Can You Be Spiritual And Eat Meat

Learning to feel the heart and what it's trying to tell you is part of listening to the body. There's no denying that fasting from meat during essential spiritual practice can make a person feel lighter, more attentive, and more conscious, all of which seem to be disrupted by a meat-heavy diet.

Is it sin to eat meat?

God declares pork (along with several other foods) to be unclean in the Old Testament. Anyone who consumed these meals would be termed “unclean,” indicating that they were unfit for worship. In the New Testament, God, on the other hand, declares pork to be clean. Why?

Is it permissible for Christians to consume meat? Yes. Christians are allowed to eat meat since the Lord declares that all meat is clean and that eating it is not a sin.

Is it permissible for Christians to consume pig and bacon? Yes. Because God proclaimed all meat clean in the book of Mark, Christians can eat pork and bacon.

Are yogis allowed to eat meat?

Christine Winters had no intention of breaking her vegetarian pledge. She joyously adopted ahimsa, the ethical principle that forbids yogis from harming any living being, when she began to practice yoga on her own with the support of tapes and DVDs. “I decided to abstain from eating meat because of ahimsa. “It made perfect sense to me,” says the 30-year-old mother, who chose to raise her kid as a vegetarian as well. It's something that yoga teachers witness all the time. As pupils become more receptive to the practice, “They are led very naturally to an understanding of do no harm,” says author Lynn Ginsburg, who has spent 20 years studying yoga, Buddhist and Hindu philosophies, as well as vipassana meditation and Sanskrit. “Yoga has a sneaky little feature: the more you practice it, the deeper it penetrates your organic process. And when that happens, you're awakened. “All of a sudden, you're filled with compassion for all living things.”

Winters began practicing yoga seven years ago, but she learned about the meat industry's injustices while volunteering for EarthSave International and reading Diet for a New America, by John Robbins, the organization's founder. It opened her eyes to factory farming, where animals are treated as commodities and slaughterhouse workers are subjected to working conditions that are so hazardous that the US Department of Labor has classified the profession as one of the most dangerous in the country. “My advocacy and yoga had a synergy, according to Winters. Ahimsa and vegetarianism became a way of life for me.”

But she hadn't anticipated how her loved ones, particularly her grandmother, would respond. “She didn't agree with my decision to stop eating meat,” Winters adds. “She didn't understand vegetarianism since she was old school. She was certain it was harmful.” Winters' decision to give up meat caused continual strife with her grandma because they often shared meals.

Winters persisted, but after five years of practice, she was fatigued by the ensuing heated disputes when she ate with her grandma. When she came across herself, “She began to rethink ahimsa after “nearly coming to blows” with the older woman. “Here I was, fighting hard not to yell harsh things at my own grandmother,” she says. “That instilled in me a sense of violence, which is contrary to ahimsa.”

The more she fought, the deeper she felt cut off from her friends and family: how could the nonviolent route have brought her to this point? “Being a vegetarian had a huge societal stigma,” Winters explains. The vegetarian community in Bellingham, Washington (where Winters now lives), was small, and she couldn't figure out how to find a balance between not eating meat and alienating the people around her. “It became increasingly difficult for me to defend myself,” she recalls. “Where should I draw the line, I kept asking. Is it really necessary for me to choose between protecting myself from mental abuse and protecting animals from physical abuse? “How did I end up in this situation?”

Consciously Practice Ahimsa to Avoid Confrontation

Winters' quandary is a contentious topic in dharma circles because it cuts to the heart of yoga's moral code—and many instructors disagree about whether practicing ahimsa necessitates becoming a vegetarian. According to scholars, Patanjali's choice of ahimsa as the first of the five yamas—moral precepts by which all yogis are urged to live meaningful, ethical lives—was no accident. Ahimsa is a Sanskrit word that means “nonviolence.” “The greatest vow has always been regarded as “do no harm.” “The elephant's footprint covers all other animal prints in the forest,” says Edwin Bryant, a Rutgers University associate professor of religion and a Krishna and Hinduism expert “As a result, ahimsa encompasses all of the other yamas: honesty, non-stealing, presence and total commitment, and non-covetousness. And there has never been any question in the history of the yogi tradition: Ahimsa means “no meat eating.”

