“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.” — Ayurvedic proverb
Yoga is not a religion but rather a practice or way of life. It predates Hinduism and is mentioned in the ancient Vedic texts from India. Yoga is a form of exercise that aims to harmonize the body, mind, and soul. Yoga is defined as “to yoke”, yoke also means to “harness”. The aim of yoga is to control the body and create a union between the body, mind, and soul. This union tends to neutralize ego-driven thoughts and behaviors, creating a sense of a personal awakening or calmness for many people.
Yoga is a daily practice, yet it is not associated with any one religion. Yoga is universally available to anyone without any coercion, pressure, or requirement to change one’s religion. Nor does it try to change anyone who is atheist or agnostic. I was taught in my yoga school, that it is a gift to all, regardless of race, gender, religion or non-religion. It also teaches the importance of eating natural, whole foods while avoiding processed foods. Most yogis are vegetarian, but Chef Jessica Catalano follows an animal-based diet, and this is where the ancestral diet comes into play.
The Ancestral Diet is a lifestyle that understands the ever-changing needs of each individual, unlike many diets with inflexible, one-size-fits-all guidelines. A diet centered on unprocessed, organic, natural, and healthful foods that can be obtained from the land and water by hunting, gathering, fishing, and farming is known as an ancestral diet. It is a catch-all phrase that refers to a variety of diets, including raw food, keto, and paleo, that aim to promote health and resemble the diets of our ancestors before the industrial revolution.
It’s crucial to remember that there wasn’t a singular “ancestral diet”, that all ancient humans adhered to. Based on their geographic locations, agricultural season, genetic makeup, and the eras they lived in, our ancestors’ dietary habits and the food that was readily available to them varied greatly. For instance, the diets of African hunter-gatherers and European subsistence farmers were very different from one another. Nevertheless, despite their differences, several of these diets had some fundamental similarities across the board. These similar traits have been extracted and combined to form what we now refer to as the Ancestral Diet.
What are Ancestral or “Traditional Foods”?
- Pastured raised animals
- Raw grass fed dairy
- Bone broth
- Organ meats
- Animal fats
- Fermented vegetables, dairy, meat, & fruit
- Soaked & sprouted seeds, nuts, and legumes
- Sourdough & fermented breads
- Soaked & sprouted and fermented flour baked goods
Take a journey to wellness with RYT 200, Chef Jessica Catalano and learn how to enjoy going back to nature for your body’s individual needs. Find out what foods are ideal and nutrient dense for your body, which heavily influences your well-being. Learn how to alter your own eating habits to reflect the seasons with fresh local ingredients full of prana, or life force. You’ll also learn the importance and game changer of adding at least 75% raw foods into your diet. Combine this with a daily yoga practice and you will be amazed how your body changes.
Catalano grew up alongside Sikh and Hindu traditions through close family friends of her parents, who were treated as family. It was through this upbringing that she was able to learn Southern Asian cuisine, culture, and medicine. Chef Catalano draws upon her experience growing up as a child, as a 15-year raw foodist, a professional 14-year cannabis chef, pioneer in the cannabis industry, and 8-year yoga teacher to help people reach their fullest human potential through the animal-based, ancestral lifestyle and yoga.
There is no such thing as a one-size fits all diet, as each one of us has a unique constitution with a body that is beautifully unique. Chef Jessica Catalano will address these differences by offering free karma classes on YouTube, affordable yoga classes on the Kitsap Peninsula in Port Orchard, online yoga classes, private yoga classes, ancestral wellness coaching, & animal-based recipes – making yoga and ancestral wellness accessible for every BODY.
When we consider starting a yoga practice today, we often find ourselves stymied by mental and physical obstacles, such as the belief that we are too old or too young, that we are not making enough money, that we are from a low-income household, or that our bodies are unable to perform the tasks that yoga teachers do. Stop immediately, right there.
Chef Jessica Catalano is here to make Yoga accessible to everyone. She is here to show you how to get started with yoga, regardless of age, income level, or mental or physical limitations. Anyone who wants to practice yoga can actually do it! Chef Catalano will offer free karma classes on her YouTube channel, @AmericanSpiritYoga, every Friday at 2 pm PST. To receive notifications when new videos become available, be sure to subscribe and hit the bell icon! Also, make sure to LIKE her videos so that they are visible to a larger audience. Let’s form a small online community of like-minded people together!
“Yoga, as a way of life and a philosophy, can be practiced by anyone with inclination to undertake it, for yoga belongs to humanity as a whole. It is not the property of any one group or any one individual, but can be followed by any and all, in any corner of the globe, regardless of class, creed or religion.” – K. Pattabhi Jois
Chef Jessica Catalano share’s videos EVERY FRIDAY all about yoga, workouts, ancestral diet recipes, weight loss advice, free Friday classes, & more! Be sure to subscribe to her channel for updates on all her new videos! American Spirit Yoga – YouTube
