# Yoga for Daily Life

## Overview
This chapter introduces the fundamental role of yoga in promoting a balanced, happy, and healthy life. It encourages students to engage in positive behaviours, care for others, and adopt a clean and disciplined lifestyle through interactive activities, personal reflections, and inspiring stories. Key themes include cultivating happiness, good health, kindness, and learning the first two limbs of Ashtanga Yoga—Yama and Niyama.

## Key Topics Covered

### 1. Being Happy
- Encourages students to recognize and share activities that bring joy such as playing, gardening, singing, and eating with family.
- Promotes discussion and reflection on individual experiences of happiness.

### 2. Being Healthy
- Introduces habits that build physical health: eating nutritious food, regular exercise, practicing cleanliness, adequate sleep, and outdoor play.
- Includes discussion questions on daily routines and preferences in food, sleep, and playtime.

### 3. Being Kind
- Emphasizes values like gratitude, respect for elders, helpfulness, and cleanliness.
- Promotes caring actions like feeding animals, sharing, and keeping surroundings clean.
- Includes thoughtful prompts to reflect on feelings and responses in different social situations.

### 4. Ashtanga Yoga – Eightfold Path
- Introduces the concept of **Ashtanga Yoga**, meaning the eight steps of yoga for a fulfilling life.
- Focuses on the first two limbs: **Yama** (restraints/ethics) and **Niyama** (observances/good habits).

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## Part 1: Yama – Good Behaviour

### Yama: Introduction
- Yamas are friendly rules to guide right actions and interactions.
- Five Yamas: **Ahimsa**, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha.
- This chapter focuses on **Ahimsa** (non-violence).

### Ahimsa – The Principle of Non-Violence
- Meaning: Not hurting anyone in actions, words, or thoughts.
- Encourages kindness towards people, animals, birds, plants.

#### Story: **Siddhartha’s Kindness**
- Prince Siddhartha shows compassion by saving and nursing an injured swan shot by his brother, Devadatta.
- Demonstrates care and patience toward animals.
- Promotes discussion on the impact of kindness and how students can be like Siddhartha in real life.

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## Part 2: Niyama – Good Habits

### Niyama: Introduction
- Niyamas are personal habits practiced daily to lead a clean and focused life.
- Five Niyamas: Shaucha, Santosha, Tapas, Svadhyaya, Ishvarapranidhana.
- Focus in this chapter is on **Shaucha** (cleanliness).

### Shaucha – Clean Body, Mind, and Environment
- Emphasizes daily hygiene practices like brushing, bathing, washing hands, and using polite language.
- Encourages keeping surroundings clean and avoiding anger or bad words.

#### Story: **Laddoos in the Fair**
- A girl named Asha eats laddoos without washing hands at a fair and falls ill.
- Reinforces importance of hygiene before eating.

### Activity Highlights
- Tick-list of hygiene-related practices.
- Drawing and slogan activity on hand cleanliness.
- Tips on healthy eating and sleeping habits (eat with family, avoid screens before sleep, sleep early).

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## New Terms and Definitions

| Term | Simple Definition |
|----------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Yoga | A way to make our body, mind and actions balanced and peaceful. |
| Ahimsa | Not hurting anyone; being kind in words, thoughts, and actions. |
| Shaucha | Cleanliness of body, mind, and surroundings. |
| Yama | Rules for good behaviour like kindness and truthfulness. |
| Niyama | Good habits and routines we follow every day. |
| Siddhartha | A kind prince who later became Gautama Buddha. |
| Laddoo | A sweet Indian snack often made of flour, sugar, and ghee. |
| Hygiene | Keeping ourselves and our environment clean and healthy. |
| Gratitude | Feeling thankful and showing appreciation. |
| Compassion | Feeling and showing care for others. |

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## Practice Questions

### Easy (3)
1. **Name one activity that makes you happy.**
*Answer: Playing with friends.*

2. **What should you do before eating food?**
*Answer: Wash your hands.*

3. **Who helped the swan in the story?**
*Answer: Prince Siddhartha.*

### Medium (2)
4. **Why did Asha fall sick after the fair?**
*Answer: She ate laddoos without washing her hands.*

5. **Write one way you can practice Shaucha at home.**
*Answer: By keeping my room and hands clean every day.*

### Difficult (3)
6. **What is the meaning of Ahimsa and why is it important?**
*Answer: Ahimsa means non-violence. It is important because it teaches us to be kind and not hurt anyone.*

7. **List any three actions that show kindness.**
*Answer: Helping elders, feeding birds, sharing toys.*

8. **What did Siddhartha do after saving the swan?**
*Answer: He took care of it until it recovered and then released it back to its family.*

### Very Difficult (2)
9. **How do Yama and Niyama help us become better people?**
*Answer: Yama teaches good behaviour with others, while Niyama helps us build good habits. Together, they help us stay happy, clean, and kind.*

10. **Explain with an example how good habits stay with us for life.**
*Answer: If we brush our teeth daily from childhood, it becomes a lifelong habit that keeps us healthy.*

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