In the meat-eating West, however, the definition of ahimsa is less apparent. Beryl Bender Birch, for example, prefers a broader view. Others are stricter. “Ahimsa begins at home,” says Birch, the author of Power Yoga and the former wellness director of the New York Road Runners Club. “If you go home for Thanksgiving and your mother prepares her customary turkey meal, but you don't eat meat, you'll be in trouble. ‘Mom, would you be offended if I didn't eat the turkey?' Instead of making a scene, see if you can say, ‘Would you be offended if I didn't eat the turkey?' For health reasons, I'm trying to consume less meat these days.' You don't have to make your vegetarianism public,” says Birch, who was a long-time vegetarian and a member of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). “Find a nonviolent technique to communicate with your mum. And perhaps it would be less violent to eat the supper than to quarrel with your mother in this situation.”

When spiritual practitioners who are new to the road act without compassion, according to Bender, they subconsciously produce violence: “When we first start on a path, whether it's yoga or vegetarianism, we tend to be zealots. If you decline meat and say it's because you're a vegetarian, I believe you're projecting a superiority complex that makes the person providing the meat feel less spiritual. Simply respond, ‘No, thank you,' and walk away.”

The Questions to Ask Before Eating Meat

When her grandma was diagnosed with a terminal disease at the end of 2004, a repentant Winters broke her vegetarian vows. Winters and Winters' daughter were to eat meat because it was her grandmother's last wish. Winters inquires, “What was I supposed to do?” I wondered. She vividly recalls the incident, which occurred in a Chinese restaurant where she had stopped to get dinner for her grandma. “I suddenly thought to myself, “I'll have some chicken as well.” When I sat down and ate the dinner with my grandma, it was amazing to watch her so happy.” Winters has added a little meat to her diet since that day, but she's still undecided. “For the time being, I believe I will continue in this manner. But I'm still guilty.”

Is this a case of ethical reversal? Birch responds, “Well, that depends.” “In Oaxaca, I was teaching and had access to free-range hens. They were slaughtered in approximately five seconds, right in front of my hotel,” she recounts. “We were making mole with chicken broth one night, and I ate it.”

Birch was a successful businessman for 25 years “vegetarian “devotee” She then began to travel across the world for yoga retreats and workshops in the mid-'90s. “I began traveling to places like Jamaica, where I sampled some jerk chicken. I ate fish when I visited Vancouver. Why? Because we were living in locations where the food was caught and cooked directly in front of our eyes, I was able to conduct personal research into how the food was raised, killed, and delivered to the table. And I was pleased with the outcome.”

Many yogis feel that the questions you should ask yourself before eating are more essential than what you eat: What is the source of this information? What method is used to prepare it? Was it prepared with care, attention, and love? What are your eating habits? In what state of mind are you?

“It doesn't matter what the cuisine is,” says Aadil Palkhivala of Yoga Centers in Bellevue, Washington. “It makes a difference.” Palkhivala recommends looking for nonviolence in the product's design, production, and consumption. “The earth will not suffer if these issues are addressed.”

This may appear to some as heresy. “Students demand more from a yoga teacher than qualifying assertions,” says Sharon Gannon, cofounder of the global Jivamukti Yoga Center. “If you teach yoga, you must convey ahimsa as a yama, rather than as a separate component. It's excellent to have yoga in the West, but don't call it yoga if it doesn't involve the application of nonviolence in all aspects of our lives.”

According to Palkhivala, “There is no such thing as a correct way to do yoga. What is fitting for my dharma is where ahimsa begins. I should become a vegetarian if the spirit instructs me to do so. I should consume meat if it is requested of me. We must establish a connection within ourselves.” Palkhivala, who is also the president and founder of Eastern Essence, an organic dehydrated Ayurvedic Indian food brand, says he tries to “eat what is right for the balance of the moment” and considers himself “neither a vegetarian nor a nonvegetarian,” meaning he eats meat on occasion. However, he claims that vegetarianism makes him feel wonderful. “Meat is difficult to digest and is created with a great deal of aggression.”

The Meat Market and Factory Farming

The violence starts with how animals are forced to live, which has gotten a lot worse in the last 20 years. According to Ken Midkiff, author of The Meat You Eat: How Corporate Agricultural Has Endangered America's Food Supply, “traditional farming operations used to treat animals as individuals.” “I grew up on a farm and knew which of our sows like being scratched behind the ears and which would bite. We carried our ewes into the kitchen and fed them from bottles when they rejected certain lambs.”

