During the Basics and Level 1 trainings in Beijing, Gina had the good fortune to be in a retreat center together in the mountains north of Beijing.
She writes: This offered the opportunity to explore TriYoga Ahimsa diet. Students viewed three documentaries: Forks Over Knives to illustrate the human health aspect and the sobering Earthlings documentary to illustrate the pain and suffering caused to animals as a result of some of our food and clothing choices. We watched Cowspiracy to come to understand the damaging ecological impact that choosing animal based foods has on our global environment. These documentaries made a profound impression on all the students and some opted to try a vegan diet.
The students learned about the value of adding sprouted nuts and seeds as part of a vegan diet for a great nutritional boost. Everyone had the opportunity to grow sprouts and micro greens and then we used them in a green smoothie and added them as a side dish to the meals we shared together. For many students living in apartments it was exciting to learn that they could grow organic, highly nutritious food at home. They also learned that seeds, when sprouted in this way, increase their nutritional value to 30-100 times that of the mature plant and contain many substances that have been used medicinally to improve outcomes for those with chronic disease of all kinds.
Besides growing sprouted greens students also learned how to make nut and seed milks. We soaked almonds, walnuts and sesame seeds then blended and strained them to make a nourishing milk. Sesame seeds are high in calcium, folate and iron, walnuts are rich in omega 3 fats and a host of other minerals and almonds are rich in a variety of amino acids (building blocks of protein) and minerals and some vitamins so these types of milks can be very nourishing for all around health and especially for pregnant and nursing mothers. Also great when baby weans from the breast and for children.
We added chia seeds, rich in iron, fiber, omega 3 fats and protein to the milks we made to make chia pudding. Both the green smoothies and the chia pudding were extremely popular with the students and once we learned how to make them we had them everyday to supplement our meals.