Since the release of the book, FOOD YOGA – Nourishing Body, Mind & Soul, the author, Paul Rodney Turner, has seen that other people are using the term food yogi or food yoga to promote their healthy lifestyle or cooking courses. However, there is a standard for what constitutes a food yogi. As a long time practitioner of bhakti yoga (40 years), and director of the world’s largest vegan food relief and author of FOOD YOGA – Nourishing Body, Mind & Soul Turner carries the responsibility for the definition of food yoga and a food yogi. He wants to make that clear here.
What Food Yoga is
ART: An individual’s creative expression of love and devotion using food as the medium;
SCIENCE: An appreciation for the beauty and interconnectedness of all things, coupled with an unceasing awareness of the Energetic Source from which all things emanate. A food yogi considers the physical laws of good food combining as well as the most subtle laws of intention while preparing the meal.
Food Yoga is a completely new approach to holistic living. Until now, philosophies on healthy living and nutrition have focused on the mechanics of health and happiness, exclusively focusing on the body alone. In doing so, these philosophies have promoted practices and diets that in one way or another have alienated vast numbers of people.
As a result, despite volumes of literature and research, there is no consensus on what diet or mode of living is best. What they have all failed to identify that we aren’t just made up of a body; we are body, mind, and spirit. Any healthy living program, therefore, needs to address the “nutritional” needs of the body, mind, and spirit. This is what Food Yoga proposes to do.
The Food Yoga Standard is what all bonafide Food for Life Global affiliates follow.
What a Food Yogi Is
A responsible human that serves, eats and behaves in ways that respect all of the creation and help maintain the delicate balance of nature. A person that is respectful of their own body, which they treat as a blessing. A person who lives their entire life in full awareness of their interdependence and interconnectedness of all things.
A person who fully embraces a socially responsible and environmentally respectful lifestyle, including their choice of food, clothing, cosmetics, cleaning materials and habitat. All are chosen carefully so that the least amount of harm is inflicted upon the environment and other living things.
A person that adheres to the principle of ahimsa (non-violence) in words, deeds and thoughts.
A Food Yogi Only Uses
Fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, pulses, nuts, seeds and grains and foods considered to be pure in preparing meals. As much local and organically-grown produce as available.
A Food Yogi Does Not Use
– Meat, fish, or eggs. – Onion or garlic. – Any products that contain animal-derived ingredients. – Any products that were tested on animals.
