What should you eat before and after yoga class?
Eating mindfully and healthfully is a crucial part of a holistic lifestyle. This means eating intuitively, taking the time to listen to your body tell you what it needs. It means not grabbing something just because it’s quick and easy regardless of whether or not it truly fuels your body. Eating mindfully takes practice.
The “right” things to eat can depend on time of day or activity. This includes practicing yoga.
If you’ve ever practiced yoga on a full stomach, you know the negative impact it can have on how you feel and your ability to get into the postures. Making the right food choices before and after yoga will help you feel better during your yoga class and recover more quickly afterward.
Avoid eating a full meal less than two hours before class.
It’s important to allow your food enough time to digest before practicing yoga. If you find yourself within that two-hour window and you need a little something, go for a light snack instead and eat it no less than one hour before class.
Of course, what you eat before class is just as important as when you eat it. Good choices include:
Simple carbs like a banana, an apple with nut butter, or veggies dipped in hummus.
Energizing snacks like fruit with nut butter, avocado toast, or a (healthy) smoothie.
Choose pre-yoga snacks that are easy to digest, avoiding anything spicy, fatty, or acidic.
Fuel your body after your yoga practice.
After you’ve practiced yoga, it’s time to fuel your body. The goal changes to providing your body with the nutrition it needs to restore energy levels and repair muscle tissue. If your workout was especially vigorous, this is even more important.
When choosing a post-practice snack, aim for a 3:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein. Some great options include:
Greek yogurt parfait with yogurt, fruit, nuts, and granola.
Quinoa bowl that includes veggies and tofu or legumes.
Smoothie with fruits or veggies and protein in the form of nut butter, chia seeds, or oats.
Listen to your body. It will tell you what it needs before and after yoga. Be open to trying different foods and different combinations of foods to find what works best for you!
Let Ayurveda guide your fall food choices.
Listening to your body and giving it the fuel it needs to feel and perform its best goes beyond what to eat before and after you practice yoga. In my journey to a holistic lifestyle, I have greatly deepened my knowledge and understanding of the role food has in my overall health.
Part of that knowledge and understanding comes from studying Ayurvedic principles. Those principles include wonderful, supportive information around what foods serve our bodies best during different seasons of the year. Ayurveda teaches the importance of a seasonal routine as part of overall year-round health. Seasonal changes bring the potential for seasonally-induced imbalances. Ayurveda seeks to restore that balance through lifestyle choices, including nutrition.
As we’re all enjoying the bounties of the fall season and all the ways it feeds our bodies and souls, I wanted to share some tips and recommendations. Of course, these may differ from person to person based on your body type or state of balance.
The plenty and variety of foods fall brings as well as the celebrations that come with the season may find you wanting to increase your food intake. Ayurvedic principles encourage us to follow the lead of our appetites and digestion. Again, listen to your body.
Learn more about eating to support Ayurvedic principles in this article from Banyan Botanicals.
Fuel your fall with these foods.
Choose foods that help maintain your internal moisture reserves and keep you grounded. Foods that are oily, high in protein and healthy fat, and those that include warm, stimulating spices do this work well. When possible, serve them hot.
Other fall food tips:
Favor sweet, sour, and salty tastes.
Eat mushy, soft foods garnished with ghee or oil.
Start your day with breakfasts of cooked grains like oatmeal, tapioca, cream of rice, and cream of wheat.
Stay grounded and moisturized with lunches and dinners that include steamed vegetables, hearty grains, soups, and stews.
Fall is the best time of year to eat meat and eggs if they are part of your diet.
Nuts, seeds, and dairy products support fall nutrition needs.
Minimize these foods this fall.
As we seek balance through foods that provide our bodies with what they need during the fall season, there are some foods you’ll want to minimize. Many of these are healthy foods full of valuable nutrients. However, they are not the best choices to serve your body’s needs during these months.
Raw vegetables
Cold and frozen foods
Bitter, pungent, and astringent tastes
Seek to minimize foods that are light, cooling, and drying. This includes broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, leafy greens, and sprouts as well as white potatoes, beans, popcorn, crackers, and dried fruit.
It you do make these foods part of your fall diet, serve them soaked, well-cooked, or with ghee.
Try this breakfast favorite.
I want to share one of my favorite quick, easy, nourishing breakfast recipes that can even be enjoyed after your evening yoga practice when it’s too late for a heavy dinner. It’s not only delicious, it’s also light and easy to digest. In other words, the perfect way to start the day and be ready for anything, including your yoga practice.
Stewed apple contains pectin, a type of fiber that actually heals the lining in our gut. When cooked with these warm spices, not only will this dish enkindle digestive fire and eliminate unwanted toxins, it will also fill your home with the intoxicating smells of fall.
Stewed Apple Oatmeal
(1 serving)
Ingredients
1 red apple, peeled and diced
Pinch of cinnamon/cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
2 TBSP rolled oats or quinoa flakes (optional)
Instructions
Put the diced apples in a pot with ½ cup water, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom pods.
Bring to a gentle boil and add oats. Reduce heat to cook for another five minutes. Turn off heat and simmer for two more minutes. Apples should be translucent and oats mushy.
Making food choices that fuel your body and give it what it needs allows your body to serve you and for you to feel your best. Give your body the nutrients and movement it needs every day!
If you’re not yet a member of our Razz Yoga community, we have a special intro offer just for you that allows you to attend unlimited studio classes for 30 days! We’d love to share our home with you and help you find the class that best meets your needs..