Food is an essential but often overlooked aspect of the yoga lifestyle. What a yogi eats provides the foundation for how your body and mind can transform through yoga practice. Spending hours in poses has little positive effect on your health when all you survive on is caffeine and sugar.
Nourishing your body with the same commitment you apply to meditation, pranayama, and asana will enhance yoga’s benefits. These yoga diet books will help you follow the best eating habits for your yoga journey.
Our Favorite Yoga Diet Books
No need to scour the internet or your local bookstore for a yoga diet book, we’ve got a list of the top ones below.
1. Yoga Diet: How to Energize Your Yoga Practice and Nourish Your Body
Yoga Diet by Olivia Summers helps readers learn how to nourish your body to achieve optimal health and happiness. This guide passionately advocates for using modern yoga to create a healthier lifestyle.
The author is a Certified Yoga Teacher who used her expertise to develop a 4-week program tailored for yoga practitioners. Summers based the program on her own successful weight loss journey.
The traditional yogic lifestyle may seem intimidating, but this book breaks down Patanjali’s principles and transforms them to suit modern diets. This book is ideal for people seeking a yoga diet for the 21st century.
Pros:
- Certified yoga teacher author
- Detailed 4-week program
- Made for modern eating
Cons:
- Does not strictly follow yogic guidelines
- Some controversial opinions
2. The Yoga Body Diet: Slim and Sexy in 4 Weeks
The Yoga Body Diet by Kristen Schultz Dollard focuses on using a yoga diet to help yogis with any body type lose weight. The author is a yoga teacher and the digital director of Self Magazine.
This 4-week program aims to transform your body and mindset. Based on the latest research about active relaxation, the book advocates for developing a deeper connection with your body. However, no intense yoga is required.
The author makes the yoga lifestyle accessible to anybody and advocates strongly for the benefits of yoga practice and Ayurveda. Readers with limited previous yoga experience will find the program easy to understand and follow.
You might also be interested in our explainer on the topics covered in the best running books.
Pros:
- In-depth program
- Designed for weight loss
- Emphasizes positive mindset
Cons:
- Difficult to follow text
- Recipes include corn and soy
3. Food Yoga: Nourishing Body, Mind, and Soul
Author Paul Rodney Turner aims to help the reader rediscover food’s effect on body and spirit in his book Food Yoga. The book goes beyond the physical benefits of a plant-based diet to discuss the personal enrichment of serving food as an act of love.
The text provides a guide to nourishing the soul as well as the body. The author incorporates yoga principles into his approach to spiritual nourishment, and he believes that the food you eat directly affects your consciousness.
If you are curious about going beyond physical nutrition, this is a book for you. The book offers an exciting examination of higher consciousness, all beginning with intentional eating.
Pros:
- Spiritual guide
- Incorporates total lifestyle
- Inspirational message
Cons:
- Not based on science
- Difficult concepts
4. The Yoga Plate: Bring Your Practice into the Kitchen
The Yoga Plate is an ethical cookbook that includes 108 vegan recipes that embody yogic philosophy. Yoga diet experts Tamal and Victoria Dodge apply the same compassion and intention that drives their yoga practice to their food choices.
Following yoga principles to make healthy lifestyle choices involves the central philosophy of ahimsa, or non-harm. Readers will learn how to make conscious decisions to live right for other people, animals, and the planet.
All healthy recipes include a daily yoga practice and multiple meals that nourish your body without harming other living things. This book is the best comprehensive collection of recipes representative of a yoga diet.
Pros:
- Vegan recipes
- Includes daily practice
- Comprehensive cookbook
Cons:
- Limited detailed insight
- Somewhat unoriginal
5. Yoga and Vegetarianism: The Diet of Enlightenment
Yoga and Vegetarianism focuses on what author Sharon Gannon believes is a critical aspect of the yoga diet, vegetarianism.
This book explains the ancient philosophy that supports the importance of adhering to a strict vegetarian diet. The pages are full of spiritual guidance about the path to enlightenment through yoga practice and ethical eating.
Readers who want to gain a deeper understanding of yogic values and vegetarianism will appreciate this book. The author is an expert on the subject, and her expertise shines through in her writing.
Pros:
- Explains yogic ethics
- Details ancient philosophy
- Renowned author
Cons:
- Some exaggerated claims
- Strict principles
The Yogic Diet
These Amazon bestsellers offer excellent advice for yogis who want to extend their practice into their eating habits.
Yogic diets have evolved over the centuries. But the core philosophy of vegetarian eating habits that emphasize whole food and minimize harm to others is still central to the yoga lifestyle.
Yoga practitioners can’t embody the yoga lifestyle without applying yogic philosophy to every aspect of their lives.
Intentional eating helps elevate your yoga practice by nourishing your body with the right food while avoiding the food that would hinder your progress.
Food For Yoga Practice
There is no prescribed diet for yogis. A yogic diet is composed of ingredients that promote a clear mind and a light body.
Foods that would enhance your yoga practice provide an ideal foundation for a yoga diet. They do not include foods high in chemicals that detract from overall health. A yoga diet does not allow stimulants like caffeine either.
These foods should also adhere to yogic philosophies about an ethical life. Ahimsa, the yogic philosophy of non-harm, is a major influencing factor for a personalized eating plan.
Ayurvedic Principles
Yogic philosophy aligns closely with Ayurvedic principles. Ayurveda classifies all natural things in three qualities: Raja, Tama, and Sattva.
- Rajasic foods are spicy, bitter, or salty varieties that overstimulate the mind.
- Tamasic foods are bland and overripe. These foods include meat, garlic, and onions.
- Sattvic food is considered the purest diet. These foods comprise a suitable diet for serious yoga students. Yogic philosophy believes that a Sattvic diet nourishes the body and calms the mind.
Examples of suitable yoga food for a Sattvic diet include whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and tea.
Final Thoughts on the Best Yoga Diet Books
The best yoga diet book incorporates philosophy from yoga practice and Ayurvedic principles to advocate for food that benefits your body and the planet.
By eating an appropriate yogic diet, yogis can expand their practice beyond their mat.
The best guide for your yoga journey depends on where you want your end up. Choose a yoga diet plan that aligns with your values and allows you to reach your fullest potential in your yoga practice.
