Nutrition lecture

Tonight we had a 2 hour class with Darshana Weill. I would have loved a 3 or 4 hour lecture by her, since it seems we only dipped our pinky toes into the ocean of information she has to share. There were many questions from the trainees about nutrition, diet and yogic living. She also had many great questions for us. She asked us about our cravings, our eating habits, if we eat meat or not, if we cook, and do we think about food often. The main theme as I understand it is that she encourages us to develop a relationship with our bodies in regards to cravings, and to be able to identify what is behind each craving. For example, is it a nutrient that the body wants, or are we trying to pacify an emotional discomfort? She said she wants to teach us how to stay present to what's happening in our bodies all the time.

Toward the end of the class she asked us what was standing out to us after our discussions. What stood out to me was how when someone revealed that they have sweet cravings in the afternoons, she told us that the time for sweets is between 2pm and 4pm. For me, I notice that at 3pm, I feel tired and antsy at the same time every day when I'm at my 9-to-5 job. That is the time that in the past I would make coffee, and then later in the day regret drinking it. About six months ago or so I tried to make it a regular practice to do a back bend every day at 3, which would energize me and also express pent up energy. Another option I learned tonight is to have a "super food" instead of coffee, tea or sugar. Super foods are like supplements, they are high nutrition in small quantities. For examples, Spirulina and blue green algae were mentioned. She suggested that we could add some blue green algae to water and feel energized as a result. I am not at all familiar with blue green algae, but if I go to Whole Foods or Rainbow Grocery, I'm sure I can find out about it.

I learned tonight what "whole grain" means. A grain has three parts to its physical body. The inner most layer, the center of it, is called the endosperm. Around the endosperm is the germ, and the outer most layer is the bran. Pasta is just the endosperm. The fact that they make wheat germ and bran muffins reveals that there is nutritional value in those layers. We need all 3. Couscous is just the endosperm, like pasta. Quinoa is a whole grain and also the highest protein grain. That was nice to hear because Bob and I eat a lot of quinoa.

I went to a cooking class with Darshana Weill before I started the YTT course, and it helped me a lot. It was great to meet with her again and get some more ideas about how to eat well. A lot of the students seemed to like what she had to offer us. It was a subject that everyone has something to say about. We eat every day, so let it be "a practice" like yoga and eat mindfully.