YOGA , HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

10 Health Benefits of Yoga in Daily Life

Weight loss, a strong and flexible body, glowing beautiful skin, peaceful mind, good health – whatever you may be looking for, yoga has it on offer. However, very often, yoga is only partially understood as being limited to asanas (yoga poses). As such, its benefits are only perceived to be at the body level and we fail to realize the immense benefits yoga offers in uniting the body, mind and breath. When you are in harmony, the journey through life is calmer, happier and more fulfilling.

• All-round fitness
• Weight loss
• Stress relief
• Inner peace
• Improved immunity
• Living with greater awareness
• Better relationships
• Increased energy
• Better flexibility & posture
• Better intuition

With all this and much more to offer, the benefits of yoga are felt in a profound yet subtle manner. Here, we can have a look at the top 10 benefits:
1. Yoga for all-round fitness -
As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar puts it, “Health is not a mere absence of disease. It is a dynamic expression of life – in terms of how joyful, loving and enthusiastic you are.” This is where yoga helps: postures, pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation are a holistic fitness package. The benefits accrued by being a regular practitioner are numerous. Some very discernible ones are:

• Improves health
• Gives mental strength
• Improves physical strength
• Protection from injury
• Detoxifies the body

YOGA , HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Concepts of Yoga

There are generally considered to be 12 major concepts associated with Yoga. All of these Yoga concepts were derived from the original meanings of the words that make up these concepts.
As many early writings about Yoga appeared in the ancient language called Sanskrit, unlocking the true meaning of each concept depends on an understanding of the language. Fortunately for you, all of the major concepts in their original language are explained within this article.
The intent of this article is not to provide a Sanskrit lesson on the specific words used to describe the various concepts associated with Yoga.
Instead, the intent is to summarize the 12 major concepts of Yoga into an understandable format that you can easily implement in your daily life to enhance the overall quality of your lifestyle.

Yoga

• Original Sanskrit Word: Yuj


• Interpretation: A joining or union.

This concept refers to the joining of the practitioner with a supreme being. This includes any method that you might choose to achieve this union. The major consideration with this term is the uniting of an individualized spirit with the almighty spirit. This concept was originally taught by the widely considered founder of Yoga, Patanjali

CREATING AND INCIUSIVE SCHOOL

Inclusive Education

Inclusive education happens when children with and without disabilities participate and learn together in the same classes. Research shows that when a child with disabilities attends classes alongside peers who do not have disabilities, good things happen.
For a long time, children with disabilities were educated in separate classes or in separate schools. People got used to the idea that special education meant separate education. But we now know that when children are educated together, positive academic and social outcomes occur for all the children involved.
We also know that simply placing children with and without disabilities together does not produce positive outcomes. Inclusive education occurs when there is ongoing advocacy, planning, support and commitment.
These are the principles that guide quality inclusive education:

All children belong.

Inclusive education is based on the simple idea that every child and family is valued equally and deserves the same opportunities and experiences. Inclusive education is about children with disabilities – whether the disability is mild or severe, hidden or obvious – participating in everyday activities, just like they would if their disability were not present. It’s about building friendships, membership and having opportunities just like everyone else.

CREATING AND INCLUSIVE SCHOOL

The Benefits of Inclusive Education

Here are key findings about the benefits of inclusion for children and families:

Families’ visions of a typical life for their children can come true.

All parents want their children to be accepted by their peers, have friends and lead “regular” lives. Inclusive settings can make this vision a reality for many children with disabilities.

Children develop a positive understanding of themselves and others.

When children attend classes that reflect the similarities and differences of people in the real world, they learn to appreciate diversity. Respect and understanding grow when children of differing abilities and cultures play and learn together.

Friendships develop.

Schools are important places for children to develop friendships and learn social skills. Children with and without disabilities learn with and from each other in inclusive classes.

Children learn important academic skills.

