This is a very interesting read. I have definitely come to the conclusion that my vata constitution needs animal proteins, though I tend to limit this to chicken, fish and eggs. I'm curious that you specify red meat and wonder what difference this would make? I have steered clear of red meat for many years as I find it rather heavy to digest...
That’s such a great question, thank you for asking. If you are a vata kapha type you are probably doing the right thing, and if you love a life that isn’t putting Vata dosha out of balance. For Vata types that are under weight and feeling malnourished, with high Vata imbalance, causing spaced out mind, ungrounded ness, feeling fearful and anxious, 4 oz of beef every day for 2 weeks is such a quick way of recovering. One of my clients, a young man about 20 years old, very Vata type who was vegan, had become very thin, ungrounded, unhappy, with panic attacks, exhausted and on the edge of feeling he couldn’t go on. He agreed, thankfully 🙏🏽 To try eating beef for two weeks every day, at the end of the two weeks he let me know he couldn’t believe the difference, he felt balanced, grounded, had more energy, and his panic attacks had stopped. It wasn’t necessary to do this forever. We are all different, it’s all about context with Ayurveda, even when two people are Vata types, their context will be different, and context changes. Once you can see the imbalance symptoms easily, then living with Ayurveda is like riding your bike down a wiggly wobbly road, adjusting a little hear, a little there.
Hmmm. That is very interesting food for thought. Thanks for taking the time to give such a detailed response. I may experiment a little with re-introducing beef here and there and see what happens 🤔🙏
This confirms my experience in so many ways. I've always loved and craved meat - my mother said asking for more meat was the first thing I said as a baby. As a young adult, not cooking much or looking after myself very well, I would sometimes get a visceral craving for steak. As soon as I ate some, the craving went and I felt stronger, better. The same thing has been happening over the past couple of years, but this time with lamb. After a good lamb curry, I feel completely different - stronger and calmer. It's as if my system's had a reset!
A while ago I did an online course on Animism. The second main topic, introduced by the teacher as a difficult one for some, was meat-eating and vegetarianism. He told us not to kid ourselves that by being vegetarian we would be avoiding the consumption of other beings. From an animist perspective, plants are beings too. There's no problem with eating - it's what humans and other animals have to do in order to live. The important thing is your attitude to your food, which should be one of appreciation and gratitude.
Hi Alex, that is really interesting. Yes lots of people talk of the many tiny creatures that are killed producing vegan plant-based ingredients, and that no-one takes any notice of this because they are small. And I can see their point. I think the horrors of factory farming bring, understandably, strong emotion, that parks the argument that all creatures lives are equal. I remember working on a young people’s project. They were riotous and very noisy kids. We would take our group of kids into the wood to live for a couple of days. It was a vegan project, but the kids ate meat. So, we supplied them with dead rabbits a local man provided (he worked on the land and it was part of his job to keep the numbers of rabbits down). They had to skin, bone and cook the rabbits. I remember they were in a circle doing this, a fire in the middle. It was absolute silence. I had never seen them so quiet, focused and respectful. It was as if the whole wood was focused on this activity, and the deep peace continued into the night. The kids were so full of gratitude, and at peace in their minds, bodies and hearts. If I hadn’t experienced this I wouldn’t have believed it. I think it was partly to do with how we introduced them to this experience, explaining the life of the rabbits, how they came to be a meal for them. But the gratitude, respect and reverence welled up from within them. And they took that back into their lives. The same happened with deer, that had been culled by the same man — otherwise there large numbers killed the woodland. No one likes to see another creature suffer, it is a conundrum, and I don’t think there is a black and white answer. Life is full of nuance, which we have been educated out of understanding.
I offer Ayurvedic consultations and coaching, plus nutritional & stress management support for this. And, from the autumn I will be offering a monthly Q&A for my paying subscribers plus more in-depth info. My email is office@lucyfleetwood.com.
