Page:Hatha yoga - or the yogi philosophy of physical well-being, with numberous excercises.djvu/53

Rh health, strength and vigor upon this constant renewal of material. If this renewal were stopped disintegration and death would ensue. The replacing of the worn-out and discarded material is an imperative necessity of our organism, and, therefore, is the first thing to be considered when we think of the Healthy Man.

The keynote of this subject of food in the Hatha Yoga Philosophy is the Sanscrit word, the English equivalent of which is "NOURISHMENT." We print the word in capital letters that it may make an impression upon your minds. We wish our students to associate the thought of Food with the thought of Nourishment.

To the Yogi, food does not mean something to tickle the abnormal palate, but instead it means, first, Nourishment; second, Nourishment, and third, NOURISHMENT. Nourishment first, last and always.

To many of the Western people, the ideal Yogi is a lean, lank, scrawny, half-starved, emaciated being, who thinks so little of food that he goes for days without eating—one who considers food to be too "material" for his "spiritual nature." Nothing can be further from the truth. The Yogis, at least those who are well-grounded in Hatha Yoga, regard Nourishment as his first duty towards his body, and he is always careful to keep that body properly nourished, and to see that the supply of new, fresh material is always at least equal to the worn-out and discarded matter.

It is quite true that the Yogi is not a gross eater, nor is he inclined to rich and fancy dishes. On the