Living Gluten-Free

Food intolerance is on the rise in the UK and has been accumulating a mountain of media controversy. Michelle Georgeson finds out what happens when you genuinely suffer from a wheat intolerance.

This month around eight thousand people will descend upon Britain’s best known exhibition hall, Olympia, with one common purpose. The weekend will not be a chance for a frivolous day out to spend money and have a good time. All the people attending will be searching for a remedy to a debilitating affliction: allergies. And up to two thirds of the people attending this event will express an interest in the same thing… food intolerance.

‘Free from’ diets have become big news and increasingly cited as the latest way to lose weight and cure your ailments. We probably all know at least one person who is excluding a certain food group from their diet in the name of adverse reactions. Celebrity ‘intolerance’ has also been helping to propagate this movement. Billy Bob Thornton, for example, apparently has a wheat and dairy intolerance and Victoria Beckham was seen snacking out on gluten free toast and gluten free chocolate biscuits whilst pregnant.

Behind the hype and the fashion, however, there is a very serious point to be made, more and more people are developing potentially life threatening afflictions just from the food that confronts them on a plate. Genuine food intolerance is not a choice, it is a lifetime burden.

Some Like It Raw

“Eating raw is the yoga of food,” according to New York City-based yoga teacher and raw food chef Shanti Devi (née Michal Adi). When we spoke she was in Costa Rica preparing for a yoga and raw foods retreat.

“With yoga, you stop the fluctuations of the mind, stay out of the head and go into the heart,” she explained. A 100% raw foodist 99% of the time for the past three years, this 32-year-old Kundalini, Vinyasa and Anusara practitioner believes a raw diet creates the same effect.

‘‘Like practising yoga, when you eat raw you become more peaceful, clear and relaxed.” Both practices also have the aim of raising consciousness. “Just by upping the standard of what you eat makes you more present,” Devi said.

Eating a raw foods diet is just what it sounds like: food is consumed in its natural, uncooked state, although heating food up to 47°C is still within the dietary parameters. When heated to temperatures beyond that, raw foodists contend that the enzymes begin to break down, nutrients seep out and food starts to lose its nutritional value .

In addition to the benefits cited above, Devi finds ingesting all food as close to nature as possible increases strength, energy, flexibility and lightness of being, as well as enhances focus, psychic awareness and the ability to perceive subtle energy.

Crossroads of Destiny

According to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, ‘Jalandhara bandha, uddiyana bandha and mula bandha are situated in the throat, abdomen and perineum respectively. With the performance of these three bandhas the rechaka (exhalation) and pooraka (inhalation) ceases to function. With this the senses become purified and kevala (enlightenment) takes place.’ (YS 5,6,8)

This combination of three bandhas that holds such promise is known as the maha bandha, from the Sanskrit word meaning ‘great’. Iyengar writes in his classic text Light on Yoga: “It is said that by the practice of these bandhas the sixteen adharas are closed.” ‘Adhara’ means ‘a support’ or ‘vital part’. There are considered to be sixteen vital parts of the body – the thumbs, ankles, knees, thighs, prepuce (foreskin), reproductive organs, navel, heart, neck, throat, palate, nose, the middle of the eyebrows, forehead, head and the crown of the head. Iyengar continues: “With the mastery of the three bandhas, the yogi is at the crossroads of his destiny.” One fork leads to bhoga, or the enjoyment of worldly pleasures, the other to yoga, the union with the supreme soul. “When all three bandhas are mastered the yogi will then acquire moral and spiritual power.”

Enter the Fist

We all know about kung fu and tai chi but what about xingyiquan? Halima Malik gets to grips with this lesser known martial art.

Xingyiquan is an internal style Chinese martial art, known for its dynamic movements. It translates literally as “shape-intent fist” – “xing” meaning shape; “yi” meaning intent and “quan” meaning fist. The art is derived from imitating the fighting movements and elevated spirit of 12 different animals.

The exact origins of xingyiquan are unknown, the organization and compilation of this body of knowledge is attributed to General Yue Fei (born 1103-1141 AD), during the Sung Dynasty, who legend has it was an Eagle deity sent from Heaven to Earth to protect the Sung dynasty from the Jins – an empire which invaded Nothern China when Fei was in his early twenties. Fei excelled, reaching the highest ranks of the army. Under his direct instruction, xingyiquan was introduced to the troops. The soldiers not only used this style of martial art for physical defence, but also to lift their spirits. Fei was victorious and many battles were won though he was eventually executed by Qin Hui at the age of 29 on false charges of dissention. Legend has it that a monk from the famous Shaolin temple taught the basics of xingyiquan to Fei, others suggest Fei conceived it himself based on the principles of kung fu – whatever the truth is, the legacy remains to this day.

Chin Down

Most modern relaxation techniques advocate that by totally contracting and then relaxing the muscles of the body, one can gain complete physical and mental relaxation. The rationale behind such a theory is that, in order to remove any physical and mental tension, it is more effective to first learn to exaggerate the tension that may already be there by selectively contracting all of the muscles before relaxing them. Bandhas operate in a similar way, as certain muscles are locked and contracted on the physical level, a subtle process of unlocking takes place simultaneously on mental and pranic levels. This results in the unlocking of the latent lifeforce energy which is redirected into the nadi (energy channels) of the subtle body.

Amazonian Medicine

Deep in the Amazon rainforest shamans and wisdom seekers undertake plant ‘diets’ to expand their consciousness and as a form of healing. Howard G. Charing facilitates retreats to the Amazon, and here introduces the amazing powers of the plants of the Amazon.

‘Whether the plant is to heal the body or the spirit or whether it is part of an apprenticeship, what makes it work is your good intention towards the plant. They are beings, which have their own forms or they can be like human beings with faces and bodies. When the spirit accepts the person, and the person has the will, the spirit grants them energy. The path to knowledge opens, and the healing takes place.’ –Guillermo Arevalo – Shipibo Maestro

In the Amazonian tradition working with ‘teacher plants’ (planta maestras) is known as the Shaman’s Diet. This involves a conscious body of actions to incorporate the plant spirit into one’s own spirit. From this incorporation or union, the plant spirit informs and teaches the maestro or apprentice. They learn the magical chants (icaros) which invoke the power of the plant, how to use the plant for healing purposes, and how to gain psychological and physical strength.

Kapal Cleansing

In this article, I will discuss kapalabhati, a famous pranayama. The exercise is known to awaken the sleeping kundalini lying asleep in three and half coils at the first chakra, muladhara. Performance of kapalabhati will help clean and activate that chakra and send energy upwards towards the other chakra centres. The nadis, smaller energy points within the body, will also be cleared and activated, which will make you physically and mentally stronger.

Kapalabhati should be an integral part of a practitioner’s cleansing regime. It is used by yogis to flush out germs that settle inside the nose, throat, lungs and channels of the respiratory system This is a difficult posture to perform if you are a complete beginner, but once mastered, it will dramatically increase the powers of your senses and improve your health. The ancient scriptures even speak of a person gaining access to supernatural powers through performing this exercise. Remember, that all cleansing techniques must be performed correctly if you are to derive any benefits and experience changes to the body.