Savitri Living Practice

For all of you processed meat eaters think about including Vitamin C in or after your meals.

If you eat bacon, ham, salami, or hot dogs, this is for you.

A new paper published last week in the Journal of Theoretical Biology mapped out what actually happens in your stomach when you eat processed meat, and offers something practical you can do about it.

Cured meats contain sodium nitrite, added as a preservative and to fix the pink color. In your stomach, that nitrite meets stomach acid and turns into a reactive form. That reactive form attacks proteins from the meal and produces a class of compounds called nitrosamines. NDMA, NDEA, and NMBA are the most studied. They are the same compounds that triggered the FDA recalls of valsartan, ranitidine, and metformin in recent years. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies them as probable human carcinogens, and they are a leading hypothesis for why processed meat consumption tracks with elevated risk of stomach and colorectal cancer in large epidemiologic studies.

Vitamin C disarms this reaction. It converts the reactive nitrite compound back into nitric oxide, which is harmless and diffuses away. This chemistry has been known since the 1970s, which is why the meat industry already adds ascorbic acid during processing. The question is whether you can do anything on your end, after the meat is already in your gut. That is what the new model addressed.

McNicol, Basu, and Layton at the University of Waterloo built a mathematical model that tracks how nitrite, vitamin C, and the resulting chemistry move through saliva, stomach, and intestine over the hours after a meal. They ran simulations across realistic dietary patterns and found two things.

First, when vitamin C is naturally present in the meal, as it is in leafy greens and most fruits and vegetables, the protective effect is substantial. The vitamin C is right there when the chemistry happens. This is likely why dietary nitrate from vegetables does not track with cancer risk the way nitrite from processed meats does.

Second, for meals where vitamin C is not naturally present, like a bacon sandwich or a charcuterie board, taking vitamin C after the meal produced a moderate predicted reduction in nitrosamine formation. Not transformative. Measurable.

A few important things to know. This is a modeling study, not a clinical trial. The model is calibrated against decades of published chemistry, but no trial has yet measured nitrosamine biomarkers in people randomized to take vitamin C after meals versus placebo. Treat the predicted effect as a reasonable hypothesis backed by mechanism, not as proven outcome.

Practical version. If you regularly eat vegetables with your meals, the vitamin C is already there and you are doing most of the work. If you eat cured meats without vegetables in the same sitting, taking 200 to 500 mg of vitamin C with water 30 to 60 minutes after the meal has a defensible mechanistic basis and a modest predicted effect. The dose matters less than the timing. Above about 200 mg in a single oral dose, absorption efficiency drops sharply, so megadoses are not the answer.

The bigger idea is that a meal is a chemical environment you can shape. The same food can be a problem or a non-event depending on what else is in the gut at the same time, and when.

McNicol et al., J Theor Biol, 2026
Tannenbaum & Wishnok, Am J Clin Nutr, 1991
Hord, Tang & Bryan, Am J Clin Nutr, 2009

Sometimes after a yoga retreat or a deep training, people ask, “Why do I feel so different?”

Because something has shifted.

When we practice deeply, breathe consciously, move with awareness, and spend days immersed in healing, we don’t just stretch muscles we begin to release what the body has been holding onto.

I’ve just returned from a beautiful TriYoga seminar in Vienna, and tomorrow I’m continuing my journey at my Systemic Trauma Release training.

These past few days I’ve cried more than usual. My hips feel like they are releasing years of stored tension. My sleep has been lighter and interrupted. And yet… I know this is not something to fear.

This is integration.

This is the body finding its way back to balance.

Healing isn’t always quiet or comfortable. Sometimes it looks like tears, fatigue, restless nights, and emotions rising to the surface. But beneath it all, there is a deep cleansing taking place.

Layer by layer, we let go.
Breath by breath, we become lighter.
Practice by practice, we come home to ourselves.

This is why I never stop learning. Every training reminds me that growth is not only about gaining knowledge it’s about becoming more present, more authentic, and more free.