In inclusive classrooms, children with and without disabilities are expected to learn to read, write and do math. With higher expectations and good instruction children with disabilities learn academic skills.

ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING

Role of Assessment in Teaching & Learning

It is a common misconception that grading and assessment are one and the same. While assessment in schools involves assigning grades, it is more than that for both the teacher and the learner. By assessing what the student knows, how he learns and how he compares to his peers, the teacher and student can work together to set appropriate learning goals.
Assessing what a student knows is not as simple as it might sound. Students must express what they know for the teacher to effectively evaluate it. Whether verbally, through writing or by some other tangible expression, the student must demonstrate to the teacher that he knows the material. Using varied assessment methods to reach all types of learners is most effective.

How a Student Learns
In order to devise lessons that result in student learning, the teacher must also consider how students learn. Different types of learners require different types of lessons. For example, a student who learns best visually will learn better from visual stimuli like photos or demonstrations where a tactile learner needs to move around or learn by doing. Once the teacher and student have assessed how the student best acquires knowledge, they can work to structure his working environment accordingly.

ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING

Assessment Tools and Techniques

There are any number of creative ways to assess how well your students are learning the material you are teaching. The Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide for Science, Math, Engineering and Technology Instructors (more info) site goes into detail about several that have been contributed by faculty all over the country. FLAG presents Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) that have been reviewed by an editorial board to make sure that they are compatible with current professional standards for assessment. Some of the CATs they discuss are:

ConcepTest

One or more questions are presented during class involving key concepts, along with several possible answers. Students are polled as to which answer they think is correct. If most of the class has not identified the correct answer, students are given a few minutes to try to persuade their neighbors that their answer is correct. The question is asked a second time by the instructor to gauge class mastery. Check out this section of the Starting Point site that gives an in-depth description of ConcepTests and their use. There is also a collection of geoscience ConcepTest examples.

Mathematical Thinking (Math CATs)

Math CATS are designed to promote and assess thinking skills in mathematics, specifically helping students recognize and solve problems that aren't identical to the ones they saw in the book.

KNOWLEDGE AND CURRICULAM

Theories of knowledge

Robert Reid, Knowledge (1896). Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.

Main article: Epistemology

The eventual demarcation of philosophy from science was made possible by the notion that philosophy's core was "theory of knowledge," a theory distinct from the sciences because it was their foundation... Without this idea of a "theory of knowledge," it is hard to imagine what "philosophy" could have been in the age of modern science.

— Richard Rorty, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature

The definition of knowledge is a matter of ongoing debate among philosophers in the field of epistemology. The classical definition, described but not ultimately endorsed by Plato,^[5] specifies that a statement must meet three criteria in order to be considered knowledge: it must be justified, true, and believed. Some claim that these conditions are not sufficient, as Gettier case examples allegedly demonstrate. There are a number of alternatives proposed, including Robert Nozick's arguments for a requirement that knowledge 'tracks the truth' and Simon Blackburn's additional requirement that we do not want to say that those who meet any of these conditions 'through a defect, flaw, or failure' have knowledge. Richard Kirkham suggests that our definition of knowledge requires that the evidence for the belief necessitates its truth.^[6]
In contrast to this approach, Ludwig Wittgenstein observed, following Moore's paradox, that one can say "He believes it, but it isn't so," but not "He knows it, but it isn't so."^[7] He goes on to argue that these do not correspond to distinct mental states, but rather to distinct ways of talking about conviction. What is different here is not the mental state of the speaker, but the activity in which they are engaged. For example, on this account, to know that the kettle is boiling is not to be in a particular state of mind, but to perform a particular task with the statement that the kettle is boiling. Wittgenstein sought to bypass the difficulty of definition by looking to the way "knowledge" is used in natural languages. He saw knowledge as a case of a family resemblance. Following this idea, "knowledge" has been reconstructed as a cluster concept that points out relevant features but that is not adequately captured by any definition.[8