Midkiff, who has been a committed vegetarian since reading Peter Singer's seminal book Animal Liberation in the late 1980s, claims that a few big businesses are abusing American agriculture, with disastrous effects for the land, the animals, and the people. “Something went horribly wrong somewhere between the 1940s and the 1970s. Schools of agriculture and the USDA began preaching the adoption of the industrial model, taking their marching orders from agribusiness, farm machinery, and chemical industries. Sadly, the majority of small family farmers were able to flee.”

According to the Worldwatch Institute, meat production has expanded over 500 percent since 1950, and an estimated 54 percent of the nation's cattle is crammed onto 5% of livestock farms, according to the American Public Health Association, a public health advocacy group. As a result, according to journalist Michael Pollan of the New York Times, industrial agriculture “is inflicting greater pain on more animals than at any point in history.”

CAFOs, or concentrated animal feeding operations, are built for volume and profit, and millions of animals in the United States spend their entire lives indoors, without access to sunlight or grass, in filthy conditions with little opportunity for natural movement. Antibiotics are routinely provided to the animals to prevent disease and stimulate rapid growth in order for them to survive their dismal confinement. According to GRACE, the Global Resource Action Center for the Environment, “the for-profit abuse of these pharmaceuticals undermines their usefulness because these chronic low doses create microorganisms resistant to their power.”

Meat from factory farms is regularly contaminated with antibiotic-resistant germs, according to Food and Water Watch, a nonprofit group dedicated to improving the safety and integrity of the food supply. This assertion has been backed up by independent investigations. The New England Journal of Medicine stated in 2001 that salmonella was found in 20% of ground meat samples taken in Washington, D.C., and that 84 percent of the 200 samples were antibiotic-resistant. In a 2002 study for the Sierra Club and the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy, an independent laboratory discovered that 95 percent of 200 whole chickens and 200 packages of ground turkey in Minneapolis and Des Moines were contaminated with campylobacter, and nearly half of the turkey was contaminated with salmonella.

Furthermore, there is mounting evidence that the widespread use of antibiotics in livestock is leading to bacterial resistance, which poses a hazard to human health. Based on research findings, the American Public Health Association passed a resolution in 2003 advocating a moratorium on the construction of new factory farms, claiming that 25 to 75 percent of the 13 million pounds of antibiotics used for factory farms (by comparison, only 3 million pounds are used for humans) remained unchanged in the 575 million pounds of manure produced annually by industrialized meat. According to the group, such a high concentration of antibiotics creates “risks to soil, air, and water quality, as well as public health, following land application.”

Meat Processing in the New Age

Animals who live out their lives on industrial farms confront a death that is significantly more painful than it would have been years before. Furthermore, the current method of butchering meat is more wasteful. “According to Bruce Aidells, a meat historian, writer, teacher, and entrepreneur, “the butcher shop's originality has faded, and half of all beef ends up turned into hamburger.” “Supermarkets are under pressure to lower prices by using less expensive labor, thus they rely on central processing plants and unskilled labor.”

Many of the country's tiny slaughterhouses have been replaced by huge high-speed processing plants. The maximum speeds of livestock-processing assembly lines are regulated by the USDA, yet they can reach 390 cows and 1,106 pigs every hour, as well as 25 chickens per minute. According to Food and Water Watch, if line workers fail to keep up with specified speeds, they risk being reprimanded or dismissed. According to the Humane Farming Association, a 21-year-old farm animal protection organization, excessive quotas force workers to use violence to keep the lines moving, dismembering or skinning animals that are still fighting for their lives. According to proponents, meat produced in such conditions can get contaminated with feces, dirt, and other adulterants, posing a risk to consumers. “Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch, adds, “These methods are not only cruel and inhumane, but they also put consumers at risk.”

Animal cruelty charges are refuted by the USDA. “We have inspectors in every factory,” says Steven Cohen of the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service, “and if it ever happened, that would be unacceptable.” Cohen refutes the notion that more people are becoming ill as a result of unsanitary processing conditions, claiming that the incidence of pathogens such as E. coli, salmonella, and campylobacter fell between 1996 and 2004, that all animals are disease-tested before slaughter, and that all meat is tested again after processing and before entering the food supply.

Learn How to Make Effective Economic Decisions

Regardless of the challenges with meat production, meat remains the most important component of the American diet. In a USDA poll of what Americans consume from the mid-1990s, 74 percent said they ate beef every other day, and 31 percent said they ate beef every day.

