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 Yamas & Niyamas - Restraints & Observances
 yoga and coffee: to drink or not to drink?
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Kahlia

161 Posts

Posted - Jan 09 2013 :  06:57:20 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
Coffee

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JosephUK

United Kingdom
212 Posts

Posted - Mar 26 2013 :  11:56:58 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
I must admit i've been drinking a lot of coffee lately. It seems to offer a more hazy ecstasy to the kundalini i am experiencing.

Its kind of like a flame which has less oxygen so it burns and moves slower.

i like that drunken state of kundalini/caffeine high. This is why i am trying to renounce and be a little more conservative. just practicing gentle mindfulness and bhakti yoga (which seems automatic now) and not getting caught up in the addiction to amrita which is causing chaos in my cluttered mind.

peace

joe
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dipen797

USA
1 Posts

Posted - May 28 2013 :  9:50:25 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
I have been doing ayp practices for about 4 months and I have experienced a natural decrease in my intake of coffee. Before practices i use to drink 3 cups of coffee everyday now on most days I am down to 1 cup of coffee.
I think yoga practices will naturally decrease the need for external stimulation of our nervous system.
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Indigo

USA
54 Posts

Posted - Nov 06 2013 :  7:06:44 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
I drink 1 to 2 cups of Colombian coffee daily and have been doing so for several years. Not that long ago I came across articles on the benefits of drinking one or two cups a day. Claims are coffee has anti-oxidant properties and may aid in warding off Alzheimer's disease. Over 2 cups is not recommended as it goes into caffeine overload may cause insomnia, nervousness, increased heart rate and or blood pressure.
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maheswari

Lebanon
2520 Posts

Posted - Nov 07 2013 :  02:18:43 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
hello Indigo
you can check this lesson http://www.aypsite.org/319.html
i have done it for several months, really powerful practice
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Indigo

USA
54 Posts

Posted - Nov 07 2013 :  8:57:23 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
Hello Maheswari,

Thank you kindly for the lesson link.
It has answered all of my questions regarding this practice. Very informative.
Peace and Blessings,
Indigo
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Godslave

Canada
113 Posts

Posted - Feb 05 2014 :  2:05:40 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
I've been reading about the "water cure" which involved taking sea salt and water multiple times a day. One of the recommendations was to limit or avoid caffeine because it dehydrates the body.

http://www.watercure2.org/critical_wc_info.htm

http://www.watercure.com/index.html
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Vasuki_Natarajan

USA
3 Posts

Posted - Feb 07 2014 :  11:15:56 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
Hello everyone,
I thought I'd weigh in with my personal experience regarding yoga, meditation, and coffee. Years ago I was incarcerated for quite some time (several years), and I made use of almost all my time by doing asanas, pranayama, and meditation on the chakras. Before incarceration I had been a regular coffee drinker, but now I only had access to it once a week - on weekends - assuming someone came to visit me. Gradually I discovered that by drinking coffee a few hours before meditation, I would later have much greater control over my ability to concentrate, and seemingly an exponentially greater ability to access and manipulate my prana. I want to really stress that it seemed as if my control over the pranas was multiplied several times over when I drank coffee. This occurred consistently over a period of at least four years. I believe it greatly facilitated the occurrence of some very profound experiences I had. As stated however, I only drank coffee once per week, which may be a factor in why it was so effective.

Then as now, yoga was very important to me, and I always looked forward to my weekend meditation sessions. Hope my input is helpful.
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Godslave

Canada
113 Posts

Posted - Apr 24 2014 :  3:38:22 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
quote:
Originally posted by Vasuki_Natarajan


Then as now, yoga was very important to me, and I always looked forward to my weekend meditation sessions. Hope my input is helpful.



That's very interesting, thanks for posting.
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Sol Invictus

91 Posts

Posted - May 04 2014 :  12:18:56 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
I like to have big cup of masala chai in morning.Doesn't seems it has any adverse effect on this body-mind,thou it's black tea.As with anything else,moderation is important.
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coffeegeek

Armenia
2 Posts

Posted - Apr 14 2016 :  4:48:28 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
I've drunk a lot of espresso and after caffeine addiction (see here about it - http://coffeehealtheffects.com/caffeine-dependence-coffee-addiction) I stop to consume coffeine. Well, it is very unhealthy and dangerous. Who can recommend me something different, with small amounts of caffeine? Thank you!
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sunyata

USA
1513 Posts

Posted - Apr 15 2016 :  09:27:53 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
Hi coffeegeek,

Have you tried green tea? You can find caffeinated and De-caffeinated.

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Godslave

Canada
113 Posts

Posted - Apr 19 2016 :  09:30:53 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
Yesterday I was reading in the FAQ about the effects of drugs/alcohol/tobacco on Yoga practice.

I found a section in Lesson 307 : Hallucinogens and Yoga which also mentions caffeine:

quote:


This leads to the second question: Are drugs an aid in ongoing yoga practice? If there is any initial benefit found in the artificial experience produced by drugs, then the repetition of that experience is not likely to take us further. To assume so is a flight of fancy the magic bullet syndrome. In the case of continuing with hallucinogenic drugs to recreate a particular kind of experience, we will be producing the opposite effect underneath adding to the obstructions lodged deep within our nervous system.

