yoga and coffee: to drink or not to drink?

[Godslave]

@sunyata

Hi Godslave,
You probably have read that food/diet only aid spiritual progress. Twice daily practices is the way to progress. It’s up to you, to quit cold turkey or wean off slowly.
Any desires suppressed will sprout sooner are later. Do your practices and let things fall off on their own. In time with practices coffee, wine starts interfering with the natural bliss that arises after practices. Listen to your inner guru. Hope this helps.

Hi sunyata,
Thanks for the reply. I can see what you mean, as with coffee in particular I have quit several times already. Then I have resumed when life seemed overwhelming and I wanted a boost of energy to get me through the work day, after a few nights of not enough sleep.
The last time I quit, I did it by drinking swiss water decaf for some of my coffees. I would have 1 caffeinated in the morning, then decaf in the afternoon. I found I could gradually lessen the amount that way.
This past week, I went from 1 coffee per day to a black tea one morning, then a green tea the next morning, then no tea or coffee, just hot chocolate, this afternoon. But this time while decreasing my caffeine intake I have also been doing Spinal Breathing and Deep Meditation for a number of weeks, which has helped a lot.
I try to listen to my heart, my inner guru… and if I try to go against it I know it will make my days much more difficult in terms of effort.
I’m still learning

[coffeegeek]

sunyata, thanks for your advice! I will try a green tea!

[kumar_ul_islam]

i always refer to gong and the flying teapot

[Prem (Susan Jones)]

I’ve decreased consumption to one or two small cups first thing when I wake. Then I switch over to black tea, usually two teas and nothing after 3 pm as it will disrupt my sleep. So even though I know I’m very sensitive to caffeine as far as sleep it doesn’t seem to bother my meditations. I once gave up coffee for a year and did not note any great benefit to not having it. I have a friend who can drink tea all day and remain calm but the tiniest bit of coffee makes him edgy and shaky. Yerba mate gives me a very nice high yet calm energy.

[BlueRaincoat]

I haven’t been able to drink coffee for years. It makes me feel agitated. “Hectic vibration” is a good description.

[Godslave]

I haven’t updated here for a while, but I have finally stopped drinking any caffeinated beverages. I also stopped eating chocolate which was affecting me as well.
I then found out through family that my uncle also cannot tolerate caffeine, and never drinks it.
I have been eating small amounts of chocolate chips in cookies, but nothing more than that.
I found that my memory improved a lot, and my irritation levels went way down.
I haven’t been doing AYP consistently, but I do keep a log and I have been doing it on average 10 times a month. I do 5 minutes SBP, then 10 minutes DM, then 2.5 minutes rest. This especially helps if I am feeling overwhelmed.