Ep 3. Ayurveda and The "C" Word with Narayana Commerford

Explicit content warning

01/15/20 • 94 min

Cleansing from a western fad perspective is pure diet culture BS. But in Ayurveda the "C" word takes on a somewhat different, multifaceted meaning. This can be both problematic and refreshing depending on your perspective.
SHOW NOTES:

How Ayurveda didn’t accompany yoga to the west, and the effects of this on contemporary yoga practice
Different spiritual practices (e.g. Vipassana, Tantra) are not suited to everyone
Everything can be medicine or harmful, depending on context
Your constitution informs the medicine you need
Diet culture vs. the introspective curiosity inherent to Ayurveda
Ojas, or vitality: is your “cleanse” giving you that?
Cleanses are effective at short-term weight loss, but not effective at long-term weight loss
Keeping digestion healthy is key in Ayurveda
Cleanses and fasting can disrupt agni and metabolism, and aggravate vata
The Magic Bullet Syndrome: cleanses won’t fix the lifestyle problems causing your health issues in the first place
Nara’s experience with chronic fatigue, discovering how stressful dieting was on his body, and how he recovered

Post-interview solo:

Navigating the touchy issue of Ayurvedic “cleansing” amidst the sea of diet culture and accusations of pseudo-science
The differences between a juice cleanse, and pancha karma or “cleansing” in the traditional Ayurvedic sense
Where I feel a few days of kitchari might be appropriate, and where it definitely would not be appropriate
Hardcore cleanses in Ayurveda

LINKS:
Support the pod! Bonus episodes and exclusive goodies for subscribers:
https://www.patreon.com/nondietyogi
Nara’s company Evolution Botanicals
Website: https://evolutionbotanicals.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionbotanicals
Instagram: @evolutionbotanicals

Casey's articles on Ayurveda, TCM and Intuitive Eating
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/ayurveda-tcm-intuitive-eating-or-dietary-dogma
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/beyond-pitta-kapha-vata-ayurveda-tcm-intuitive-eating
Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing - online non-diet nutrition & naturopathic consulting services and in-person yoga classes
Grab your free e-book The Modern Yogi's BS-Free Guide to Wellbeing
Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing Facebook page
Instagram @nondietyogi @funky.forest.health

Support the show

How Ayurveda didn’t accompany yoga to the west, and the effects of this on contemporary yoga practice
Different spiritual practices (e.g. Vipassana, Tantra) are not suited to everyone
Everything can be medicine or harmful, depending on context
Your constitution informs the medicine you need
Diet culture vs. the introspective curiosity inherent to Ayurveda
Ojas, or vitality: is your “cleanse” giving you that?
Cleanses are effective at short-term weight loss, but not effective at long-term weight loss
Keeping digestion healthy is key in Ayurveda
Cleanses and fasting can disrupt agni and metabolism, and aggravate vata
The Magic Bullet Syndrome: cleanses won’t fix the lifestyle problems causing your health issues in the first place
Nara’s experience with chronic fatigue, discovering how stressful dieting was on his body, and how he recovered

Post-interview solo:

Navigating the touchy issue of Ayurvedic “cleansing” amidst the sea of diet culture and accusations of pseudo-science
The differences between a juice cleanse, and pancha karma or “cleansing” in the traditional Ayurvedic sense
Where I feel a few days of kitchari might be appropriate, and where it definitely would not be appropriate
Hardcore cleanses in Ayurveda

Support the show

Previous Episode

Ep 2. Cleanse, Detox, Hurt: The Allure of Unhealthily Strict Diets to the Ascetic Yogi Psyche

Why juice cleansing is so popular in yoga culture, how detoxification actually works, and what you can do to support your body's detoxification processes without starving yourself.
· What is juice cleansing? How it’s marketed vs. what’s actually going on

· Why it’s so popular in yoga culture

· How tapas and saucha may underlie and amplify the tendency towards spiritually-endorsed disordered eating and body dysmorphia

· Ayurveda and juice cleansing

· Disordered eating and eating disorders in Yogaland

· My personal experiences with harsh yoga practices, fasting and orthorexia

· The physiology of detoxification and how juice cleanses impede this

· Why those initial “detox symptoms” and later, that feeling of “energised bliss” occur on a juice cleanse (it’s not what you think)

· What you can do to safely support detoxification (if you wish to do so)
· The next level of cray: water fasting in yoga circles

LINKS:

Support the pod! Bonus episodes and exclusive goodies for subscribers:
https://www.patreon.com/nondietyogi
My articles on Ayurveda, TCM and Intuitive Eating:
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/ayurveda-tcm-intuitive-eating-or-dietary-dogma
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/beyond-pitta-kapha-vata-ayurveda-tcm-intuitive-eating

The physiology of detoxification, how juice cleanses impede this, and what you can do to support detoxification:
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/detoxification-so-not-about-juice-fasts-colonics
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/your-bodys-lifelong-detoxification-kit

The stress response of restrictive eating:
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/the-honeymoon-period
Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing - online non-diet nutrition consulting services and in-person yoga classes
Grab your copy of my e-book The Modern Yogi's BS-Free Guide to Wellbeing
Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing Facebook page
Instagram:
@nondietyogi
@funky.forest.health

Support the show

Next Episode

Ep 4. Yoga Guru ≠ Nutrition Guru: The Cult of the Unqualified Wellness Expert

Yoga teachers, please stop giving terrible dietary advice to your students.
SHOW NOTES:

That time I gave terrible nutritional advice
Why people ask yoga teachers for nutritional advice
Some of the crappy nutritional advice yoga teachers pass on to their students
The perils of getting nutrition advice from a yoga teacher, personal trainer, or health coach
The likely prevalence of disordered eating in yoga circles
MLM health products in yoga studios
Even when yoga teachers are also nutritionists, be careful!
Where to go for safe, individualised dietary guidance

LINKS:
Support the pod! Bonus episodes and exclusive goodies for subscribers:
https://www.patreon.com/nondietyogi
Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing - online non-diet nutrition consulting services and in-person yoga classes
https://www.funkyforest.com.au
Grab your copy of my free e-book The Modern Yogi's BS-Free Guide to Wellbeing!
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/a-modern-yogis-bs-free-guide-to-wellbeing.html
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/funkyforesthealth
Instagram:
@nondietyogi
@funky.forest.health
Original blog post:
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/yoga-teachers-please-stop-giving-terrible-dietary-advice-to-your-students

Support the show