Intro of Karma Yoga

Karma is actually a Sanskrit term which means ‘action’ or a ‘deed’. Karma Yoga is an ancient yoga style which is the best way to grow spirituality.

According to this yoga style, you practice selflessly to help others, without expecting any reward in return. Practicing Karma yoga is an effective way for the purification of your mind.

There are Four Main Paths of Yoga:

1. Karma Yoga
2. Bhakti Yoga
3. Raja Yoga, and
4. Gyana (Jnana) Yoga

Every yoga practitioner must practice karma yoga because everyone needs to undertake some actions. So, if you are practicing karma yoga while performing these actions, you can progress through your spiritual journey as well.

Another important aspect of karma yoga is to understand and accept your duty and letting go of all your selfish desires. It is quite different from all the other yoga styles because this is one of the few yoga forms which can be practiced throughout the day. There is no particular place or time to practice it, you can implement it for basically all your daily actions.

Short History

Karma Yoga is an ancient practice which can be found in the texts of Bhagavad Gita as well. In this ancient Hindu text, there was a chapter on Mahabharata where Krishna teaches Arjun about the various yoga systems and practices. One such yoga system is Karma yoga which is often known as ‘Yoga of Action’. It is the path to a righteous fight.

Since then, it has become an integral part of the East culture and has slowly spread to the western world as well. According to this yoga philosophy, all of us have some good deeds and have some bad deeds which are the reason for our future actions. If we practice Karma yoga, then we can overcome our bad deeds and will be able to find our spiritual connection easily.

Practice

In Karma yoga, you have to understand the cause of the action than the action itself. So, if you act with the right motive in a right way, without expecting any positive outcome for yourself, then you are practicing Karma yoga effectively.

In some classes, you might also be taught to chant a few mantras before or after the action to help you in achieving the right mind-set before you execute the action. It is actually quite easy to practice this yoga form in your daily life. The main thing to do is to conduct your life rightly and selflessly. Take interest in other people’s problems and find a solution without any selfish desires.

Also, you need to have faith and belief in spirituality and God to be able to grow spiritually. You can practice a few yoga asanas every day to help your mind relax and free of negative thoughts but don’t hover on the posture and the alignment of the poses. Instead, feel the breath leaving your body and clear your mind of any thoughts. This will help in opening up your channels and will make you self-aware about the right path for you.

A true Karma yogi is the one who would find ‘Moksha’ from this world and will reserve a place in heaven for himself. But, you can only be a true Karma yogi if you do selfless deeds without expecting Moksha in return.

Course & Difficulty Level

Any one can practice Karma Yoga even the beginners and mastered yoga practitioners too. However, one should remember that the main objective of Karma yoga is not to hold a particular pose for a specified period of time.

It is to perform an action the right way to your body’s ability. So, practice poses to understand your consciousness so that you can determine the right path.

This can be quite difficult for some people as you have to have faith in God and believe in the concept of righteousness to be able to implement it correctly. Karma yoga, in essence, is all about doing the right thing selflessly, which might be slightly hard to achieve at first.

Aasanas (Poses)

Karma yoga doesn’t exactly require yoga asanas for its execution. But, in order to prepare yourself for practicing Karma yoga, practicing asanas can be helpful. As this will create a self-awareness while relaxing yourself before you act. Here are a few asanas that you can practice to prepare your body and mind.

1. Pranayama
2. Chandrasana
3. Balasana
4. Padmasana
5. Bhujangasana
6. Balasana
7. Vrikshasana
8. Sasamgasana
9. Savasana

The Difference to Other Yoga Styles

Karma Yoga is entirely different from other styles of yoga because it doesn’t emphasize on the physical part of your body but the spiritual and the mental part. Karma yoga is a way to become spiritually developed and requires you to get rid of greed, ego, jealousy, etc.

On the other hand, most yoga styles don’t care about it and focus only on the physical aspect of the practice. Some do focus on the spiritual and the mental growth as well but most focus on the yoga poses practice for achieving results.

However, Karma yoga is different. It tells you to practice this form daily in all the actions that you perform.

Impact on Health

Karma Yoga has a beneficial effect on our mind and soul which can. In turn, be helpful in protecting our health and physical being.

• Karma yoga helps in the purification of your heart. As a result, you would be more positive and helpful in life which would also impact your bodily functions. Because a healthy mind means a healthy body.
• Another advantage of this yoga form is that it makes you aware of your life and makes you observe it in a liberal manner. So, you will stress about things less and won’t worry yourself into a heart attack because you would have a clear idea of what is important and what is unnecessary.
• It will also make you more compassionate and empathetic towards others. As a result, you are likely to help out others selflessly. This will be beneficial for your physical and mental growth and will be quite advantageous to your spiritual journey.

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