Anna: When and how were you first introduced to yoga?
Shanti: My introduction to Yoga was at the age of 7 as an onlooker watching my sister in a weird pose, lying down with her legs wrapped around her head, turning blue, and I was trying to save her! My father said never ever try that posture! Well, as we all listen to our parents, now i have mastered this pose without pushing. This is a flow that comes from developing strength and flexibility.
What inspired you to start practicing yoga?
At 13 years in New Zealand at boarding school, after the lights were out, the nuns gone for the evening, I would gather the girls for Yoga. With a book and flashlight we would begin a calm practice to help us sleep and loose during the day. In silence we revealed the essential of being with our Selves.
What type of yoga do you now practice?
The form of Yoga I now study is Kali Ray TriYoga® From my teacher Kaliji. She lives and gives classes in Malibu, California. Her website is TriYoga.com
How does the practice of yoga relate to vegetarianism?
Vegetarianism and raw foods is at the heart of all of the teachings of Yoga, 'Ahimsa', do no harm. Animals are my friends and I don't eat my friends!
When did you become a vegetarian?
At 15 years my girlfriend and I joined the Krishna's and became vegetarians. When Sister Jemna would come around and ask, "Why aren't you eating your meat" we popped up and said, "Well, it's been proven by other vegetarians that you don't need meat to live!" Her reply was, "Those people don't run boarding schools, and you eat your meat!" Of course we didn't, and we both lived! Some things are worth fighting for! Then another truth dropped... I was wearing leather shoes and someone asked why I was wearing dead cow on my feet? Since then I still can't wear leather no matter how fashionable the boots!
How might a live food diet enhance one's practice of yoga, or vice versa.
Kali Ray TriYoga® is a way of Flowing with Life. It's a shame Yoga has been reduced to Asanas (Postures) or fitness when it can take you to Enlightenment! Really, in this time and age the most balanced way to be is vegan, and now the hip new rage is raw foods. In a nutshell, raw food helps your health and the Planet. There is a night and day difference in flexibility on live foods. When you eat junk food, the skin is worse for it. Junk food also dulls the mind and makes the body large and stiff. Raw food is were it is at, and it's so simple too. There is absolutely no need for the word "diet" to be used. Your body finds it's own natural body weight without the head-trips of food! You are all you can be and ready to go ahead.
How might you respond to someone who makes fun of a vegetarian diet?
There are some great quotes, "My stomach will not be a graveyard for animals." I offend people when I say, "I won't eat anything with a face on it!" This next one kept my girlfriend's boyfriend amused all evening, when he commented on my rabbit foods at dinner I said, "It's better than you Vulture food! You can be a smart vegi...
Can you recommend any books for those interested in learning more about vegetarianism and live food?
You owe it to yourself to know the Truth, the reality of what's happening to the animals. Books that change lives are Dr. Gabriel Cousens' The Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine and John Robins book, Diet for a New America.
What are some of the benefits of yoga specifically pertaining to teens?
In Santa Cruz teaching teens was so much fun. This form of Yoga is like a Dance as it flows from one posture to the next. It takes a lot more strength than you would think to go slow. There is a certain grace and ease of movement that comes from the mat into life! The meditation does something that nothing else does 'it introduces you to your Self"
How has yoga changed you as a person?
Yoga has changed me inside and out. It's a wonderful lens to look through life, it makes everything so alive and colorful. It's Real. After living 16 years in an Ashram (spiritual community) traveling the world teaching Yoga, giving in India which is another Planet! It's simple living and higher thinking.
Is there a natural transgression that occurs when one starts practicing yoga?
In Yoga, most start with the postures, then its feels great to be light so RAW is introduced. It's so easy to flow with body when it's cleared of toxins and junk! The mind becomes free and ready for meditation and a new way of being. There is always a new step, always keep taking them.
Stay Cool
Om, Shanti
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