Raw Foods Ayurveda vs. Traditional Ayurveda

Raw or Cooked Ayurveda

First off, press play and watch my silly cartoon.

Vatas can’t go raw. Or can they?

In yoga and Ayurveda circles there can be an unfriendly, and sometimes uninformed bias against raw or living foods. One of the main arguments is that raw food creates a vata imbalance. And I agree, this does happen. Yet, in an attempt to bridge two forward thinking, even potentially evolutionary communities,  we want to understand, as yogis and as ayurvedic practitioners how to intelligently and seasonally prepare living foods.

Ayurveda doesn’t prejudice climates, ecosystems, body types or living or cooked molecules of food. Ayurveda is a philosophical system, arising from our interior consciousness (or when we point awareness inwards instead of towards the willy nilly mind). Ayurveda explains how energy works, and gives insight into how we’re energetically organized.

 When we apply this wisdom to how energy works in nature, and in the plants we eat, living foods start to make sense. Learn with Ayush, how we can apply Ayurvedic principles to any way of eating… including living foods… and what living foods offers our Ayurvedic wisdom.

Raw foods weaken agni. Or do they?

 This is tricky territory to make a flat out argument that raw foods weaken agni. Dr. Shantree Kacera, my favorite living foods Ayurvedic guru doctor talks about rebuilding digestive fire with living foods and their natural enzymes. I’ve experimentally found deep truth in this over the years. Again, when we take into account balancing vata, and allowing the body to detox slowly, and agni to adjust to living foods slowly, our agni can be stronger, AND MORE INTELLIGENT than ever.

Many yogis rush into a living foods diet without understanding the transition that agni and the doshas go through . Agni and the doshas... that’s a great name for a rock n’ roll band!

What you say is true – many people do have a vata imbalance due to the very stimulating and busy nature of modern life.  And if you have a vata imbalance and weak agni, due to hectic unregulated lifestyle, and you jump into raw foods – you will most likely bloat and suffer.

Moving towards living foods Ayurveda

I’m not advocating yogis go towards a 100% living foods diet as a movement. I’m suggesting that most of us can learn bucket loads from the raw movement. Of course, the raw movement can learn truck loads from Ayurveda. Let’s get to know what each other has to offer. Experiment with your body by following the principles of Ayurveda in your preparation of living foods. It’s that simple.

And, if you don’t know how… join Living Ayurveda or the Yogidetox

Questions? Comments? Add you two cents.