotes longevity in its entirety without afflicting vata, pitta and kapha; it easily passes down the digestive tract, it does not impair the power of digestion and it gets digested without any difficulty.”
Moderation is a key theme throughout life. Eating both too much and too little are harmful to agni and health. Most people overeat out of habit - the mind is accustomed to the feeling of being excessively full. This is not the body’s natural state of harmony.
The Ayurvedic texts teach that the stomach should be half filled with food, one-quarter with liquid and one-quarter with air or gas. The best thing to do is be aware of how you feel when you eat. Get to know your digestion and your burp, and don’t have more in one sitting than the amount you can hold in your hands cupped together (anjani).
A burp is a movement or displacement of air - a natural function of the body. Think about babies being burped after feeding. To hold this back means suppressing gas in our system and ignoring the red light to stop eating – this causes disturbances leading to more serious problems.
The first burp is powerful because it is a direct signal from the body based on its current state. Food eaten beyond the first burp will disrupt the digestive process so that little, if any, nutrients will be assimilated from what is eaten. The food ferments in the digestive tract, eventually distorting the cellular environment and weakening agni.
If agni is not weakened immediately, it will be over time. This is how ama (toxic residue) is created. The fermentation also leads to increased acidity, excess gas, and the beginning of the disease process as pitta and vata increase. These are the symptoms we need to listen to and when we notice them make changes immediately. Otherwise vata (air) moves the ama (toxins) into the dhatus (tissues) and more serious symptoms develop.
If there is disturbance or undigested food sitting in the intestines, the burp will come very quickly after only a small amount of food. The body is saying, “This is all that I can handle right now.” This is the starting point and the place you need to stop.
Breakfast should be a small to moderate meal, to gently “break the fast” that occurred through the night. Heavy breakfasts are to be avoided, especially if agni is weak. When we have balanced agni, the two main meals of the day should be similar in size, with slightly lighter food and slightly less at dinner. This might vary a bit by the person’s prakriti, vikruti, the season of the year and the time of the meal.
4. The food should be taken only after the previous meal is digested
If one takes food before the previous meal is digested - the digestive product of the previous food (i.e. immature rasa) gets mixed up with the product of food taken afterwards, resulting in the provocation (and imbalance) of the doshas (bodily energies) immediately.
Ayurveda describes the physiology of one who is ready to turn food into nectar for the body: if food is taken after the digestion of the previous food while the doshas are in their proper places and agni (digestive enzymes) is provoked, there is appetite, the channels of the body’s circulation are open, there is unimpaired cardiac function, and proper manifestation of the urges to void flatus, urine and stool, (see article on the natural urges here) then the product of food does not disturb the body, but on the other hand promotes longevity.
Because of a culture of fridge storage and artificially preserved items in the pantry - snacking is very accessible.
Another element to consider is that the last stage of digestion which builds heat in the abdomen is commonly confused for hunger. If that fire passes in 20 - 30 minutes it was not true hunger, but rather this last stage.
The digestive tract needs a break just as a campfire cannot be constantly smothered by adding wood and sticks or it dies out. One should not have excessive fire of digestion (tiksna agni) or a fire that is too low (manda agni) - these are not signs of health.
5. The food ingredients should not be contradictory in their potency
Many foods produce poor combinations when in the stomach such as dairy and fruits. The dairy and fruits are sweet by taste (rasa) but when they go to the stomach the fruits become sour as they ferment, thus essentially curdling the milk in your stomach. This is true with many foods, especially mixing raw foods with cooked, and fruits with vegetables to name some generalizations. Tune into what happens when you combine certain things and become acquainted with proper combining principles.
6. The food should be taken in a pleasant place with the required accessories
Food should be taken in a settled harmonious environment. Meal time is a time for healing and communing with the body in a deep way. One should have all that they need (napkins, tea, salt, pepper, garnishes, chutneys) so the mind can be peaceful and in the present relishing the experience. This is essentially the principle of sattva or goodness entering our rituals and lives.
7. The food should not be taken in excessive hurry
Rushing in life means increased rajas or overactivity of the mind. This causes disease and lots of mental / emotional strain. While eating too much creates tamas or inertia / accumulation, rajas is created by eating too quickly. Remaining seated for a few minutes after completing your meal - rushing feeds stressors more than our body!
The best way to practice this is to chew properly (until solids become liquid, and treat liquids as if they were solids) and also to put down the fork/spoon in between bites. Partially chewed food hurts the stomach as it does not have teeth and must fully break down large chunks using enzymes alone.
8. The process of intake should not be exceedingly slow
This will not give satisfaction. Generally this produces overeating and eating food that is cold, causing irregularity in enzymatic production and digestion.
9. While eating, one should neither talk nor laugh; during this time one should concentrate on eating only.
This is basically to protect against eating too quickly or too slowly. In many cultures meals are seen as a time for social connection. While one should not become rigid and lifeless - one should understand that it is also our three times a daily healing ritual. Ayurveda says that you are not simply what you eat, but what you digest - so make sure to be mindful of chewing properly, pacing yourself, and connecting with the blessing in front of you.
10. Only such food should be taken which is wholesome to the physical constitution and psychic temperament of an individual
One may become their own physician who knows the specific nature of rasas (taste), the pharmacological effects (of herbs, spices, oils, etc), doshas (the body types and energies), and diseases.
The knowledge of the usefulness or otherwise of food articles is essential for self-preservation, vitality and longevity. One should learn to respect the fulfillment of experiencing vitality in the body / mind over the quick pleasures provided by poor eating habits and diet.
By learning to value fulfillment over pleasure - one becomes sustainable in thoughts / words and actions.
I pray that these tips serve to elevate how you approach your relationship with food. If you are interested to study more, our Ayurvedic Mastery Immersion includes many modules on ayurvedic cooking, diet and food science. Find out more here!
