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In the yoga community there’s an unspoken “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule when it comes to being a vegetarian, wrote vinyasa teacher and author Sadie Nardini in a recent blog post.
“Many of the most famous teachers are not only vegetarian, but
think you should be too, or you’re not ‘as yogic’ as they are. I
know … they’ve told me so in person. To me, that’s not
spiritual…that’s judgment, pure and simple,” wrote Nardini, who owns a studio and teaches in New York .
“People hide their passion for sushi or burning desire for a big juicy
steak from their instructors, and eyes narrow when a student dares to
mention it in polite company.”
The debate on vegetarianism and ahimsa (non-harming) will probably go on forever, but no matter where you stand on the subject you’ve got to admit that neither judging others or hiding your own desires seems to fit in very well with yoga philosphy. What do you think? If you’re a vegetarian, do you think non-vegetarians are non-yogic? If you’re not a vegetarian, do you avoid eating meat in front of your yoga friends?