On Becoming a Vegan

It’s finally happened. My yogi road has led me right to veganism. Okay, well it wasn’t a straight path or a fast ride. Even yoga couldn’t get me to jump right on the express train to veganism. But, low and behold, I’m now at that stop.

I started taking yoga classes to solely serve my running habit. Years of weekly runs was starting to take a toll on my body. Like many runners, I found myself sprinting to yoga to dodge running injuries. Yoga was simply a way for me to keep my body in running shape. Little did I know yoga would also sneak it’s way right into my belly.  

One of my favorite yoga studios is Atma Bodha Yoga Studio in Virginia Beach. In all honesty, this quaint studio situated right in the middle of a suburban outdoor strip mall puts most New York City studios to shame. The décor is incredibly inviting, the instructors are warm, attentive and hands on, and they almost always find a way to strike the perfect balance between kicking my yoga booty and awaking my spirituality. If you’re ever in the 757, drop in for a class. You’ll be in for a real treat.

Well, a vegan treat that is. Most of the Atma Bodha instructors are vegetarians or vegans. While meat eaters are more than welcome in the studio, they're not silent about their belief in nonviolence toward animals. The only time I ever left the studio not 100% content was when the instructor ended class with the warmly spoken encouragement “Stop eating animals.” In retrospect, it’s funny that I invited the instructor to gently push me to do all sorts of seemingly strange and uncomfortable things to my body (such as chaturanga a zillion times, attempt to stand on my head, and twist my body into a deformed pretzel), but I was completely disgruntled by his kind suggestion that I take on the impossible task of not consuming animals.

I love the little inspirational and motivational bits of knowledge yoga instructors  give during class. But none have resonated with me like “Stop eating animals” did. Although I kept chowing down on animals for many more days, that little sentence kept creeping into my mind. One day I listened and just stopped eating animals. Okay, most animals. I still enjoyed an occasional friend from the sea.

A little over a year after my resolve to stop eating animals, I’m giving part-time veganism a good try. Why now? It just feels right for me right now. That's the best I've got. All the reasons people give for being vegan make complete sense. But really, I've at a place in my life where it makes sense. So, why not?

I’m part-time though.  As a compromise, I've given myself permission to eat animal products from time to time. Real bona fide vegans might think that’s just silly. Maybe one day I will agree with them. But veganism is a big life change that isn’t all that easy to accomplish in our meat obsessed world. Try not eating any animal products for just one meal and you will see very quickly how reliant we are on animal products. Even products that appear vegan sometimes have “hidden” animal product ingredients. Veggie burgers, for example, are often made with eggs. Some pasta sauces (even the non-creamy varieties) include milk. Like chocolate? You'll have search far and wide for non-dairy chocolate. I'll help you out here and tell you to go right to Trader Joe's for their vegan friendly chocolate chips.

As challenging as it might be, veganism isn't impossible. Every day I learn a new way to eat my favorite foods without harming animals. Like all yoga practices, it just takes time, patience and a little support. I'm slowly and gracefully settling into veganism.