This is a very interesting read. I have definitely come to the conclusion that my vata constitution needs animal proteins, though I tend to limit this to chicken, fish and eggs. I'm curious that you specify red meat and wonder what difference this would make? I have steered clear of red meat for many years as I find it rather heavy to digest...
That’s such a great question, thank you for asking. If you are a vata kapha type you are probably doing the right thing, and if you love a life that isn’t putting Vata dosha out of balance. For Vata types that are under weight and feeling malnourished, with high Vata imbalance, causing spaced out mind, ungrounded ness, feeling fearful and anxious, 4 oz of beef every day for 2 weeks is such a quick way of recovering. One of my clients, a young man about 20 years old, very Vata type who was vegan, had become very thin, ungrounded, unhappy, with panic attacks, exhausted and on the edge of feeling he couldn’t go on. He agreed, thankfully 🙏🏽 To try eating beef for two weeks every day, at the end of the two weeks he let me know he couldn’t believe the difference, he felt balanced, grounded, had more energy, and his panic attacks had stopped. It wasn’t necessary to do this forever. We are all different, it’s all about context with Ayurveda, even when two people are Vata types, their context will be different, and context changes. Once you can see the imbalance symptoms easily, then living with Ayurveda is like riding your bike down a wiggly wobbly road, adjusting a little hear, a little there.
Hmmm. That is very interesting food for thought. Thanks for taking the time to give such a detailed response. I may experiment a little with re-introducing beef here and there and see what happens 🤔🙏
This confirms my experience in so many ways. I've always loved and craved meat - my mother said asking for more meat was the first thing I said as a baby. As a young adult, not cooking much or looking after myself very well, I would sometimes get a visceral craving for steak. As soon as I ate some, the craving went and I felt stronger, better. The same thing has been happening over the past couple of years, but this time with lamb. After a good lamb curry, I feel completely different - stronger and calmer. It's as if my system's had a reset!
A while ago I did an online course on Animism. The second main topic, introduced by the teacher as a difficult one for some, was meat-eating and vegetarianism. He told us not to kid ourselves that by being vegetarian we would be avoiding the consumption of other beings. From an animist perspective, plants are beings too. There's no problem with eating - it's what humans and other animals have to do in order to live. The important thing is your attitude to your food, which should be one of appreciation and gratitude.
Hi Alex, that is really interesting. Yes lots of people talk of the many tiny creatures that are killed producing vegan plant-based ingredients, and that no-one takes any notice of this because they are small. And I can see their point. I think the horrors of factory farming bring, understandably, strong emotion, that parks the argument that all creatures lives are equal. I remember working on a young people’s project. They were riotous and very noisy kids. We would take our group of kids into the wood to live for a couple of days. It was a vegan project, but the kids ate meat. So, we supplied them with dead rabbits a local man provided (he worked on the land and it was part of his job to keep the numbers of rabbits down). They had to skin, bone and cook the rabbits. I remember they were in a circle doing this, a fire in the middle. It was absolute silence. I had never seen them so quiet, focused and respectful. It was as if the whole wood was focused on this activity, and the deep peace continued into the night. The kids were so full of gratitude, and at peace in their minds, bodies and hearts. If I hadn’t experienced this I wouldn’t have believed it. I think it was partly to do with how we introduced them to this experience, explaining the life of the rabbits, how they came to be a meal for them. But the gratitude, respect and reverence welled up from within them. And they took that back into their lives. The same happened with deer, that had been culled by the same man — otherwise there large numbers killed the woodland. No one likes to see another creature suffer, it is a conundrum, and I don’t think there is a black and white answer. Life is full of nuance, which we have been educated out of understanding.
How do I go about finding what works for me and doesn’t?
I offer Ayurvedic consultations and coaching, plus nutritional & stress management support for this. And, from the autumn I will be offering a monthly Q&A for my paying subscribers plus more in-depth info. My email is office@lucyfleetwood.com.