“Meat has been skillfully promoted to Americans as a necessary element of every meal,” says Patricia Lovera, assistant director of Food and Water Watch. Many people in the United States now expect to eat meat three times a day.”

What is the explanation for this? The Animal Welfare Institute's Diane Halverson said, “Meat has gotten so inexpensive.” “We embrace the notion that everyone must consume substantial amounts of meat on a daily basis. Fast-food firms, restaurants, and trade organisations such as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the National Chicken Council all send out this message, which promotes the factory farm model.”

Howard Lyman, a former cattle rancher turned crusading vegan and author of Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat, says, “It's like we're buying the bullets that are being used to shoot us.” “If we cut our beef consumption by 10% in the United States, there would be enough grain savings to feed all the hungry people on the planet,” Lyman argues, noting that one pound of meat requires 16 pounds of feed, whereas a single pound of grain may feed 32 hungry people. “Do you know what McDonald's is focusing on right now as a growing profit center? Fruit straight from the tree! You don't have to go vegan to make a difference. “Ask yourself, ‘Who's going to get my money today?' every time you reach into your pocket.”

Every time Christine Winters goes shopping, she asks herself this question, and it makes her feel better about the fact that she now eats meat. She seeks for humanely farmed organic beef, willing to spend more for it since she understands it is “better for the animals and better for my health.” In fact, one of her pet peeves is high prices. “Factory-farmed meat is inexpensive, but the conditions for animals are appalling—all to save Americans a few dollars.” Winters sees the additional expense of sustainably produced meat as a good method to cut down on her meat consumption.

So, how does a yogic approach to change work? “Practice leads to the proper response,” Birch explains. “Consciousness is emphasized in the practice. You quiet down, enter, and take a look around. Your comprehension of ahimsa improves over time. Compassion grows in tandem with your consciousness. And you quickly realize that your sole responsibility is to assist in the alleviation of suffering for all sentient beings. It all boils down to that.”

Winters is much more relaxed about ahimsa these days. She and her daughter eat meat, although they eat it in smaller quantities than they did before they became vegetarians. Winters also takes time to explain where her daughter's food originates from. Winters is glad that her kid is already far more aware of her eating habits and the environmental effects than she was when she was her daughter's age. “I like to hope that when she's grown up, the government and the food business will be more accountable and sensitive to individuals like my daughter's concerns,” she says. “And that notion justifies all of my anxiety.”

Can vegetarians be spiritual?

When we consider the advantages of a vegetarian diet, we frequently associate them with our physical well-being. These advantages have been reported by doctors and medical researchers, who have encouraged vegetarianism to reduce illnesses and contribute to our overall health and well-being. Vegetarianism not only promotes our physical health, but it also benefits our mind and spirit.

Many people have followed a plant-based diet for reasons other than their physical health throughout history. Diet's impact on our bodies has only lately been scientifically confirmed thanks to developments in medical science. Why did individuals become vegetarians throughout history despite the lack of scientific proof? Are there any other reasons to be a vegetarian except physical health?

Vegetarians inhabit a realm of spiritually awakened individuals. Philosophers, intellectuals, writers, civic leaders, and humanitarians have all followed a vegetarian diet at some point throughout their lives. Many athletes become vegetarians and received accolades for their achievements. What did they know about the vegetarian diet that we would find interesting?

Does Osho eat meat?

So, what did OSHO say about vegetarianism? Man, by nature, should be a vegetarian, as his entire body is designed to eat vegetarian foods. The body gets burdened if a man is not a non-vegetarian and continues to eat meat. All of the great meditators in the East – Buddha, Mahavir – have highlighted this.

What types of meat did Jesus eat?

I felt an article on what Jesus ate and drank would be suitable given the increasing interest in eating and drinking during the impending Holiday Season. As a devout Jew, Jesus would have obeyed the food requirements outlined in Leviticus' eleventh chapter. Whatever the rules were, Jesus' diet would have been limited by what was available. Jesus was poor, and he ate poor people's food. He most likely just ate twice a day, in the morning and evening.

