Article: "The Yoga of Cooking and Eating"

I remember a transcendent moment, many years ago, when I was stirring millet in a pan to roast it, thinking about how monk’s “compete” for the honor of cooking for their order.  The individual grains of millet became “stars” in my mind, and the pan held within it a wonderful spiral galaxy of life, hope, & spirit.

The idea of communicating love to others through cooking has been a consistent theme in my life.  Indeed, it was when I no longer desired to cook for a significant other, that I often realized, definitively, that the relationship was over.  The giving of food, of sustenance, is a powerful process in human community, and in many societies over time, something that has often transcended bigotry, hate, racism, and a host of negative emotions.  The “giving” of food is fundamental, unselfish action, and comes from our core.  In some cultures, if someone shows up hungry at your doorstep, you are duty-bound to feed them whatever you might have available.  It is a recognition of the “I am/We are” aspects inside.

I remember, too, being awed by the cooks at “Kalachandji’s” in Dallas, Texas (a Krishna temple), whose practice of bhakti yoga (yoga of service) mandated that they were blessing the food they were making and would never dream of tasting it before delivering to anxious customers.  From a spiritual standpoint, they were “raising the vibrational level” of the food (or so I believe, unscientifically).  Spreading the love (pun intended).

This line of thinking also led to a little story I’d run across years later:  Great-grandma was in the kitchen after a huge multi-descendent dinner party, and engaged in dealing with a huge mound of dishes needed cleaning.  She was singing and happy.  Her great-grandchildren were puzzled.  “Why are you so happy?” They’d asked her. “It’s simple,” she responded.  “All these dishes means we had all this food, plentiful times, and everyone is full.  We should be thankful and feel blessed.”

It was delightful to run across the following article recently (here’s an excerpt followed by the full link).  It encapsulated very well some things I’ve learned over the years and sometimes forget during longer periods of emotional or situational stress:

“I had always thought that cooking was something you did to feed yourself and your family. However, monastic life has continued to teach me that cooking, if done with the right consciousness, can be a kind of yoga practice. I'm not referring to the yoga practice where you try to turn yourself into a pretzel. I am sticking to the original meaning of the term, which arises from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means to harness or bind back. Yoga means you are trying to reconnect with the divine.

Whether or not that reconnect actually takes place depends on one's consciousness. During my vegetarian cooking demonstrations at Columbia University, I tell my students that our consciousness during our cooking should be that we are "cooking for the pleasure of God and that we want to share our food with others."

Knowing that we're cooking for someone else can help remove some of the selfishness we harbor in our hearts and can increase the quality of selflessness. Since the process of yoga is meant to purify the heart and mind of negative tendencies, cooking with the right consciousness can be transformed into a yoga practice.”

I’ve studied Hatha Yoga (basic asanas) and for a couple of decades Raja & Agni Yoga (mind, fire/soul), and it’s humbling to remember that the simplest actions can be the most transformative, that we can also have “walking meditations” as some teachers put it, that don’t require immobility and solitude.  Mindfulness in cutting our fruits/vegetables. Thoughtful as we heat our grains and water, and thankful that we choose not to eat meat or dairy.  In this process, we are truly one with nature, and manifest gratitude in being alive.  Life persists, and we appreciate the bounty presented, transmuted, and provided.  To share this with another is to share a deep love for all that is.  Giving, without expectation of reward or reciprocation.  Acknowledging mutual divinity.

Enjoy this fine essay:  “On Yoga and Cooking.”  I think the author really nails it all and perhaps his words will provide a new perspective worth pondering.

Namaste!  Mark  (Twitter: @solveggie)

Comments

[Fitness Equipment]

Great article

[sfauthor]

Nice posting. Do you know about these yoga books?

http://www.yogavidya.com/freepdfs.html