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Hatha Yoga: The Yogi Philosophy of Physical Well-Being1806
to properly nourish them, and had gotten rid of the waste products of the
system which had been poisoning them. Whether or not they “staid cured”
depended upon whether they again exchanged Hunger for Appetite.
Natural hunger—like natural Thirst—expresses itself through the nerves
of the mouth and throat. When one is hungry, the thought or mention of
food causes a peculiar sensation in the mouth, throat and salivary glands.
The nerves of those parts manifest a peculiar sensation, the saliva begins
to flow, and the whole of the region manifests a desire to get to work. The
stomach gives no symptoms whatever, and is not at all in evidence at such
times. One feels that the “taste” of good wholesome food would be most
pleasurable. There is none of those feelings of faintness, emptiness, gnawing,
“all-goneness,” etc., in the region of the stomach. These last mentioned
symptoms are all characteristic of the Appetite habit, which is insisting that
the habit must be continued. Did you ever notice that the drink habit calls
forth just such symptoms? The craving and “all-gone” feeling is characteristic
of both forms of abnormal appetite. The man who is craving a smoke, or a
chew of tobacco feels the same way.
A man often wonders why he cannot get a dinner such as “mother used to
cook.” Do you know why he cannot get it? Simply because he has replaced
his natural Hunger by an abnormal appetite, and he does not feel satisfied
unless he gratifies that Appetite, which renders the homely fare of the past
an impossibility. If the man were to cultivate a natural hunger, by a return to
first principles, he would have restored to him the meals of his youth—he
would find many cooks just as good as “mother” was, for he would be a boy
again.
You are probably wondering what all this has to do with Hatha Yoga,
are you not? Well, just this: The Yogi has conquered appetite, and allows
Hunger to manifest through him. He enjoys every mouthful of food, even
to the crust of dry bread, and obtains nourishment and pleasure from it. He
eats it in a manner unknown to most of you, which will be described a little
further on, and so far from being a half-starved anchorite, he is a well-fed,