What’s the Connection Between Nutrition and Yoga?

What’s the connection between nutrition and yoga? Find out in Kara Lydon’s new e-book Nourish Your Namaste!

This post contains affiliate links. See below for full disclosure.

I didn’t get into yoga until I was pregnant with my twin girls, but ever since it has been my main form of activity (until I recently took up running and zumba). I’m not so into the meditative part of yoga, rather the movement and the time to myself to turn off from social media and the world for an hour and a half are what keep me going back.

My favorite yoga teacher, Jacqui, is also phenomenal, which helps a lot. She has a theme to every class, which I love because it keeps me focused and I often learn something new about myself and the world around me that I may not have previously thought about.

Seeing as I am dietitian nutritionist, I find it especially interesting when Jacqui connects nutrition and yoga. You may not think there’s a connection, but there is and the easiest place to see it is in the yamas and niyamas, otherwise known as the “yogi commandments.”

For example, the niyama saucha, means cleanliness, which extends to the cleanliness of your diet. I’m not on the “clean eating” bandwagon – if you know me at all you know I love my sweet treats – but there is something to be said for cleaning up your diet after a long weekend of eating and drinking or a week of vacation filled with ice cream and alcohol (I experienced both of these in the past month!). There are many other examples of how yoga and nutrition are connected, many of which you can find in my friend Kara’s new e-book Nourish Your Namaste.

Kara is a fellow registered dietitian nutritionist and food blogger at The Foodie Dietitian. Kara and I met a few years ago at Blog Brulee, and I’ve had the opportunity to get to know her since then. In addition to her role as an RDN, Kara is also a certified yoga teacher, so who better to write a book about the connection between nutrition and yoga?!

There are so many things I love about Nourish Your Namaste, starting with the name. It’s just perfect, isn’t it? Once you flip past the cover page you’ll find gorgeous pictures of Kara in yoga poses and nutritious and delicious food you will want to eat off the pages. Kara breaks the book into five sections:

• Nutrition for Yoga 101, which covers the previously mentioned yamas and niyamas, what to eat before and after yoga, plus more.
• Nutrition and Yoga for Relaxation
• Nutrition and Yoga for Digestion
• Nutrition and Yoga for Energy
• Nutrition and Yoga for Immunity

Each of the “Nutrition and Yoga” sections includes ingredients, recipes, and yoga poses for that topic. There is a wealth of information in this book – even as a dietitian I learned so much. Like the recipes on Kara’s blog, the recipes in Nourish Your Namaste are fabulous. That cover photo is of the Immunity-Boosting Buddha Bowl with Turmeric Tahini Dressing, which is chock-full of nutrient-rich and delicious ingredients, and the Roasted Asparagus with Miso Ginger Kefir Dressing pictured above looks like a perfect way to use up the rest of the season’s asparagus. (For another way to use those spears, check out my Mushroom Asparagus Pesto Frittata I posted yesterday!)

If you’re a yogi or the least bit interested in taking up a yoga practice, I highly recommend getting Nourish Your Namaste. At the very least you’ll learn about the holistic effects of some of the most nutrient-rich foods and get a few delicious recipes while you’re at it!

Are you a yoga enthusiast?

Did you know about the connection between nutrition and yoga?

Note: I was not compensated to share the Nourish Your Namaste e-book, however the links to the book are affiliate links. As with other affiliate links on my blog, if you purchase a product through this link your cost will be the same but I will receive a small commission to help with operating costs of this blog. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own and I only recommend products and programs I truly believe in. Thanks for your support!