Trust the process. Your body knows the way.

Jaya Gurudevi 🙏

Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is step away for a few minutes.

Close the screen.
Leave the room.
Take a breath without trying to improve anything.
Let your attention return to your body before you ask it for more.

A pause can restore more than productivity. It can bring you back to yourself.

When was the last time you fully unplugged?

My heart is filled with gratitude after three beautiful days immersed in the practice of TriYoga with our teacher, Kaliji, and fellow teachers from around the world.

We were welcomed with such warmth in Vienna, creating the perfect space to deepen our practice, open our hearts, and learn new techniques that we can share with our students.

These gatherings remind me that the path of a teacher is, above all, the path of a lifelong student. Learning never ends.
Every retreat, every lesson, every moment of practice is an opportunity to grow, not only in knowledge, but in awareness, compassion, and presence.

The time, energy, and resources we invest in our education are never an expense; they are sacred offerings that allow us to serve others with greater authenticity and love.

I return home inspired and humbled.

Thank you, dear Kaliji, for continuing to illuminate our path.

Jaya Guru Devi🙏

Remember to breathe…

There is often confusion around equanimity.
Equanimity does not mean that nothing affects you.
It means learning to stay connected to yourself when life is beautiful, uncomfortable, uncertain, or not going the way you hoped.

A yogic approach asks more of us than flexibility. It asks:
Can you pause before reacting?
Can you feel without being carried away?
Can you return to your center without pretending everything is fine?

Some days, that steadiness comes naturally. On other days, it begins with one conscious breath.

That is also yoga.

What helps you find your way back to center?

As a nutritionist and yoga teacher, I have always been drawn to approaches that support the body’s innate ability to heal and maintain balance.

Acupuncture is one of the most valuable investments I make in my health. I aim to have a session every 10 days not because I’m unwell, but because I believe prevention is one of the greatest forms of medicine.

It helps me maintain my energy, support hormonal balance, regulate my nervous system, improve recovery, and cultivate an overall sense of well-being.

As both a practitioner and a lifelong student of health, I deeply appreciate the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine. While I recognize the indispensable role of Western medicine in acute care, emergencies, and many medical conditions, for my everyday health I naturally gravitate toward preventive, integrative approaches that work with the body’s physiology rather than waiting for symptoms to appear.

Scientific research continues to show that acupuncture can influence the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems, modulate pain pathways, and promote homeostasis, the body’s remarkable capacity to maintain internal balance.

And if you’re worried about the needles… don’t be. They are so incredibly fine that most people barely feel them.

For me, acupuncture is more than a treatment. It’s a ritual of self-care, prevention, and respect for the extraordinary intelligence of the human body.

I am lucky to have a friend who is a great acupuncture therapist, she gave me a great treat today in my garden.

Thanks Celia Brisa - you are amazing.

A recent road trip through Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country where I was born, became much more than a journey across landscapes.

I traveled with my former in-laws, who came all the way from Colombia to discover my homeland. Life has taken us through many changes, yet reconnecting reminded me that some bonds remain. They will always be family, as they are the grandparents of my son.

In my bag, I carried Le radici della Separazione, a book by my teacher Janine van der Merwe.
One morning in Mostar, a city that still bears the visible and invisible marks of separation, I sat with a Bosnian coffee and read its pages. The symbolism was impossible to ignore.

As I traveled through my homeland, I found myself seeing it with new eyes and a more open heart. Accepting it for what it is, what it was for me, and what it will always be.

I am proud to have been born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country that has stood courageously through centuries of empires, conflicts, and challenges. Wounded, healing, resilient, and still standing.

Just like me🙏🏽🤸🏽🇧🇦🇨🇴

Se pensi che é troppo tardi …
Non lo é mai !
La creatrice e maestra di Yoga ormonale Dinah Rodriguez insieme a Carla Nataloni India.
Magari pensi e allora ?
Beh, Dinah Rodriguez ha 99 anni 💪🏽🙏🏽💪🏽♥️