Ask the Yogi: Do I need to become a vegetarian?
Q: Someone told me that all true yoga people don’t eat meat. Is this true? Do I need to become a vegetarian
if I want to do yoga?
A: Although this topic comes up a lot, the practice of yoga does not promote one type of eating over another. Sure, some people who do yoga are vegetarians, meaning that they eat no meat products and get their protein sources from eggs, milk, and plant foods. Others are vegans meaning they eat only plant forms of food. Still many are omnivores, meaning eat they from a variety of foods including animal meats.
In my opinion this topic comes up frequently because of a complicated mixture in the minds of some regarding Hindu religious practices, the quest for ‘authentic yoga’ , and narrow interpretations of yoga principles called the Yamas.
Confusion point number one: For many, yoga is closely associated with Hinduism, yet, yoga is not a religion and does not promote one religion over another. Both yoga and Hinduism arose from the same geographic area, the Indus Valley civilization, but yoga came into being prior to the birth of the Hindu religion. Hinduism considers Yoga an essential part of Hindu philosophy. This is Yoga with the capital Y, much more than simply the asana (poses) practice that most associate with yoga. Hinduism also proscribes vegetarianism. Therefore, many people who are Hindu and practice yoga are also vegetarians. This does not mean that to practice yoga one must be Hindu or vegetarian.
So, to summarize: No, you do not need to become a vegetarian to do yoga. You can be a vegetarian or vegan if you would like, but you can also be an omnivore. It would be best if you focused on eating a healthy diet filled with wholesome organic foods. It would be best if you ate mostly whole foods that have not been processed. It would be most healthy if you made sure you ate adequate protein to support your muscle building. Technically though, you could eat powdered sugar donuts, a greasy hamburger, and wash it all down with a high-fructose corn syrup soda and still do authentic yoga, but I wouldn’t recommend it. That kind of eating leads to upset stomachs and excess body fat. So, eat healthy, but eat the way you feel is right for you.
In this response I touched briefly on a lot of extremely deep and philosophical points. If you would like to know more about them, here are some great website resources:
Diet in Hinduism
Roots of Vegetarianism
The Yamas and Niyamas
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali