Yoga and Vegetables
Celi shares her journey to veganism through yoga…
When I signed up to do my 200 hr yoga teacher training I was living the Paleo life. I trained hard and ate all of the meat. Nose to tail, breakfast lunch and dinner. I didn’t care what animal it came from. I was so obsessed with my gains, and my labels that I didn’t for one moment pause to take the thought process a little deeper. I believed the packaging and the humane washing and the red tractors and the dolphin friendly narrative. And I was happy. Or rather…I was blissfully unaware.
On the reading list for the teacher training there was a whole bunch of books that I can’t even remember now, but as I immersed myself in the sometimes hard to decipher texts I started to feel some things. It was all happening below the surface, I wasn’t aware what it was, or even why, but I started to change the way I intuited towards my food.
When I was much younger, I was a vegetarian for about ten years, and vegan for one year of that. My vegan year was a fairly unhealthy one, I was 13 and not much of a cook, so much of my food was white bread and marmalade, white bread and questionable vegan cheese and white bread and vegetable soup. Lots of bread. Needless to say I felt like shit, struggled to eat out and was so super bored with food. So I went back to just being a vegetarian. But that was fine ethically as far as I was concerned, I didn’t think that it was really a big deal and was probably just going vegan as another way to act out. I did a lot of that in my teenage years.
At 16 I got more into lifting weights and building muscle. I was obsessed with Sarah Connors shoulders and Arnold Schwarzeneggers everything and did everything I could to be as shredded and strong and badass as my idols. Including eating meat. I can remember that first mouthful of fish so vividly. This was now me for years. And even though I did get some pretty good gains and at one point moderately shredded it never actually made me happy.
Then yoga. That’s another story from a previous blog.
Then vegan.
As I began to work my way through my reading list and to practice more yoga and absorb more of what the yoga community had to offer, things began, as I mentioned earlier, to shift.
At first it was mammals. I stopped eating red meat and pork. For health. Apparently.
Then it was birds.
Then while on holiday in France I visited a market with one of those epic fish stands, you know the ones with all the fresh catch lined up straight from the sea, and I caught the eye of a little langoustine. I can still see that little face so clearly. They were in a box with their mostly dead friends and family, looking straight at me and reaching out with one delicate shrimpy arm as if to say ‘please, help me’. And that was it, I dropped fish too.
I didn’t eat dairy anyway for health reasons and ate so many eggs that I actually became intolerant and couldn’t eat them without feeling super sick so it wasn’t long before they were gone from my diet too.
The summer of 2016, midway through my teacher training, I went to the ‘Yoga connects’ festival (damn that was a good weekend) and most of the food there was vegan. I remember saying to my partner at the time ‘I guess I’m vegan now’ and I guess I was. I never ate an animal product again.
Through yoga I had reconnected to the compassion I had as a child, the reason for my going vegetarian in the first place, and unlearned some of my conditioning that had me eating meat, dairy and eggs again without awareness or even real understanding.
I’m going to talk for a bit about elements of yoga and how, for me, they relate to veganism. I’m not God, I’m not telling anyone what to do, but as yogis I think it is important to take ourselves into this offshoot of self inquiry and maybe uncover some truths and deeper awareness.
A way to explore this further in the context of yoga is through the Yamas.
The word ‘yama’ is often translated as ‘restraint’, ‘moral discipline’ or ‘moral vow’, and Patanjali states that these vows are completely universal, no matter who you are or where you come from, your current situation or where you’re heading. To be ‘moral’ can be difficult at times, which is why this is considered a very important practice of yoga. Remember that the word ‘yoga’ means ‘unity’, ‘wholeness’ or ‘connectedness’; of course it’s important to be mindful, gentle and present in class, but if this doesn’t translate off the mat and connect into what we do in our day-to-day lives, we will never feel the real benefits of yoga.
The Yamas traditionally guide us towards practices concerned with the world around us, but often we can take them as a guide of how to act towards ourselves too. There are five Yamas in total listed in Patanjali’s Sutras:
Ahimsa (non-harming or non-violence in thought, word and deed)
Satya (truthfulness)
Asteya (non-stealing)
Brahmacharya (celibacy or ‘right use of energy’)
Aparigraha (non-greed or non-hoarding)
Ahimsa
A big word for Yogis and a word that has been adopted by many within the vegan community too.
Ahimsa means non harming. In all the ways, thought, word and deed, directly or indirectly, to ourselves or to others, whatever or whoever that other might be.
So this is an obvious one when we are talking about veganism. There is literally no way that we can consume animal products without there being harm done somewhere to someone or something within the process. For flesh we need slaughter, this is ALWAYS harmful, and this is the reasoning behind vegetarianism. Many people are happy to stop there, but the egg and dairy industries are as bad and in some cases worse that the meat industry. Dairy cows go through more suffering in their lives than meat cows, laying chickens live longer and more miserable lives than meat chickens before they too are ’despatched’, no longer considered productive and financially viable. All of the animals in our agricultural system live unnatural and shortened lives. None of these beings deserve to be brought into existence for such slavery and suffering.
Humans are suffering in these industries too. Slaughterhouses are incredibly dangerous places to work and their low paid employees are regularly injured and many suffer from crippling ptsd. The fishing industry is known for its risk, but we also need to be aware of the very serious issue of human slavery and abuse that is rife within some sectors.
And it goes deeper than this. Animal agriculture is responsible not just for huge amounts of carbon emissions but for turning our planets carbons sinks into carbon sources and escalating the climate crisis which we are experiencing now in very real time. The damage we are doing to our oceans, grasslands and forests in the wake of animal ag is destroying our planet right now, and the home of generations yet to come.
