LIQUID: Density is diluted by a liquid quality. You can render a food less dense by watering it down, such as when you skim milk from cream. A food that has been liquefied—for instance, cooked into a soup— will have a less dense effect on the body. Examples: broth, skim milk, lassi. Sweating will melt away dense quality.
SOFT: A soft quality makes the body and attitude gentle, supple, and moist. You can soften all foods by cooking and by adding liquid. Examples: mashed potatoes, brie cheese, baked squash, fruit compote, .
HARD: A hard quality makes the body stiff, dry, and aggressive. You can harden all foods by dehydrating and by consuming them in raw form. Examples: corn, nuts, rye crackers, very crisp apples, grains and beans that aren’t fully cooked,
STABLE: A stable quality feels safe, comfortable, steady. Foods that increase a stable quality will be nourishing, low in sugar, and high in fat and protein. Salt increases a stable quality by helping the body to hold water. Examples: meat, dairy products, miso, nuts, oils, staying in one place, following a routine.
MOBILE/UNSTABLE: A mobile quality can feel both inspiring and unsteady. It could show up as a healthy urge to travel or as hypermobile digestion (diarrhea). Foods that make the body clear, hot, and light increase a mobile quality; they are high in sugars that burn up quickly. Examples: spicy dishes, raw foods, not enough food, juices, sugars,
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CLOUDY/SLIMY: A cloudy quality in the body can feel like slow digestion or constipation, clogging of the pores, brain fog, or difficulty making decisions. A cloudy quality in foods manifests as opaque or translucent liquids, like creamy soups, fibrous fruits, and dark or yeasty beers. Ingestion of drugs, prescription or otherwise, and of alcohol increases a cloudy quality.
CLEAR: A clear quality can feel focused and light; it promotes complete bowel movements and clear skin. A clear quality is encouraged by foods that are clear, by meditation and yoga, and by clean living. Examples: cucumbers and other watery vegetables, vegetable broth, herbal teas, plain water,
GROSS/BIG: Gross is a word used often in yoga. It means “of the physical body, the material world.” The gross body includes all of our tissues, liquids, and wastes. Paying attention to the body without considering the soul or spirit will increase the gross quality and an individual’s identification with the physical body only. Too much food, too
SUBTLE/SMALL: A subtle quality refers to the energy vibration of the body, or prana. A subtle quality also suggests an awareness of the soul or spirit aspect of an individual. Eating freshly prepared, minimally processed, home-cooked foods, paying attention to the spiritual aspects of life, reading of spiritual or inspirational materials,
physical body only. Too much food, too much sleep, consumption of foods with too many building qualities will increase the gross quality. reading of spiritual or inspirational materials, and the practice of yoga, healing arts, and meditation will increase the subtle quality.
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