News from the ashram... we spent the last two days on diet and metabolic syndrome. So much information on healthy eating. From the Ayurvedic perspective (Ayurveda is a sister science to yoga and is a health science), we eat way too much. That isn't much of a surprise to those of us who marvel how much our clothes shrink each washing. Undigested food is called "ama" and is the root cause of disease. It kind of makes sense... how many of us going around feeling bloated? Experience elimination difficulties? Feel fatigued? Have a lot of emotional eating issues?

There is a complex hormonal process as we eat that is supposed to tell us that we are full. But the signals can easily become confused by eating the wrong foods or just too often. And here's something that was new for me... the adipose tissue (the belly fat) actually functions as part of your endocrine system ... it secretes hormones of its own! So the more belly fat we accumulate, the more we change our hunger signals.

What's the fix? Slow down and really tune into your body's signals. This means no eating at the computer or at your desk or in front of the tv. Solid food should be spaced at least four hours apart. Pay attention after your meal. Especially 30 minutes after. Make a diary and note if you are tired, bloated, gassy, etc. A pattern will likely emerge. And we have all heard that it takes 20 minutes for the "full" hormone (leptin) to fully discharge, so eat until you are about 2/3 full and then wait. Chances are that plate of pasta was enough after all. There are many different approaches to diet based on your natural constitution (prakriti) and any current imbalances (vrikiti), lifestyle and emotional state. The "take home" (our catch phrase now to try and distill the main points from the avalanche of information that descends each day) is to slow down and eat less, and more slowly. Of course, eat as many vegetables as you can stuff in (70% of your diet will hopefully consist of fruit, veggies, organic yogurt, nuts, seeds and other alkalynizing foods - that's a whole other subject!).

Here at the ashram, we do follow these rules for the most part (except for the evening runs for ice cream for some!) and it really isn't that hard.

The best news from the day? Dark bitter chocolate is really ok! Yay!