Dear Sarah,

I understand that you are supposed to eat before exercising, but what about eating before yoga?
Martha

Dear Martha,

While I have been a long-time believer that you should eat fruit (or something light) before yoga, I decided to seek the advice of yoga expert Caroline Owen, of Wavelengths Yoga. I caught Caroline on the other side of the world in Chennai, India, where she is studying the practice. Here's what she had to say.

It is best not to eat before yoga class. There are many reasons for this:

• Your body uses energy to digest food, which is energy that would otherwise be focused on your practice.
• A full stomach interferes with many of the postures and breathing techniques by restricting space in the abdomen. It can actually create problems to have a full stomach if you're doing forward bends, twists or inverted poses.

• When there is pressure on the esophageal sphincter (separating your stomach from your esophagus), stomach acid from digestion can be pushed into the esophagus, which can burn and damage the esophagus itself.
• On a practical level, many of the poses are downright uncomfortable when the stomach is full of food. Try doing even simple child's pose after a full meal and it becomes obvious!

My advice? Wait at least three hours after a large meal and at least an hour after a light meal or snack before doing yoga. If you must eat before class, the best thing is fruit, as it is the quickest and easiest food to digest.

Looking for more information about yoga? Check out these posts from ThatsFit.ca:

Why You Need Yoga
Can I Lose Weight With Yoga?
Tight Hip Muscles? 3 Yoga Exercises to Lighten Things Up
Yoga for a Healthy Heart