"When the awakening of kundalini takes place, it is important to have

the correct diet, as food influences the mind and your nature.

...When you are experiencing kundalini awakening your diet must be

very light and easy to assimilate. The best diet for a kundalini yogi is

boiled food...barley, lentils, and dal are excellent foods... Fats and

greasy foods should be avoided and protein should be kept to a mini-

mum. This will take any strain off the liver, because when the mind

(and body undergo this process) the liver is overtaxed.

...The food we eat is not really to satisfy our taste. Every food item

has an essence in it, and in yoga we call this sattwa. Sattwa means the

ultimate essence of food, but please do not mistake this for vitamins or

minerals. Sattwa is the more subtle form of food. When you eat for

the sake of taste or enjoyment, instead of extracting the sattwa you on-

ly get the gross things. This is why yogis and saints of all traditions have

always lived on the minimum possible amount of food during periods of

sadhana.

When we overeat we create a burden for the digestive system, and when

the digestive system is overburdened we are unable to extract the sattwa

from the food. Sattwa is a substance which nourishes the thoughts and

nervous system. When the thoughts are fed with sattwa they are more

refined and pure, and one is able to live in higher consciousness. There-

fore it is beneficial for a sadakha to fast from time to time. When the bo-

dy is kept light and pure, it is far more capable of extracting sattwa.

...For one who is serious about yoga practices and spiritual aspirations in

life, diet is as important as yoga, but if you are only worried about your

diet and are not practicing yoga, then you may be called a fanatic."

('Kundalini Tantra' - Swami Satyananda Saraswati)