Tools for inSelf Yoga Series-7: Yogic & Food methods to tackle hunger/thirst/gastritis during Practice

Even though they are analytical, some of the genres are interlinked. Eg: Nadi, Chakra, Kundalini, Higher conscious states → all are linked.

This is the master database of all Tools for the inSelf Yoga Series

November 1st, 2022

Houston, Texas

Ideal Case for Breath Infusion:

Ideally, the breath infusion practitioner lifestyle has to be set in such a way that he does practice:

1. in empty stomach
2. 8 hours after eating food
   1. So, the morning food is completely digested

These 2 stipulations or recommendation automatically leads to 1 main meal per day and something very light like fruit or juice or bread in the evening 

Someone with a laity's habits of eating more than 2-3 meals a day, this is a night mare to have 1 main meal per day.

Aggressively, if one puts up with the austerity of 1 main meal per day and supplementing with other minor foods combined with breath infusion practice will naturally make the gut and eating habits reformed in few to several months or in years based on the individual to support the practice. 

Factors affecting hunger / thirst during practice are:

1. External factors:
   1. Weather influence
      1. Sun & Moon energy influence
   2. Association with materialistic people
      1. materialistic people psychic energy forces leaks to practitioner's psyche to eat unfavorable foods
   3. Work load
      1. physical and mental exhaustion can increase the appetite and open old hidden food desires
   4. Ancestral Force:
      1. Several ancestor residing in the body will force the individual to consume even meat & other junk foods.
         1. Even physically if restrained, one can see their astral body consuming such food
2. Internal Factors:
   1. Each subtle/physical organ have a certain tendency for certain taste, texture and feeling (hot, cold) of food, all these organs has to be reformed by breath infusion practice be feeding rich prana & burning impurities by raising kundalini (Agnisāra)
      1. Tongue
      2. throat
      3. Gullet (esophagus)
      4. Stomach, abdomen organs and intestines
   2. More subtle internal factors are:
      1. Urges from past memories (memory organ)
      2. curiosity from buddhi (intellect)
      3. Coalition of visual & taste sense
      4. subtle desires and karmic bondages with certain places will reinforce the same food habits 

Practical Approach to approach breath infusion with respect to food:

Even though, I take 1 main meal a day and maybe take some fruits afterwards.

Hunger and thirst can still attack the practitioner. The attack will be 20% compared to previous hunger/ thirst urges, but still that 20% can affect the long meditation. The 20% will grow into 200% when we sit for meditation. This problem needs to be tackled with practical approach.

2 methods have worked:

1. Internal Method: Yogic Approach:
   1. Using breath infusion & Agnisāra practice, to clear up the digestive fire or gas burning the stomach by doing stomach pumps & churnings (nauli).
   2. Nauli is more efficient in clearing the gas in the stomach, especially when combined with dog pose.
   3. It comes in the proficiency of churning (Nauli): the gas is displaced thru burps (thru mouth) & farts (thru anus) and stops the stomach burning. 
   4. After few rounds, it completely or partially neutralizes the hunger urge. This yogic method is very effective.

Excerpt from Meditation Expertise (Patanjali Yoga Sutras) by Yogi Madhvacharya:

Verse 31

कण्ठकूपे क्षुत्पिपासानिवृत्तिः॥३१॥

kaṇṭhakūpe kṣutpipāsā nivṛttiḥ

kaṇṭha – throat; kūpe – on the gullet; kṣut – hunger; pipāsā – thirst; nivṛttiḥ – cessation, suppression.

By the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy in focusing on the gullet, a yogi causes the suppression of hunger and thirst.

External Methods: Water & Dates/mild food

1. Water Drinking:
   1. If the yogic suppression methods don't work due to some factors, it is better to drink enough water to curb the thirst and hunger before/ during meditation. Take enough to an extent it does not stall the practice.
   2. With water drinking during practice, one can expect to go to restrooms several times, but it wont affect the meditation as much as suppressing the need to drink water. It is a better trade-off
2. Mild foods like dates:
   1. Mind will have a strong urge at times for experiencing physicality of food texture (it may not even be a genuine hunger for nutritional needs), taking dates or sips of water will trick the mind by making it think that we fed its physical needs. 
   2. Taking mild fruits like dates or raisins will to trick the mind and we can continue the practice with least hindrance.
   3. I take 4-10 dates, one at a time over several minutes till the hunger is satiated and start the practice. 
   4. In this way, I have not seen dates causing any major disturbance during practice. This is a good hunger management technique for breath infusion practice and meditation.

 I use combination of yogic and external methods according to the needs of my psyche and intensity of hunger-thirst needs of my psyche.