What health really means

The chapter opens with real news headlines: more than 100 million people in India are diabetic; air pollution is a public health emergency; too much screen-watching gives children dry eyes; yoga reduces anxiety; regular handwashing cuts infection by 50%. Health is in the news every day.

So is being healthy just not being ill? No. Big muscles show fitness, not health. Health is how well you are inside: feeling good in your body, staying positive, and getting on well with the people around you.

A story (Activity 3.1). A Grade 8 boy moved to a new school in another city. He had no friends there, and his parents were busy. Lonely, he spent more and more time on his phone and social media, which made him feel worse. He stopped trying to make friends, got headaches, lost weight and couldn't sleep. A doctor advised less screen time and a talk with a counsellor, and the school counsellor helped him make friends.

Notice: no germ made him ill. His problems came from loneliness and habits, and they showed up in his body as headaches, weight loss and poor sleep.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease. Think of it as three pillars:

A healthy person can usually do tasks well, cope with hard situations, and get along with friends and other people.

Ayurveda says much the same: true health is a balance of body, mind and surroundings. It keeps that balance with dinacharya (a daily routine) and ritucharya (a routine for each season), fresh wholesome food suited to your prakriti (body type), exercise, cleanliness, good sleep and a calm mind, helped by yoga, meditation and mindfulness.