"Are You A Vegan?"

I asked this question recently of one of the Bikram teachers at the studio where I practice. At the time, she was eating from a glass container, which appeared to be filled with tomatoes, some kind of sprout and other veggies. But this wasn't the first time I had seen her eating healthy... A few weeks prior to this, I saw her with a container of what looked like beet and veggies juice.

So healthy!

So when I saw her munching on the salad, I had to ask.

She told me, "I'm a vegan raw foodist."

I was impressed. Though, not surprised. This is a teacher who has an AMAZING and OBVIOUSLY disciplined yoga practice. She is so encouraging when she teaches classes (as nearly all the teachers I have encountered in Toronto area)... And when you practice side-by-side with her when she isn't teaching, you are in awe.

So, no, it didn't surprise me that she was well-established in her food habits. But I was curious...

"When did you go to teacher training? And how long have you been a raw foodie?" I inquired.

She told me she had been a raw foodie longer than she had been teaching.

"But didn't that make teacher training hard?" I wanted to know. I mean, from what I've read, people who go will tell you to just eat whatever your body craves when you are at TT. How was she able to be so disciplined while at training?

"Actually, I was the only one at teacher training who didn't get sick," she said.

She explained that because she didn't eat heated foods, her body didn't have to work harder to get them out of her system. Likewise, her body didn't have to try harder to detox them while practicing twice a day at training.

"I ate only cool foods," she said. "And it kept my body cool."

That makes complete sense to me. But do I think I can become a raw vegan foodie before September?

Um, no.

But shit, it certainly gives me pause about what I put in my body during this challenge... And what I shouldn't be eating while away at training.

(So long Cheez-Its. There was a potential two-month reunion later this year. But now, I think Imma gonna have to quit you.)