Some of the following information is theoretical, and some is based on educated predictions of the foods that grow in the geographical location of Israel, but we may actually learn what foods Jesus ate by reading the Bible. “41. And while they yet believed not for joy, and marveled, he saith unto them, Have ye here any meat?” reads Luke 24:41-43. 42. They also offered him a broiled fish piece and a honeycomb. 43. And he took it and ate it in front of them.” As a result, we can be certain that Jesus ate fish and honey. Jesus is also mentioned with fish in another scripture, John 21:9-10. “9. As soon as they arrived on land, they noticed a fire of coals, as well as fish and bread. ‘Bring of the fish which ye have now caught,' Jesus says to them. Fish from the Sea of Galilee were eaten by Jesus. Freshwater fish bones, including carp and St. Peter's fish (tilapia), have been discovered in local archaeological digs. However, there is evidence that the availability of fish was not always ample, and that transporting fish would have been difficult, making the cost of fish exorbitant. Fish was frequently dried, smoked, or salted, which alleviated the problem of shortage by allowing big catches to be kept for times when supplies were few.

Jesus most certainly ate bread, which was a staple of the ancient diet and was most likely coarse wholegrain barley bread that would get rancid and moldy if not consumed on a daily basis. Because it was used to feed animals and horses, barley bread was known as poor man's bread. Wealthier people would have baked their bread with wheat or millet. (Jesus referred to Himself as “The Bread of Life,” and the Bible records that barley bread was distributed at the feeding of the multitude.) The Mishnah, the first important recorded collection of Jewish oral traditions, claims that the wife's responsibilities include grinding flour and baking bread for her husband, as well as cleaning clothes, cooking food, and nursing children. Grain grinding was a back-breaking chore that was usually done at home by women using small hand-mills constructed of coarse stone. Grit from these mills was usually left in the bread. In reality, the Mishnah allows for a minimum of ten percent impurity in purchased commodities, so we may presume that there was frequently more than that in the flour. Indeed, skeletons from the time of Jesus show teeth that have been ground down by years of consuming grit. Because it would take several hours to forage for enough fuel to bake new bread every day, and fuel was expensive to acquire, Jesus probably did not eat fresh bread every day. Ordinary people baked once a week; professional bakers in villages baked every three days; and city bakers were the only ones who baked more frequently. Bread was frequently dried in the sun to protect it from spoiling, and then dipped in a liquid to make it edible. (FYI: Despite proper drying, the bread might still go moldy, yet it was frequently consumed.)

Figs are another option (Jesus attempted to eat figs from a fruitless fig tree on the road to Jerusalem). Other delicacies included grapes, raisins, vinegar, and wine (Jesus referred to Himself as “The True Vine,” and a sponge drenched in wine vinegar was offered to Him on the cross). Jesus most likely ate lamb (lamb is a key component of the Passover Feast), as well as olives and olive oil (the “sop” used to dip the bread in during the Last Supper most likely contained olive oil). Pomegranates, as well as apples, pears, apricots, peaches, melons, and dates, were likely eaten by Jesus (a fourth-century mosaic depicts Christ flanked by pomegranates), and the region grew apples, pears, apricots, peaches, melons, and dates. Jesus' diet most likely included eggs from ducks, hens, geese, quail, partridges, and pigeons, as well as vegetables, beans, and pulses (legumes such as chickpeas). Miqpeh was the name given to lentil stews that were primarily a solidified mass, similar to what happens when cooked lentils are allowed to cool. For poor households who did not have many dining utensils, these solid lumps of food were easier to scoop up by hand. Garlic was frequently used in miqpeh, and cabbage was frequently included. Vegetable stews with beans, lentils, onions, garlic, cucumbers, and leeks were also available. There was mustard for flavour (remember Jesus' tale of the mustard seed in Mark 4:31), as well as dill, cumin, cinnamon, mint, and salt, according to the Bible.

Jesus most likely drank water, wine, and milk to stay hydrated (from goats and sheep). Finally, we must not overlook dessert, which was most likely not consumed frequently. Jesus would have had almonds and pistachio nuts for dessert, as well as honey, date, and raisins baked cakes.

What kind of food did Jesus eat?

Back in Jesus' day, people ate a primarily plant-based, healthy diet. Lentils, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, dates, almonds, and fish were all popular in that part of the world. Some even ate grasshoppers and insects as appetizers! All of these items supplied adequate and satisfying nourishment while being low in fat and cholesterol.

Many of them ate the majority of their meals uncooked, which has extra health benefits. Raw food necessitates more chewing, which burns more calories. Furthermore, cooking certain meals reduces their nutritional worth.

Also, without refrigerators, eating enormous steaks, slabs of ribs, or massive amounts of meat at every meal was more difficult. As a result, it's likely that Jesus and his followers ate fowl or littlered meat.

