What’s the connection between yoga and veganism? Why this ancient practice is more than just exercise

You might love getting on your mat, but did you know that there is a link between yoga and veganism? Sascha Camilli takes a philosophical look…

What does ‘yoga’ mean to you? When you hear that word, what springs to mind?

Chances are, these days, it’s smiling blonde women contorting their bodies into pretzel shapes on Instagram, between making a green juice and marketing essential yoga products or a new brand of mandala bracelets.

Very often in today’s society, we think of yoga as just a physical practice – even an exercise form – forgetting that the movement is just one of the many aspects of this ancient life philosophy.

What we in the West have simplified as ‘yoga’ is in reality asana, which is just one of the eight limbs of yogic living.

The other seven limbs are just as important, and this is where the principle of non-violence comes in.

The ancient practice of yoga

The concept of yoga stems from centuries back, and likely originated in northern India.

Yogis today refer to the Yoga Sutras by the philosopher and author Patañjali. This book is a collection of Sanskrit philosophy texts written at some point between 500 BCE and 400 CE, which lays out the key tenets of yoga as we know it today.

As laid out in the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, the eight limbs of yoga are yama (the principles of how we relate to the world around us), niyama (how we treat ourselves), asana (the physical postures that we now refer to as “doing yoga”), pranayama (breathwork), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration of the mind), dhyana (meditative absorption) and samadhi (enlightenment).

The first two limbs – yama and niyama – are divided up into several principles.

The yamas are the principles relating to how we show up in the world around us, and the very first of these principles is indeed ahimsa, or non-violence (with the others being truthfulness, not stealing, correct use of energy, and non-attachment.

The niyamas, which relate to how we conduct and treat ourselves, are purity, contentment, discipline, self-reflection and contemplation of the universe, or surrendering to a higher power.

Does ahimsa mean vegan?

Looking back at the roots of yoga and its Indian origins, we can see that vegetarianism is deeply ingrained in Hindu culture. Vegetarianism in India goes back to the Vedic period, between 4,000 and 1,500 BCE.

Many Hindu texts from that time reference vegetarianism: the Dharma Sutras, for example, say “the slaughter of animals obstructs the path to heaven”.

While this doesn’t square with India’s long tradition of animal sacrifice, many sages of the time condemned habitual everyday meat-eating.

Modern-day figureheads of the yoga movement adhere to this, such as renowned guru B.K.S Iyengar, whose view was that a vegetarian diet is “necessary” to the practice of yoga.

In some modern, Western teachings of yoga, the principle of ahimsa has been reframed as ‘self-care’, or avoiding harm and violence to oneself.

Sharon Gannon, founder of Jivamukti Yoga School in New York and the author of Yoga & Veganism, notes that the principle of ahimsa is among the yamas – the principles that take us outside ourselves and into the world.

If Patañjali had intended for ahimsa to be about self-care, in Gannon’s view he would have placed with the niyamas instead.

As ahimsa is instead the first yama, it is natural to many yoga practitioners to include animals and the planet in their non-violence by choosing a vegetarian or vegan diet.

An excerpt from Yoga & Veganism reads, “Not harming yourself is a result of the practice of ahimsa, but if you limit your practice of ahimsa to being kind to yourself, you deny yourself the ultimate benefit of yoga practice, which is enlightenment.”

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The spiritual connection between yoga and veganism

London-based vegan activist and yoga teacher Molly Elsdon echoes this. Her own path towards making the connection began when she delved into the philosophy of yoga.

“Like many people, I was under the illusion that yoga was a physical exercise practice – I had never been taught about the rich philosophy at the foundations of the practice.

“It was only once I discovered kirtan (a practice of yoga which involves chanting sacred mantras in community) that I opened my eyes to spirituality.

“It was at that point that I made the connection and began to study the philosophy of yoga, only to realise how inherent veganism is within all of the teachings.

“It made complete sense, and I began to think that all yoga teachers and students well-established in the practice must be vegan. I was really shocked to discover this unfortunately isn’t the case.”

Elsdon is right: as the philosophy of yoga has become lost in the ‘Westernisation’ of the practice, many practitioners and even teachers are indeed not vegan.

The 2020 study Yoga, Ahimsa and Consuming Animals: UK Yoga Teachers’ Beliefs about Farmed Animals and Attitudes to Plant-Based Diets by Jenny L. Mace and Stephen P. McCulloch found that 30 per cent of UK yoga teachers follow a plant-based diet, which leaves two-thirds of teachers rejecting the nonviolent choice that would be in line with the practice.

However, the study also found that two-thirds of yoga teachers find a plant-based diet to be best aligned with their yogic path.

Lessons in yoga and veganism

To help practitioners better align themselves with the ethics of yoga, Elsdon holds ‘vegan yoga lessons’ in London, where she aims to connect yogis with a more conscious way of thinking, rather than just focusing on the physical.

“My vegan yoga lessons are a space where vegans and animal rights activists come together to connect, heal, and grow through yoga and spiritual practice.

“There is something very comforting about being in a space with other like-minded individuals. It allows vegans to ‘switch off’ and really let go, knowing they are held in a space of compassion where everyone is understanding and there are no products of animal cruelty around.”

Connecting the practice of yoga to vegan ethics can be part of opening up one’s practice to include more of everything that yoga entails beyond just fancy headstands and a really strong chaturanga.

Contemplating yogic living beyond the mat is actually very much in line with the origin and the aim of this centuries-old philosophy. This is why Molly Elsdon’s yoga lessons aim to go beyond just the movement aspect and encompass more of a spiritual angle.

“All of my classes have a strong emphasis on the philosophy of yoga. I explain the links between whatever the focus of the class is and veganism, to share knowledge, inspire non-vegans to make positive changes, and to ground those who are already vegan.”

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