Health Tips: Eat wisely and be honest to yourself

Eat wisely and be honest to yourself

Posted by Sagar on 3:12 AM

In my mid-20s, I began practicing yoga regularly. Yoga classes were safe spaces where my fellow yogis and I could open up to each other about our struggles with food and body image. But more important, unsure of myself as I was in the rest of the world—at work, at parties, on dates—the yoga room was the one place where I felt beautiful, where I put aside my self-doubt and the extra weight I carried. Still, I continued my unhealthful eating habits. At the Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York, my teacher, Ruth, would open each class with discussions of yoga philosophy. Often, she’d speak about the yogic idea of satya, the practice of honesty. How could we become more real— more genuine, honest, and sincere—with ourselves and those around us? moment of truth The more I heard Ruth talk about satya, the more I realized my eating habits were all about a lack of truthfulness. I’d pretend that a dinner without vegetables was a sensible meal. Or that the roll I ate with my soup at lunch every day didn’t “count” because it came free of charge. I told myself that going to yoga class meant I could eat whatever I wanted and that

being overweight was my genetic destiny. As I learned more about satya and how

to apply it to my life, something began to click: I realized that to eat more truthfully, I’d have to get real with myself about my food choices, portion sizes, and the subconscious meaning that food held for me. I started to ask myself some hard questions: Was I eating to fuel my body or to placate my emotional demons? Why did I seem to eat more (and less healthfully) when I was tired, sad, or stressed out? Why did I eat until I was stuffed?

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