Mood swings can be very frustrating and confusing and they can definitely fuel some unhappy and unhealthy eating choices. Sometimes mood swings can be really extreme, resulting in a lapse, then a relapse and then finally a total collapse of good eating habits. Once the collapse has happened, it is hard to get back on track. In Yoga, this is known as a samskara or an ingrained behaviour. The way to change our samskaras is to create new habits that we repeat more times than the old ones. Eventually, the samskaras will be worn away and lose their grip. But even if you know you want to change a behaviour, you may find that your mood pulls you in another direction.
The fact is, that mood changes are going on within in all of us, all of the time. In Yoga and Ayurveda, this fluctuation of mood is said to be a result of the the play of three energies or qualities that exist everywhere and in everything in the universe. When these energies are balanced, we are balanced. When they are out of balance, we are out of balance.
By understanding these energies or qualities, we can understand how to stop them from derailing our eating habits.
These properties, or qualities are called the gunas or the mahagunas (the great gunas) and they are:
• sattva (purity, light, harmony, intelligence)
• rajas (activity, passion)
• tamas (dullness, inertia, ignorance)
The gunas are constantly moving within us and they determine both our physical and emotional state. But since the gunas also make up everything else in the universe, when we consume anything, we take in the gunas that make up that thing. For instance, stimulating food is rajasic and when we eat it, we increase rajas in our bodies and we will want more and more stimulation. ‘Dead’ food is tamasic and will increase tamas in the body and have us craving more of the same. And food full of prana and vitality is sattvic food and will leave us feeling nicely content, satisfied and balanced and craving-free. What we watch on TV, social media, people we associate with and what we read are all sources of rajas, tamas and sattva that may become part of our lives and shape our habits and who we become.
We need some rajasic energy to get up and out of bed and get things done. But if we have too much we can get carried away with activity, perfectionism, excessive exercise and other kinds of extremes. Someone with really dominant rajasic energy is in danger of exhaustion through wearing themselves out.
Tamas lets us relax at the end of the day and get a good sleep. But too much tamas would mean that we are unable to get out of bed, we become depressed and basically in couch potato mode. Very dominant tamasic energy can lead to obesity, lack of ambition and direction and a downward spiral.
Sattvic energy is pure, balanced and harmonious. It will help us to feel satisfied, at peace and free. However, if we were only ever in a sattvic state, we would never take action, get things done or engage in life.
We need all three strands of the rope to function well, but moderation allows us to experience a gentle dance of the gunas rather than turbulent pendulum swings or getting stuck at one end of the spectrum or the other.
We can see how the gunas can play out in eating problems.
Too much tamas in life can result in overeating, depression, feeling stuffed, inertia, lack of exercise and an inability to make changes. A common belief is “I’ve blown it so I might as well really blow it”. Tamasic food includes things meat, processed food, bread, pastries, cakes, alcohol, leftovers and stale food. It can lead to compulsive eating, binge watching Netflix or using drugs or alcohol to numb the feelings.
Too much rajas on the other hand can lead to a Type A approach to life- perfectionism, feeling critical and never good enough, excess exercise, pushing to the limits, and impulsive behaviour. It can present as extreme binge eating, anorexia or very rigid calorie counting. Excess rajas can mean phobias of food, high levels of anxiety, obsession with food and weight and paranoia about losing control.
People who do bulimia swing between extreme rajas from binging and vomiting followed by paralyzing tamas brought on by the cocktail of neurotransmitters from both eating inert food and then purging. Many bulimics will eat rajasic food up until the point of binging and then choose tamasic food to binge on because inert food is the easiest food to vomit. The tamas brings relief from the exhaustion of the rajasic activities of starving, binging, excessive exercise and critical thinking. This is why vomiting is just as addictive as binging.
How to use an understanding of the gunas to manage your eating
Notice
Through mindfulness, you can develop an awareness of the gunas and begin to notice when they are at play in your life. Recognize the energies and how they make you feel. Start connecting the dots between what you consume and how you feel. Paying very close attention to the gunas, will allow your deeper true self take the driving seat and begin to shape and sculpt your habits. By seeking out sattva each day and in each meal you can move away from the extremes of rajas and tamas and replace the old samskaras with the new desired and wanted behaviour.
Choose Sattva
When we begin to choose mostly sattvic activities and food, we will experience peace and calm in our body and minds and we will no longer want to consume and do overly rajasic or tamasic things. This means that we are no longer at battle with ourselves.
Be Patient, Loving and Forgiving
Don’t expect changes overnight. This is why we call it practice. Just keep coming back to the mat and the meditation cushion and keep accepting yourself exactly as you are NOW. Keep observing, keep repeating the new habit and above all forgive yourself for slip ups- no matter how many times you slip. This is yoga.
Now is the time for yoga.
Right here, right now, no matter how many times you think you have ‘failed’. It’s only rajas and tamas doing their thing.
Keep inviting sattva in and never give up.
Play around with this and do give me a shout if you would like help freeing yourself from eating problems.