It sounded very simple. "Just eat yoghurt every day". Only it wasn't that simple becuase by the time I met Yogi Bhajan the list of what I could eat had shrunk down so far that all that was left was rice, olive oil and not much else. First it was dairy that hand gone, then wheat. The more specialists I saw the longer the banned list got and the thinner I became.
It's not that I went to see Yogi Bhajan about food issues. In that privileged moment at the end of my first meeting with him I asked him for a meditation, which I had heard was an appropriate thing to do. "Just eat yoghurt every day", he said. In a split second my mind saw all the consequences of eating something my body couldn’t handle. No way. Only I said it more politely: "I just told you that I'm allergic to dairy". Without missing a beat he replied, drilling me with intense love from his fierce eyes, "and I just told you: eat yoghurt every day if you don't want to die".
It became a question of when I would have my first taste of yoghurt in well over ten years, not if. There were a lot of mental hurdles, a lot of fear of the pain of stomach ache and feeling ill to overcome first. I set myself the goal that I'd do it, come what may. I could see that Yogi Bhajan wasn't joking either. What touched me deeply was how he had phrased it. Every other person I'd seen started from the premise of taking something away from my diet if I were to live. But is it living to be reduced to the nothingness of a malnourished diet?
A few months after this meeting with Yogi Bhajan I was going to be in Gujarat with my husband, Nick. I knew how fresh and delicious Indian yoghurt looked and committed to myself that I would have at least a teaspoon of yoghurt while there. Idly reading the Sunday newspapers one weekend I found an article describing the best yoghurt the writer had ever eaten was at Palitana, the majestic Jain temples which we were already planning to visit.
While Europe was enjoying its cold Christmas festivities Nick and I arrived just as the dawn was breaking at the bottom of the steps of Palitana. There are over 3,500 of them to the top where there is a City of Temples to the Gods. Slowly we started our ascent, one step, one step, one step at a time. It lulled us into a silent reverie, gradually taking in the changes around, and within, us as the sun woke up the leaves and the locals scurried up past.
We arrived at the breathtaking view at the top. Only more than my breath was taken. There, sitting quietly, waiting patiently was a young girl with a flask of homemade yoghurt. I knew that this was the moment to turn myself towards a healthier outlook on life. No pomp was required, only a deep understanding of the circumstances in which I now found myself. We bought the pot of yoghurt and I went head bowed over to a temple, made an offering and prayed.
I gently nursed a small spoonful of yoghurt before caressing it with my lips. Its liquid flowed through my mouth then gently massaged its way down beyond the point of no return. As it settled in my tummy I realised that it wasn't accompanied by that sinking feeling of pending disaster. I took a while to digest both the yoghurt and the implications of eating it. The soft warmth of the breeze, the delicate fragrance of the curd mixed with the heady deity offerings, the soft tones of distant landscapes were likewise food for my soul. Another mouthful. Then another. Stillness surrounded me amidst the pilgrims' laughter and chatter. Finally the bowl was empty.
As I gave it back to the young girl, Nick gazed proudly across at me, knowing how deep was the lesson and self-healing I had received. Food had become again sacred, spiritual nourishment.
PS A couple of years ago I was at the Khalsa Council and shared this story with a fellow Minister. She told me about Immortal Yoghurt. After Yogi Bhajan passed away Master Sung, who is a Guardian of the Immortals, came to visit our mother ashram in Espanola. His gift to our sangat (community) was a yoghurt culture which dates back thousands of years within their tradition. Since then I have enjoyed this Immortal Yoghurt daily. It is mild, delightful and, most of all, very beneficial. My other favourites for my daily yoghurt are Neal’s Yard Dairy's Greek Yoghurt and the delicious ewe’s yoghurt from France which comes in little glass pots. Yoghurt is just so good on breakfast porridge, in soup instead of cream, with fresh berries or chocolate cake as a pudding. I just didn't know what I was missing all those years ago...
