Vegan - What and Why

For a long time I avoided the topic of veganism to not cause uncomfortable situations, especially during the precious vacation time.
How challenging to exclude the talk when the soul food section plays a crucial role in most retreats. Spending so much time, energy and heart to choose and prepare plant-based delicacies for you, so why not talk about it? 

When friends and guests ask me nowadays what vegan is exactly and why, I can answer their question with a smiling heart as follows:

Vegans do not use any animal products, no meat, no fish, no dairy, no eggs. Anything from a dead or living animal basically, or any products where animals are exploited, like honey e.g.

There are several reasons to avoid animal products, such as ethical reasons towards animals and humans, health reasons and environmental reasons.

For me, personally, it was more of a health issue to turn towards veganism, to really get back on my feet eating a wholesome plant-based diet. After a while I felt so much better on a physical level, and also noticed some changes in my energetic and emotional bodies that I can now describe simply as feeling more at peace. Without getting too spiritual at this point,
I felt better then ever and for some reason this choice was the answer to so many questions I had been carrying around, as I think to know now. 

So what do you eat instead?

This question makes my giggle every time, as I remember peoples faces when joining a vegan meal for the first time in our retreats and workshops. The overall surprise about the overflowing colors and different plates, smells and tastes is definitely one of my highlights.

And the conclusion that YES,  there is so much more to eat than grains and grass.

Here are just a few examples from the retreats and work shops   :) 

So with all my love and kindness without offending anyone, I try to state out some important ideas about veganism and why we at Lets Yoga thrive only plant-based.

Thanks to ProVegan, a foundation of Dr. med. Ernst Walter Heinrich, you can have a short and comprehensive overview about all the topics that are linked with how we eat. When I found this brochure one day in a train in Germany, I felt so happy to finally have found something to share with my friends & family - all potential questions answered with additional sources and in a lot of languages. Love it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Nina.

There are numerous doctors, studies and books around veganism and carnism, like:

Educators like Ed Winters, documentaries like "cowspiracy", "live and let live", "before the flood", "game changer", "dominion", "earthlings", "more than honey", and many, many more.

If you like to double check recent studies and like to browse in a vast selection of facts about diet, veganism, etc, then check out Dr. Gregers website NutrititonFacts.org as a big team is nonstop researching and checking out all studies about the topic of overall health. If you prefer to read it up in German I really like Niko Rittenau and his work.

Numerous athletes, celebreties & actors went vegan, for example:

Brandan Brazier (triathlet, autor), Carl Lewis (athletics) , Daniel Adlung (football), Dave Scoot (iron man), Fiona Oakes, Hannah Teter (snowboard), Kelly Slater (surf), Tia Blanco (surf) John Salley (Basketball and actor), Lionel Messi (soccer), Mac Danzig (martial arts), Melanie Fraunschiel (boxing), Patrik Baboumian (strongest man germanys), Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1), actors like Johnny Depp, Leonardo diCaprio, Demi Moore, Joaquin Phoenix, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Natalie Portman, Christoph Maria Herbst and sooooooo many more (some might not be vegan any more or go back and forth with it).

May all beings be happy.

May all beings be safe.

May all beings be healthy.

May all beings be free from suffering.

I do not want to judge or push you to go vegan. I simply share some information about the topic, that so many strong, beautiful souls have been published already. So if you feel curious, check it out and try out a vegan holiday with me to find out for yourself  :)