June '08 Food

Eating Eden 

By Wendy Green

I imagine myself Eve’s daughter, abiding in the garden of earthly delights, simple, original and pure. The fruit hangs heavy on the limb, the flowers blossom with sweet scents, I sit in blissful lotus, and the corners of my mouth are turned up ever so slightly. Is this a richly animated Walt Disney yoga DVD or the living dream of an Edenist? 

I live in the hug of the Mother, next to a wild raging clear jungle river, surrounded by mountains and trillions of rain forest trees, exhaling tons of clean fresh highly energized oxygen. I practice outside every morning and I eat a plethora of fresh raw fruits and veggies. 

From the distant origins of a typical white suburban New Jersey upbringing, over the years, yoga and raw food brought me to this extraordinary place. 

Clearly, yoga changes us in unimagined ways. 

As we hone our yoga practices, we become finer tuned, more sensitive, cleaner, and clearer. More pranic flow is created and this miraculously transforms us. We begin to make natural changes without much effort… drifting towards simpler, healthier thoughts, emotions and lifestyles choices. Reasons to be very thankful! 

We can magnify this unfolding by eating high pranic food. Food is energetic. The moment we process or manipulate our foods, they lose energy. On a very basic level, necessary enzymes present in food die when heated beyond 118 degrees. These enzymes are present in order to help digest food. Once dead, this creates a greater energetic demand on our systems to process. The energy used to digest these altered foods, could be used in other ways…creative pursuits, stronger immune systems, psychic awareness, self actualization… 

I consider highly energetic food plant-based, organic, raw, whole food, as close to the tree, limb, bush or soil as possible, food made by the Mother’s hand and heart. This is obviously the original plan and what we are designed for. Strange how humans are the only earthlings that eat cooked and processed food. The exception is our domesticated pets, who are now suffering from the same diseases that humans do. Coincidence? 

The results of course are compromised, slower, duller systems and often lethargic fuzzy thinking. How did that happen? Why did we stray from Gaia’s way? 

Have we been hypnotized and marketed to eat modern convenience “foods” from cans, bottles, bags, boxes and wrappers, even if they are so-called “health foods”? How much prana is left in that organic brownie wrapped in saran wrap? How old is it? We are meant to eat fresh, fresh, fresh, unwrapped and raw. I take my cue from nature, as I watch the toucans forage for fruit each day. As a bonus, very little waste is generated from a raw food diet and most if not all is compostable or recyclable. 

I am always amazed while guiding students through raw weeks as I notice their asana practices taking off.

Binding where there was no bind, lifting where there was no lift. Many experience delightful mood changes, feeling more vibrant, insightful and enthused about life. Seeing/being is believing. I’m a believer many times over. 

There is something so young and free about eating raw. I do not eat elaborately; I love to eat with my hands. I love the simplicity of a raw food diet. Little mess, no fuss, no gunky pots and pans to wash. No energy or fuel used to cook. I feel like a little monkey…grab the fruit, peel it and eat. More time for bouldering, swimming, hiking, YOGA and slack lining! 

Natural, raw food just screams with color and life. Highly alkaline in pH, raw fruit and veggies have an anti-inflammatory effect on our body/mind, aches and pains dissolve leaving us feeling more balanced, buoyant, open and flexible. Nutrients are present to their fullest vibrancy. Auric or Kirlian photography reveal fantastic images of glowing raw corn and cauliflower which shine ecstatically compared to their cooked counterparts. The prana is palatable. This translates into effervescent and connected cells and attitudes. 

I tend to eat my foods whole, blended or chopped with simple spices. I am not a big recipe gal. If it has more than 10 ingredients and takes more than 10 minutes to make, I’ll save it for a special occasion. I usually separate my meals either into fruit or veggies. I eat my fair share of nuts and seeds, olives. I eat as much as I like, however…I find raw food infinitely more satisfying and nourishing compared to cooked or processed food. So I tend to stop eating sooner when eating raw. Gaia does it best. 

Breakfast is the perfect time to eat sweet, juicy fruit, easing the stomach into its workday. I love a watermelon smoothie in the morning after practice, seeds and all whirled in my beloved Vita Mix, the raw foodist’s “stove.” Enjoying a large leafy veggie studded salad at lunch with a dash of lime & Celtic salt and a fist full of pistachios works well. Need a little something in the afternoon? Half an avocado in its shell and an orange does the trick nicely, no utensils needed, just peel, squeeze and eat. For dinner some Tahini (sesame seed butter) smeared lettuce leaves with chopped red peppers, scallions and avocado and olives is delicious. The possibilities are endless and food prep becomes very creative and fun 

Living in the jungle of Honduras, I enjoy a particularly rich diversity of fresh fruits and veggies.

This is one of the main reasons I chose to live in the rain forest, the availability of fresh tropical fruits and produce year round. The foods are grown locally. I often eat oranges, coconuts, grapefruit, mangosteen, lichee, guava, cashew, star fruit straight off the fruit trees on my property. Adding to this, I have the privilege (and birthright) to drink a lot of fresh, non-chlorinated water, alkaline pH, and pure mountain water from a magical forest source nearby. This water is highly pranic as well. 

Sounds like Eden? Absolutely! 

I’m following this path as the natural unfolding the ashtanga practice and raw food diet has presented to me up to this point… to power down, simplify and get closer and closer to the source. Nature heals and elevates us. Okay, not all of us can or want to take off and live in paradise, granted. However, we can begin to invite paradise into our body/mind/spirit by eating it. 

I invite you to come with me to Eden with your next bite. 

Wendy Green lives in Honduras where she owns and operates Casa Verde, offering ashtanga/rawfood/jungle/chill immersions in a magnificent, mountainous, pristine rain forest & river environment. www.wendygreenyoga.com