Spiritual development is not primarily about having a temporary peak experience. Rather, it is a natural and permanent awakening, which can be achieved only through ongoing deep inner purification. This is why anyone engaged in daily deep meditation will find urges for substances that produce artificial experiences falling away. This applies to hallucinogenic drugs, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and eating habits that retard the natural expression of the divine light emerging from within us.

(emphasis added)



This answers my original questions about caffeine and whether it is "good" for me or "bad". From reading this, I find that for me it will be better to avoid caffeine and keep up the 2x daily practice, so that I can purify my nervous system more, and avoid creating obstructions with caffeine.

Any thoughts?
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sunyata

USA
1513 Posts

Posted - Apr 20 2016 :  1:19:02 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
quote:
This answers my original questions about caffeine and whether it is "good" for me or "bad". From reading this, I find that for me it will be better to avoid caffeine and keep up the 2x daily practice, so that I can purify my nervous system more, and avoid creating obstructions with caffeine.

Any thoughts?


Hi Godslave,

You probably have read that food/diet only aid spiritual progress. Twice daily practices is the way to progress. It's up to you, to quit cold turkey or wean off slowly.
Any desires suppressed will sprout sooner or later. Do your practices and let things fall off on their own. In time with practices coffee, wine starts interfering with the natural bliss that arises after practices. Listen to your inner guru. Hope this helps.


Edited by - sunyata on Apr 20 2016 9:48:47 PM
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Godslave

Canada
113 Posts

Posted - Apr 20 2016 :  3:43:22 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
quote:
Originally posted by sunyata
Hi Godslave,

You probably have read that food/diet only aid spiritual progress. Twice daily practices is the way to progress. It's up to you, to quit cold turkey or wean off slowly.
Any desires suppressed will sprout sooner are later. Do your practices and let things fall off on their own. In time with practices coffee, wine starts interfering with the natural bliss that arises after practices. Listen to your inner guru. Hope this helps.





Hi sunyata,

Thanks for the reply. I can see what you mean, as with coffee in particular I have quit several times already. Then I have resumed when life seemed overwhelming and I wanted a boost of energy to get me through the work day, after a few nights of not enough sleep.

The last time I quit, I did it by drinking swiss water decaf for some of my coffees. I would have 1 caffeinated in the morning, then decaf in the afternoon. I found I could gradually lessen the amount that way.

This past week, I went from 1 coffee per day to a black tea one morning, then a green tea the next morning, then no tea or coffee, just hot chocolate, this afternoon. But this time while decreasing my caffeine intake I have also been doing Spinal Breathing and Deep Meditation for a number of weeks, which has helped a lot.

I try to listen to my heart, my inner guru... and if I try to go against it I know it will make my days much more difficult in terms of effort.

I'm still learning ;)
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coffeegeek

Armenia
2 Posts

Posted - Apr 25 2016 :  03:08:18 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
sunyata, thanks for your advice! I will try a green tea!
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kumar ul islam

United Kingdom
791 Posts

Posted - Apr 25 2016 :  6:31:56 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
i always refer to gong and the flying teapot
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Prem

Canada
90 Posts

Posted - Jul 22 2016 :  12:02:33 PM  Show Profile  Visit Prem's Homepage  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
I've decreased consumption to one or two small cups first thing when I wake. Then I switch over to black tea, usually two teas and nothing after 3 pm as it will disrupt my sleep. So even though I know I'm very sensitive to caffeine as far as sleep it doesn't seem to bother my meditations. I once gave up coffee for a year and did not note any great benefit to not having it. I have a friend who can drink tea all day and remain calm but the tiniest bit of coffee makes him edgy and shaky. Yerba mate gives me a very nice high yet calm energy.
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Deer Medicine

USA
8 Posts

Posted - Jan 17 2018 :  11:11:19 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
I quit coffee two months ago after realizing that it contributed to panic attacks. I just started a job where I have to get up at 5:00am though, so I have a cup or two in the morning. In an ideal world I would not drink it. I would agree with comments that say that it replaces the bliss flow with a more hectic vibration.
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BlueRaincoat

United Kingdom
1734 Posts

Posted - Jan 17 2018 :  12:43:30 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
I haven't been able to drink coffee for years. It makes me feel agitated. "Hectic vibration" is a good description.
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Godslave

Canada
113 Posts

Posted - May 29 2018 :  10:01:38 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote  Get a Link to this Reply
I haven't updated here for a while, but I have finally stopped drinking any caffeinated beverages. I also stopped eating chocolate which was affecting me as well.

I then found out through family that my uncle also cannot tolerate caffeine, and never drinks it.

I have been eating small amounts of chocolate chips in cookies, but nothing more than that.

I found that my memory improved a lot, and my irritation levels went way down.

I haven't been doing AYP consistently, but I do keep a log and I have been doing it on average 10 times a month. I do 5 minutes SBP, then 10 minutes DM, then 2.5 minutes rest. This especially helps if I am feeling overwhelmed.
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