Living Yoga: Yoga and raw foods for radiant health and energy

The Fastest Way to Succeed on a Raw Food Diet
by Ellen Livingston

In my yoga classes we talk about the Sanskrit term "samskara", which refers to our habitual ways of doing and perceiving, both helpful and unhelpful. When you focus your attention on creating and living in new, positive samskara, old unhelpful habits wither and fall away easily, no longer keeping their hold. It's like the law of attraction, which states that what you think about grows, or what you focus on expands.

To succeed on a raw food diet, you need to create new samskara. You have developed many, many habitual ways of being in relationship with food, and these habits run deep. For most of us, our association with food seems inextricably intertwined with our relationships with family members and friends.

It is necessary to make (and re-make, over and over again!) a conscious commitment to bringing about the healthy changes you want, and you need to know why you want to change. When you focus your attention on what you really want to live for (for example, to be able to play with your children, or to have the energy to launch a new business, or to get fit, or to acquire the skills to scuba dive, or to express your creativity, etc.), it becomes easier to achieve the discipline needed to override the powerful pull of negative samskara, or unhelpful habits and ways of perceiving things that are keeping you from what you really want to live for.

The fastest way to succeed on a raw food diet is to immerse yourself in knowledge and support. This may sound simplistic, but the 2 biggest reasons why many people fail to stay on a raw diet are lack of knowledge, and lack of support. I really mean it when I say IMMERSE yourself in knowledge and support. Remember, what you focus on expands, and it gradually crowds out everything else, everything that is not in alignment with your intention, or your attention. But how do you immerse yourself in the right knowledge and support? There is so much information available in today's world, how will you know what to listen to? On my own path to health I have taken many diversions, and I have learned valuable information from them all. But I have also experienced a lot of frustration, and made many mistakes that cost me health, time, and lots of money. It took me several years of digging to find the right knowledge and support.

When I finally began to listen more deeply, observe more closely, and choose my leaders more wisely, I experienced success quickly. I became drawn to authors, teachers, and guides whose lives inspired me, and who truly seemed to have what I wanted. I sought out leaders who were successfully living the lifestyle they promoted, and who had solid years of experience. I responded to the most basic truths about health: it made brilliant sense to me that health creation ought to be simple and natural, not complicated and technical. I was tired of so many supplements and therapies, and so relieved to come home to the pure, empowering teachings of natural hygiene (www.healthfullivingintl.org). It was beautiful to learn that my own body could heal itself if I could just get out of its way, and simply support it in very basic ways.

You need to get clear about what you want to live for, and then you need to acquire the knowledge that will enable you to implement the needed lifestyle changes. Knowledge is power, and knowing why the raw diet is an important aspect of health creation, and knowing what constitutes a healthy raw diet (raw diets are NOT all the same!) will empower you to put it into action in your life, to stick with it, and to succeed in creating health. It is said that if you read for just 30 minutes a day on one topic, you will quickly become an expert in that subject. You can become a natural health expert!

It would be impossible to overemphasize how important it is to get support on this journey. Support is available in many forms. You could convince a friend to learn along with you, and declare each other "raw buddies". I did this early on, and years later my friend and I are both succeeding on a raw diet, and still call each other raw buddies. You can attend raw potlucks, share your process, and get to know other health seekers. You can go on the internet and join a raw food chat list. You can have honest conversations with your family and friends about your desire to become healthier, and enlist their support. You don't need to convince them of the raw food diet, just share with them your commitment to creating better health for yourself.

If you really want to cut through all the confusion and dietary yo-yo-ing, and succeed more quickly, I sincerely recommend hiring a coach. I did, and my coach is still available to me whenever I have questions or want to refine some aspect of my health program. This has been invaluable to me. Professional athletes have personal coaches, business leaders have personal coaches - they know how helpful it is to have a guide, a knowledgeable sounding board, and someone to hold them accountable. Your health is worth it!

If you visit www.LivingYogaNow.com, you can read about my coaching services, and get started with some reading and listening materials I have carefully chosen for their quality. Attend raw food classes and seminars in your area, or be adventurous and travel to a raw food seminar. These are great places to meet others exploring this path to health, to explore your questions, and to experience different leaders in the raw food movement. I must caution you, however, that you will encounter lots of conflicting information, and it is easy to become confused if you listen to everything.

You must learn to discriminate, to listen for what makes the most sense, for what is most whole and natural, and for what feels best in your body. Immerse yourself in the books, magazines, tapes, CD's, and DVD's that resonate most with your deep inner knowing. Notice what inspires you. Spend as much time as possible in the company of others who share this interest. Focus your attention every day on health creation, and your limiting beliefs and samskara will become ineffective and fall away.

I wish you speedy success on your raw journey!

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