… and why this might be the “difference that makes the difference”!

Gabrielle and Philip Day

Hello! That’s a picture of me with Philip Day, an author and a health researcher – and who also stars in the wonderful movie “Food Matters”. I recently attended one of Philip’s seminars for the third time where we shared some 100% healthy cake I made especially for the occasion by the way. I was inspired by Philip’s presentation to share some more of my thinking and my own practice when it comes to diet and hot yoga … I’ll come back to Philip later 😉 But first … Did you know that one of our most popular topics on the Hot Yoga Doctor Forum is all to do with hydration; electrolytes … and one of the other most popular topics is “weight loss” – or as I prefer to call it … “shape change”.

By the way, did you know you might put ON weight doing hot yoga? One reason is because muscles are heavier than fat, by volume … another has to do with hydration … but that’s another story for another day. I hear you saying already, “What does this have to do with Me?” Well I’m sure you pay attention to drinking plentiful water in your hot yoga classes … and I’m going to take a guess that you’ve noticed your food desires changing if you’ve been practicing for a while. The fact is, what many hot yoginis and yogis forget, is that your diet plays a massive role in:

  1. Your ongoing wellness;
  2. Your immune system function;
  3. Your energy levels (and their sustainability); and
  4. Your shapeliness!

Here’s the key. I’m willing to bet that you may have initially started practising hot yoga for reasons of physical fitness; weight loss, flexibility and/or stress-reduction. But I’m also going to have a guess that the 4 points above are also likely to be reasons why many people continue to practice hot yoga, especially point # 1. And I’m also willing to bet that it can’t have escaped you how much MORE energy you gain from your practice and how much better you FEEL!

Let’s look at how to make this even more awesome for you!

“You are what you eat” The more hot yoga you practise, the more you’ll experience the truth in that statement. For example, did you ever have a huge bowl of cheesy pasta the night before class? Chances are, you probably felt that in your class the next day hehe! In my world, how and what you eat combined with a regular hot yoga practice are truly the miracles of nature … and one of the best preventive “medicines” you can take. And it’s 100% natural!

What “diets” work well to complement Hot Yoga?

So I’m sure at this point, you might be thinking one of two things: “Wow, what can I do to improve my own diet that will really improve my hot yoga classes?” OR “Oh-oh … this is going to be hard, she’s going to tell me I have to eat

[insert worst nightmare food ingredient here]!” What I AM going to do is circle back to what Philip said: “It’s easy to get the knowledge of what to do [about health], but it’s taking the steps that needs your effort. I’m going to show you how to save yourself …” Now I know that you realize that uncovering the knowledge that hot yoga is good for you is waaay easier to do than physically doing a class – so I’m sure you understand what putting some effort into your life means. I’m equally sure that you also “get” that there are almost infinite returns to be gained! So I’m going to recommend a few things to you.

1.If you haven’t already watched Food Matters, then watch it NOW! You’ll find the Food Matters Movie easily with the help of Dr Google. (The producers, James and Laurentine, live locally to me and are friends of ours. They’ve also released their follow-up movie “Hungry For Change” … these guys are doing great work at providing us with that “must know” information!)

2. Check out Philip Day’s organization “Credence Publications” http://credence.org/ and get on his mailing list – there is a ton of wonderful FREE information, including videos he happily shares on a permanent basis. You *might* find some of the ideas a little “out there”, but the good news is it will challenge your gray matter to get working on YOUR own thoughts!

3. Check your diet. If you are able to have a diet that is comprised of about 80% plant-based and a significant proportion of uncooked foods (over half is very good) – then I believe you are already on your way to being “the best you can be” and “the healthiest you can be” … and what’s more, you will feel the difference in your yoga practice.

More energy. You’ll feel lighter, more “present”.

It’s much easier than you might imagine, but it does take a bit of planning out. Start with the FIRST step … and make ONE change each week eg introduce a salad with every meal. If you are in the ‘market’ for a super easy super-tasty spread/dip/sauce then leave a comment here and I will post a delicious raw hummus recipe. In just a few minutes you can have a great recipe that is VERY healthy and will get you heading in the right direction!

Fast forward several months … hehehe

This blog did not start out as having the next handful of links. In that time I have written and published 2 very popular books that you’ll find mainly on Amazon!

132+ Delicious Salads, Dressings and Dips will really help you with your ‘add a salad’ rule. This is the book I needed to have had when I started getting very conscientious about always eating healthy food and making it E A S Y!

I also wrote another very popular (#1 seller too) called Green Smoothie Magic – Delicious Green Smoothie Recipes that Trim & Slim with, you guessed it, 132+ Green Smoothie Recipes!

Please tell me what you do with your eating regime to balance it with your hot yoga practice. Click the “Leave a comment” button below or let us know on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HotYogaDoctor!

Namaste,
Gabrielle