What do you morning practitioners eat or drink in
the morning? Does the stomach really need to be empty
for practice -- and why? If I wake up and practice
empty, I run out of energy in about 45 minutes. If I
practice a few hours after breakfast I last twice as long.
Is it alright to have something in my belly in the
morning? Thanks

trust your body, its no fool...

Well Monkiji, I asked my body what to do and it answered, "I'm not talking to
you, damn fool!"

I often have a couple of handfuls of trail mix
(simple kind--some nuts and raisins, no funky high-sugar
dried fruit), just to have a little something in my
stomach if I'm doing an early practice. I find it helps
keep the energy level up, but is not too much for my
system to digest. I guess the argument against eating
before practice is that the digestive process diffuses
the body's heat and energy, concentrating it on
breaking down food instead of on the energy needed for
yoga. I would love to be able to practice on an
absolutely empty stomach, because ultimately I feel lighter,
but it's no fun to feel exhausted and starving in the
middle of practice. I've heard also that a piece of
fruit an hour before is fine. I also drink a little tea
to warm me up on the inside, but hold off on any
major liquid drinking till after practice.

Glenn,<br><br>I used to have to eat a little
something (fruit or toast or cereal) to keep my blood sugar
up during practice when I practiced in the early
morning. Now that I've been doing the primary series more
regularly (6 days/ week rather than sporadically 3-4 times
a week) and I always do it early in the morning
(rather than sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes in the
morning depending on the class schedule, etc.) I find
that I'm not "calorically deficient". (I might have a
bit of tea also beforehand, but drink water
afterwards). I'm not sure if this was because my body got used
to the practice (after three years of the sporadic
stuff) or my new found regularity is conditioning the
body not to freak out while in the middle of it...I'm
not sure. One of my teachers (who's a fruitarian and
thus lives off of fruits and nuts and maybe some kale)
always kept telling me when I asked him about food
before practice that soon I wouldn't need to have a
breakfast before practicing. I was a bit suspicious,
thinking that "soon" for him could have meant 10 years.
And, that I had been so socialized into believing that
my body would "need" food before any strenuous
activity. But, after just a few days of the more regular
schedule, I no longer felt like I would pass out if I
didn't eat (ok, exaggerating a bit). <br><br>So, my
recommendation would be (also) to listen to your body and maybe
eat a bit of energy-enhancing substances (such as
carbs- like granola- or sugars - like fruit) just to
give you the energy you need, but then slowly cut
back. My practice is more flexible if I don't eat
beforehand in the morning (even an hour or so before). The
twists are obviously easier, and I don't feel so "heavy"
in general. I fully agree that the body uses so much
energy to digest food that it is best to practice on an
empty stomach.<br><br>I believe that guruji recommends
a small cup of coffee beforehand. Really. Now,
whether you really want an energy-enhancer such as
caffeine working within you is obviously up to you.
<br><br>This all is obviously just my experience, so it would
be great to hear from others' experiences of
practicing with or without a bit of calories in their
system. And, how long it may have taken them before they
could practice in the morning without fears of
starvation. <br><br>namaste,<br>Gabita

Cool, I just learned that by following my
intuition I've beem following Guruji's suggestion! I gotta
have that morning expresso immediately before practice
(sometimes with mall amount of sugar and cream).<br><br>If I
practice in the afternoon, I might have an
oj/banana/water/whey blender drink 3 hours or so before mat time.
Liquids are definitely better than solids in this wise.

trayam, there are lots of things that help in
many situations that are not helping us at all, only
the momentary situation. i love a cup of good coffee
too, but would be wary of making it a habit,
especially one bound so closely and pragmatically to my
practice. coffee is addictive, and weakens the adrenals and
the kidneys, the seat of our vitality. we are not cut
off from the infinite energy of the universe, yoga
can open us to this in a very real way and help us to
function with vitality and ease without stimulants that in
the long run may close us down and cut us off. take
care there.....lest the left hand teareth down what
the right hand buildeth up...

It's interesting that you run out of energy in
the mornings. My morning problem is usually that I
move like slightly wet concrete, and inflexibility can
sap one's confidence.<br><br>I used to try to wake as
long as possible before the morning practice and drink
a cup of tea beforehand.<br><br>Last summer I found
that twenty minutes or so of meditation in lotus or
some variant thereof leaves me feeling relaxed, alert
and somewhat more flexible. Tea is no longer a
necessity.<br><br>Everybody's different, but perhaps this may be of some
use.<br><br>Peace and Good,<br>Homer

Thanks G, for your comments. I have to say
though, I've come a long way in revivifying my dietary
habits over the last year or so. Coffee is next on the
list . . . I definitely want to experiment with no
coffee at all for a month or so to gauge the effects.

It's good to reduce the amount of coffee in your
diet. I just use it now when I really need a kick in
the pants.<br><br>Dr. Weil recommends substituting
green tea for coffee. It gives you the beneficial
properties of antioxidants and a bit of a buzz, but without
all the gunk of coffee. Black tea is also good for
you, especially over coffee.

Black tea has recently been found to contain high
levels of cancer-fighting polyphenols and anti-oxidants.
I used to be a real coffee hound, and found that
once I switched over to black tea, I felt much much
better. You still get some energy form it, but the
quality of the energy, at least for me, is much less
frenetic than what I get with coffee. Much more soothing
and even-toned. I do have an occasional cup, though,
when I really need a kick in the pants, but find my
mind races during practice.

I start my practice around 5:00 a.m. during the
week (mon-fri). Before I practice I usually have fresh
lemon juice squeezed into almost boiling water. On the
weekends I practice later in the morning after I've had
some nice hot chai. I really like weekend practice as
I find that my body moves a lot easier after I've
been up and around for a bit!