Furthermore, Jacobs and Colbert believe that our bodies were intended to eat a primarily plant-based diet, similar to what Jesus ate, not just because the people of Jesus' time ate a more plant-based diet, but also because the people of Jesus' time ate a more plant-based diet.

Scientists investigated our dental records to determine how our systems are possibly made to eat and concluded that humans are better suited for a plant-based diet with minimal meat – especially red meat.

Depending on your dental history, we have four canine teeth, eight frontal teeth, and a lot of molars in our mouths.

• The four canine teeth on our heads are meant to break meat apart. Carnivores like alligators, wolves, and sharks have more of this type of tooth in their mouths.
• Biting fruits and vegetables is done by our eight front teeth, often known as incisors.
• However, the majority of our teeth are molars, which are found in the back of the mouth. Plants and seeds are ground and crushed with them.

Dr. Colbert believes that our bodies are largely geared for a plant-based diet because the bulk of our teeth are molars. Carnivores, on the other hand, have jaws that are adapted to bite off chunks of meat and have far more than four canine teeth.

Additionally, our saliva is alkaline and contains enzymes such as amylase, which are intended to break down plants and carbohydrates. Dr. Colbert hypothesizes that we are better adapted to digest plants rather than meat after evaluating this and comparing it to other species. Carnivores, on the other hand, have acidic saliva that is devoid of amylase.

Dr. Colbert also believes that we are evolved to eat largely plants after comparing the length of our intestines to that of carnivores. Our intestines are four times the length of our bodies. Carnivores' intestines are barely twice as long as their height on average. This permits meat to transit quickly through the digestive tract before rotting.

Our lengthier tract, on the other hand, permits us to spend more time processing the complex sugars found in plants. However, because we eat meat with minimal fiber, particularly red meat, it is more likely to become lodged in our intestines, producing constipation or bloating. In fact, the bible makes no mention of “constipation” since Jesus and those around Him ate a primarily plant-based diet with minimal red meat.

Jesus most likely ate a diet similar to the Mediterranean diet, which includes foods like kale, pinenuts, dates, olive oil, lentils, and soups, according to the Bible and historical documents. They also cooked fish in the oven.

1. “Break Your Fast” by calculating your breakfast time. As a result, Jesus ate breakfast early in order to have enough energy and nutrition for a long day's labor. Every morning, 12 hours after your last meal the day before, you should break your fast. If you ate dinner at 6 p.m., you should break your fast at 6 a.m. the next morning.

2. Take Your Time at Lunch: Many folks rush through lunch, eating at their desks at work and chowing down. Making lunch your largest meal and dining in as calm an environment as possible are the keys to eating like Jesus.

3. Have a light dinner at 4 p.m.: Your digestive system shouldn't be working overtime when you're supposed to be sleeping. Dinner should be eaten as early as feasible in the evening.

4. Wine and Walk: This is not the same as dining and wining. The importance of wine in Jesus' life and health cannot be overstated. With their dinners, they sipped red wine. It is beneficial to the heart. But don't go overboard!

What does God say about eating animals?

“You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and chews the cud,” the Lord tells Moses and Aaron in Leviticus 11: “You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and chews the cud.” Some animals merely chew the cud or have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, while chewing the cud, lacks a divided hoof, making it ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax, while chewing the cud, lacks a split hoof, making it dirty for you. The rabbit does not have a split hoof, even if it chews the cud; it is dirty for you. And, despite having a divided hoof, the pig does not chew its cud; it is dirty for you.”

Why are most yogis vegetarian?

The singing of Aum—the universal vibration that connects us all—opens and closes many yoga programs. All living creatures, including people and animals, are said to be descended from the same divine spark, according to yoga teachings.

The principle of ahimsa, or nonviolence, is also taught in yoga philosophy. This, too, applies to animals for many yogis. This practice of leading a nonviolent life is often cited as a motivator for eating a vegetarian diet. It's not uncommon for vegetarians to push their ideas about nonviolence and the interconnectedness of all living things to the point where they eat foods in their purest form by following a raw vegan diet.

Many yogis think that what you eat determines who you are. The delicate internal balance can be maintained if you eat natural plant-based foods that are high in nutritious content and easily absorbed by the body. It's a mental and physical equilibrium. The mind will struggle to remain peaceful if the body is out of whack, and emotions will become readily upset.

Bottom line: If the body is joyful, the mind will be light and serene — a state that we can all aspire for, whether we are yogis or not.