Spotlight: Dominika Huterova
Have you ever not been vegetarian?
Yes, I became vegetarian about a year ago, and I can feel
the difference. A year before I was kind of slowing down on eating meat because
I didn't like the taste any more. I was only eating things like fish, chorizo
and occasionally chicken, so that was my only meat intake. So gradually I
was just slowing down and then I just decided that I didn't want to eat it
anymore. I haven’t missed it since, and I feel better. Even if you have a big
vegetarian meal, even if you feel full you don’t feel ill, and I cook more and try
more new things.
Is there any other reason why you became vegetarian?
It was mainly because I didn't want it anymore, but once I
started getting into yoga I started to gain more of an awareness of the
environment and animal rights. Now I am being careful what I eat, for example I
don’t eat anything that has palm oil in it, so I'm basically more careful what
I eat. I would want to eventually get rid of animal product completely from my
diet, I only occasionally have milk in coffee but I prefer almond milk, though
you can’t get that everywhere. I'm still eating cheese, I do want to
eventually stop eating it but I don’t think it’s any use forcing it otherwise
you’ll just end up hating the whole vegetarian lifestyle. I'm just slowly
trying to find substitutes. I always get the question “where do you get your protein
from?” because not many people know of any other sources of protein. (See our earlier post for lots of ideas for healthy vegetarian protein sources!)
So what else do you do to help lead a healthy lifestyle?
I always live by the rule that if you want to look after and
help other people, you have to start by looking after and helping yourself. It’s
kind of like a self-care, so you are a bit more aware of what you do and what
you eat. I do yoga all the time. The yoga I do is called Strala yoga, which is
more based on natural movements rather than pushing and stretching. After the
class you feel great so you just want to feel like that all the time. I set up the
yoga classes to help other people to feel great too.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have lazy days and things like
that. One time I was too tired to cook so I got a takeaway, and the day
after I felt horrible. All because I
listened to the lazy voice in my head and didn't cook a nice meal for myself.
If you fill yourself with nice meals you just feel generally better.
Have you ever been to the Northern Vegan Festival?
The vegan festival is amazing, I went to the one in Chorlton
and they had so many stalls with food and sustainable clothing. There were so
many charities, The Dolphin Project and Sea Shepherd were selling their merchandise.
I have a bit of a sweet tooth, and at the Vegan fair there was a company who
made vegan sweets and lollipops, and they actually tasted great! There’s lots
of things going on there, loads of live music too.
You can find out more about Dominika's University based yoga classes by following her Facebook page, and check out her profile on Yoga Alliance Professionals.