“Eating is not only nourishing for the body, but also for the mind.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Eat
Let's start with a little known fact:
yoga and nutrition are intricately linked.
In my day-to-day, I often get curious looks when I say I'm a yoga teacher as well as a dietitian. A friend summed it up well, "Dietitians tend to be very type A, we analyze everything in detail, looking at the biochemical effects of food on the body, analyzing symptoms and eating patterns. Yoga teachers tend to be type B, more on the holistic side of things, taking a wider view of the world." As a yoga teacher and a dietitian, I am straddling two worlds. In the space I inhabit, East meets West. I find that each informs the other. My western medical training and my eastern training in Ayurveda and yoga practices allow me to be a well-rounded healthcare practitioner and yoga teacher, offering a tool box with a vast array of tools to offer. And thank goodness for that.
I aim to meet patients and students where they're at. And we're all in different places, with different experiences and challenges that brought us here. When I work with individuals in a one-to-one setting, I tailor recommendations to meet their individual needs, as all dietitians aim to do. However, I am also informed by my yoga practice, by the growing body of evidence that shows the benefit yoga can have on the nervous system, and by default, on nutritional status.
So how does yoga affect nutritional status?
In a few ways:
To continue reading, visit: https://spectrumwellness.guru/integrating-yoga-and-nutrition/