Ninie Ahmad: Off her yoga mat.

I wish I have the answer to this..

I also know

• half a dozen female Malaysian celebrities in their mid-30s who chain smoke, drink Coke like water and party everyday like it’s Saturday, yet they still look younger than me
• my mom at 54 (and with seven children and does not exercise) looks younger than some of my seniors who were former athletes from my boarding school
• my dad at 57 (and only eats free-range eggs and has not eaten chicken or anything canned for as long as I could remember) looks younger than Rosyam Nor who is only 45. And errr, in fact I think my dad actually looks a lot like Rosyam Nor Rosyam Nor looks like my dad, a lot..

The Ahmads

I don’t know about looking younger but I do know that the oldest Malaysian is a vegetarian (and THAT I don’t want to look like Nigella Lawson in her swimming suit).

.  .  .  .  .

I can only speak for myself and look up to vegetarian yoga teachers being masters to their own body at their 70’s and 90’s with no health issues and rocking arm balancing like there’s no tomorrow.

93-years-old Tao Porchon-Lynch

73-years-old Dharma Mittra

I keep doing what I have been doing and I keep eating (or not) what I have (and not) been eating as
when I grow up, I want to be and look just like them.

Love and long life (to all humans and animals).

In celebration of International Vegetarian Week,
October 1 – 7, 2001

NINIE AHMAD-FORGET, 28
Yoga Teacher & Founder of Upward, Saujana Resort

How long have you been a vegetarian?
Almost 4 years now (since November 2007).

Your reason for becoming a vegetarian?
I have always inspired to be a vegetarian since many of my yoga teacher friends and
inspirations are vegetarians and they always carry a different persona and energy
- more calm, collected and compassionate. During Malaysia’s Yoga Conference in
November 2007, I was given the opportunity to interview one of the biggest living
yoga legends in the world – Sri Dharma Mittra on the topic “What makes a good
yoga teacher?” He held my shoulders, looked at me in the eyes and said “You have
to stop killing animals.” He didn’t even know I was a yoga teacher (I interviewed him
as a writer) neither was I a vegetarian at that time!

Everything he said during the interview made perfect sense and I stayed up all
night reading and Googling about vegetarianism and instantly get turned off eating
meat after knowing how the food got in my plate. Not to mention, most living yoga
teachers in their 90’s (and they look no older than 50) say that, the secret to living
longer, looking younger is, stand on your head for an hour a day and to not let
your body be the cemetery for dead animals.

I have not eaten meat nor poultry ever since. Since a year ago, I also don’t wear
leather handbags and footwear anymore.

The benefit you’ve gained since becoming a vegetarian?
I don’t know if it’s the daily yoga practice that I do or my vegetarian diet but, I
hardly fall sick anymore. I really can’t remember the last time I caught fever or the flu
bug, not in the last two or three years. I’d like to believe it is both yoga and by not
consuming animals’ suffering anymore. And believe it or not, just a couple of weeks
after stopping eating meat, I was suddenly able to do super complicated yoga poses
that I never thought I could do with this body in this lifetime!

Was it difficult being a vegetarian when many people around you are not?
People would be surprised that it is not that difficult. Most restaurants in KL now
have vegetarian options or I just opt for a bowl of hearty green salad anyway. Since
I prepare most of my meals for myself and my husband at home (as that’s the only
way I can ensure my meals are not only vegetarian but also, clean, free from cruelty
and prepared with love), it is not that difficult. Whenever I have guests over, they
usually forget that they are not eating meat. With creativity (and Asian spices!), I am
lucky vegetarian food can taste just as good!

Some say that vegetarian diet may lack protein and important nutrients..
I always make sure my big meals (breakfast and lunch) would consist of lots of beans
and grains. I also love hazelnut milk which is way more nutritious (and delicious!)
than cow milk. And do you know that Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Brandon Boyd (of
Incubus) are all vegetarians?

Many meat eaters say that vegetarians are not active and weak..
I practice Ashtanga yoga which is the most physical form of yoga and vegetarianism
is one of the fundamentals in Ashtanga practice and lifestyle. Most Ashtanga
practitioners (Asthtangis) have the strongest and fittest looking body and they are
the last people on earth to be called inactive and weak as they can stand on their
hands, tuck their legs behind their head, can light up a room with their Ujjaiyi breaths
yet staying so humble about it, compared to most bulky meat-eaters who can be
compared to crabs – hard shell on the outside but empty on the inside. And again,
which part of Brad Pitt screams not-strong?

Many also say becoming vegetarian is expensive..
It can be expensive as when we choose to only consume good food in our body, we
also tend to be aware on investing not only in vegetarian food but also, unprocessed,
organic and macrobiotic. I always say, what’s grocery bill now compared to hospital
bills later. It is a little costly as the demand is not big in our community (compared
to in North America) but I believe as handsome as a plate of organic Greek salad is
nowhere close to how expensive a plate of Foie Gras or Wagyu steak can be.

Will you encourage your friends and family members to become vegetarians?
I am lucky that my husband is also into vegetarianism, organic, macrobiotic and raw
food movement (and he does yoga everyday too!). I have never and will never force
my close friends and family members but I aspire to inspire them by leading a good
example of living a happy, healthy and cruelty-free lifestyle. So one day when I’m 50
but looking 25, I can finally say – do lots of yoga and don’t eat meat!

From NATURAL HEALTH magazine, October 2011
Available at Borders and major newsstands