Márcia De Luca - Lets Play Yoga!: How to Grow Calm Like a Mountain, Strong Like a Warrior, and Joyful Like the Sun

I thank my beloved daughters, Ana Paula and Ana Luisa, for giving me the wonderful opportunity of being a grandmother of four gorgeous grandchildren: Livia, Henrique, Joo Pedro, and Isabela. I also thank Isabel and Fernando, who posed for the photos in this book. And my friends Regina Shakti, who shared my desire to write a yoga book for kids; and Rohit Mittar, for encouraging me to spread Indian culture to Western children.

Mrcia De Luca

I trust, I surrender, I accept, and I am thankfulfor everything and everyone in my life. Particularly, I thank my daughters, Laura and Rachel, who make me a better person with each passing day; my grandmother, Lourdes; my mother, Vera; and my sister, Silviaall of them inspiring women. I am thankful to my father, who still lives in me. To my beloved, my companion in life and in dreams, Richard. To our editors who embraced this project. And to you, who will practice yoga with us!

Lcia Barros

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Native American saying

Once upon a time, there was a very cool kid.

Her name? The same as yours! Her looks? Just like yours! She was a very happy kid! As well as being strong, she was healthy and smart.

Her secret was to play every day for a few minutes. However, she wasnt playing any old game! It was a sequence called yoga. The name for the game is short and easy to remember, but it also has a beautiful meaning: union.

Have you ever heard someone saying that together we are stronger? Thats what union is! A good example of this is when we gather together our friends to take up a challengebecause three people are much stronger than just one! With yoga, it is the same thing: It brings together our bodies, our feelings, and our thoughts. And then, day by day, we become healthier, stronger, happier, and also smarter.

Do you want to play? Then you must know you will have to dive deep into this game. For example, there is a pose called mountain; if you are going to do this pose, your feet must seem stuck to the ground, your spine must be very straight, and your thoughts... ah, leave your thoughts aside! Focus on feeling that you are indeed a mountain!

Are you ready? Lets play!

When we start a new game, we first learn how to play, right? This is what were going to do now. The rules of yoga can be summarized in ten fundamental principles that benefit our lives as a whole, because they teach us about the things we must avoid (yamas) and about the things we must try to do more (niyamas).

Each principle has a name in Sanskrit, which was the language spoken by the teachers who created yoga more than five thousand years ago. You will see the Sanskrit names herein parenthesis, under each principleso you can practice using and saying them.

When we respect and follow these rules, we get stronger on the inside and outside so that we become better, happier people.

Lets get to know the rules!

Theres nothing good about any kind of violence. Were talking about physical violencelike what happens when we have a fightbut also thoughts, words, and actions that hurt other people, nature, or ourselves.

In life: Treat others only the way youd want them to treat you; respect and care for animals and plants; treat yourself with the same kindness, patience, and joy that you treat your best friend. The love you must nurture for yourself is called self-esteem, and it is key to making your dreams come true, to having good relationships with everyone around you, and to being happy!

While playing yoga: Respect your body and your emotions. Dont practice the moves when you are sick, with a full belly, if something hurts you or makes you uncomfortable or may cause you to get hurt somehow (for example, when you dont use your yoga mat, which we will discuss later).

We must always tell the truth and live correctly. Sometimes this is hard: like when we do something wrong and we want to hide what we did or blame someone else. This is not being truthful! We need to be honest about everything we do, even when we have done something bad.

In life: Say exactly what you think and feel, and tell the truth about what you do. Did you break the vase in the living room? You must tell your parents! Everybody is going to a party but youd rather stay home and rest? Tell them you dont want to go! Honesty is important in your relationship with others, but you must always be honest with yourself as well.

While playing yoga: Always try to do your best in the postures, but still respect your body and how it feels today. You cant touch the ground without bending your back? Its fine, just stop when you feel you cant go further! While youre there, focus all your thoughts and efforts and youll see that with every passing day, you will stretch a little more.

Being someone who does not steal can come up in many different situations. It can mean not stealing other peoples things, but also their thoughts, words, and actions. You can also not steal from yourself by being honest about what you want and need and what makes you happy. It affects your own life and the lives of everyone around you.

In life: For example, do not say that your friends idea for a school project or a game is your own; keep your promises; do not do something you know is wrong just because everybody is doing it, which would be stealing from yourself what you really believe to be right. Instead, show others how good it feels to not do things that are wronglike gossiping, not sharing your toys, or littering, which prevents others from enjoying a clean and safe environment. Be a beautiful example of sharing.

While playing yoga: Take seriously the pose youre doing, paying attention to the game so you respect your body and minds focus and energy. In that moment, feel that you are really a mountain, a tree, or a warriorsome of the poses we will do together later in this book.