Satya
What is true here? We are told by the industry’s marketing sector that we need these products, that they are healthy and necessary and natural and normal. We are conditioned from a very young age, through all sorts of media sources, to accept that we do this and that it is ok. We grow up not asking ourselves important questions about where these products come from and not being open to the empathy and compassion that we could potentially feel for all of the billions of creatures being harmed and exploited every day. It’s called cognitive dissonance and it is a tough nut to crack.
Cognitive dissonance theory postulates that an underlying psychological tension is created when an individual's behavior is inconsistent with his or her thoughts and beliefs. This underlying tension then motivates an individual to make an attitude change that would produce consistency between thoughts and behaviors.
This is why there are no windows in slaughterhouses, no health warnings on packets of processed meat (despite science revealing their carcinogenic qualities)and pictures of laughing cows on dairy products. This is why we are conditioned to alter our language around the subject, “killed” becomes “despatched”, “cow and pig” become “beef and pork”, “sexual manipulation” becomes “husbandry”. We use these words to provide a layer of separation between the truth and what we want to believe. Just look at the oxymoron of ‘humane slaughter’, there is no humane way to kill an animal that doesn’t want to die, and none of these animals want to die, despite the suffering in which they live. We could also look at this as a layer of ‘Maya’ or illusion, the lies we are told, the truths withheld and the false beliefs we hold onto, shielding us from what is really happening in the world. We are here in our yoga practice to lift this veil, sometimes we might not like what we see, hear and learn, but if it is truth, Satya, then can we argue with it?
Asteya
The dairy industry steals milk from babies and babies from mothers. Eggs are not for us to take, in their wild and natural form chickens would lay 12-15 eggs a year, but we have selectively bred them to produce eggs every day for 18 months and then they are done. All animals in this system in fact live drastically shorter lives that they would in their natural state, most being killed while still technically a child. Fins stolen from sharks, honey stolen from bees, food sources and habitats stolen from wildlife causing great harm to the balance of our biomes around the globe. These industries are built upon theft. We could be working to live in balance with nature instead of stripmining her for every last penny.
And freedom. Liberty has been stolen not only from all beings residing under the umbrella of these industries, but from all of us.
““None are free until all are free””
Brahmacharya
Animal agriculture is built upon the exploitation of the female reproductive system. Pregnancies are implanted and Genetics are altered. On a massive scale these animals are subjected to what would be considered sexual assault in the human model. Humans are manipulating nature so much so that the animals we see in our fields simply wouldn’t be here in this unnatural state if it wasn’t for human greed. Is this the right use of our energy? Is it right to put energy into something that is leading us into the 6th great extinction when we could make so many simple daily changes to help restore health to the planet and her inhabitants?
Aparigraha
Industries built on greed. Animals managed for maximum financial viability. Oceans desecrated for cash. Species extinct in the name of status. Nature isn’t greedy, she is balanced, and we need to learn to live with her in harmony instead of parasitically feeding from her not so infinite energy sources. Can we let go of the beliefs we have hoarded to make room for truth and empathy and compassion. Can we relinquish tradition and embrace something new, healthy and medicinal, something that heals rather than harms. What are we holding onto? What are we hoarding, or grasping that is not letting us see that we are all one, that we are all capable of suffering, that true benevolence is to make those deep soul connections with all beings, seen and unseen, human and non human, and help us all to live together, happy, safe and free.
Now this is brief. This subject can be explored more and more deeply until the end of time but even in this abridged form it can feel overwhelming and disturbing. To ignore that overwhelm in the name of ahimsa towards self is not true ahimsa or right use of energy. To open the heart and take back the health and freedom that was stolen from us and others by greedy corporations is, whilst challenging for some and emotional for others, a huge step towards restoring our own nature, Nature herself and the balance between both.
We eat food. Every day. The choices we make as to what goes on our plate affects more than just us and our bodies. The ripples are felt throughout the web of life. Can we be open to change, to new ways of thinking, new conversations and information? Can we choose to exude love and peace and compassion and use this simple act, the act of eating, to make our worlds, inside and out, a kinder and more merciful place.
I want to thank you for taking the time to read this. I fully understand that this information is not easy to absorb and digest in a world where overwhelm is a staple. Breathe, let it simmer and see what comes up for you. I am always over the moon to have conversations about this stuff and invite anyone wanting to know more to please ask away. And I still love you if you don’t.
We can access these deeper connections by spending more time in nature and time with our animals friends. By this is don’t mean zoos or aquariums, instead support and visit your local animal sanctuary or rescue. They are everywhere and always in need of your assistance, whether that is a donation of money or time. Spending time on my local sanctuary helps me to feel like I am making a difference in this world, to meet and share space with an animal saved from these industries is a powerful experience and can make all the difference to your journey.
I support my local sanctuary, Coppershell Animal Rescue where and when I can in return for the difference they have made to my life and the lives of so many others, human and non human alike. I urge you to visit them either digitally or in person for some seriously good vibes.
For now, with gratitude,
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.
Namaste.
- Celi
For those wanting to know more….
Google these films and teachers:
Seaspiracy
The Game changers
Cowspiracy
What the health
Forks over knives
Earthlings
Land of hope and glory documentary
Before the flood
Dominion
Eating our way to extinction
The animal people
Yoga is vegan podcast
Hope for animals podcast
Earthling Ed
Greta Thunburg
Michael Gregor
Melanie Joy