What is Karma Yoga – what do you need to know?
Karma Yoga, as the name suggests, is a slightly different style of yoga that you don't necessarily have to practice on a yoga mat . Karma Yoga is one of the four paths of yoga, practiced by many yoginis and other spiritual practitioners. In this article, you'll learn the most important information and find out why it's worth integrating Karma Yoga into your daily life. Because, as the saying goes, one good deed a day makes your life much more beautiful.
Definition: What exactly is Karma Yoga?
Many people aim to achieve enlightenment. Karma Yoga could be one possibility. Along with the three other paths: Raja Yoga (the traditional path with various breathing exercises, asanas, and meditation), Bhakti Yoga , and Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga is considered an effective way to live a more selfless and mindful life.
Karma Yoga can also be translated as "yoga of action," and the principle of cause and effect plays a role in this yoga path. The goal is to accumulate good karma and thus live a good life and serve others.
A very popular and wise yoga master, Swami Sivananda, always explained that he taught young yogis "bedpan yoga." According to his philosophy, students could best pursue the path of yoga by serving others. He implemented this by having students empty the pans of sick people in hospitals. This daily good deed naturally had a direct impact on the yogis' spirituality.
Briefly explained: What is karma?
In this context, we would like to briefly explain what karma means. It is also described as the law of cause and effect. Every action has a consequence. The consequence ensures that further action is taken – thus, it describes a continuous sequence of actions. This law is observed primarily in Hinduism and Buddhism, but it is also one of the universal laws of nature that shape every human life, albeit unconsciously.
Anyone who follows this law knows that every action plants a seed and the consequence will occur sooner or later (in some cases not until the next life).
These facts shouldn't be frightening. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone has done things they later regret. Nevertheless, it's advisable to give your life a new meaning now. This can be achieved with simple tips that you'll learn in the following section.
How can you integrate Karma Yoga into your everyday life?
Now that you understand that you can consciously control your life through your actions, you should choose them wisely. With a little practice, this becomes much easier; thus, the first step toward the divine becomes easier to implement.
a) Act selflessly
One of the most important points is that you begin to switch off your ego and act from a selfless attitude. This isn't easy, especially at first. With the help of various meditation exercises on the cushion , mantras, or asanas, you will feel the call of your heart more strongly; the ego will fade into the background.
In this context, reflecting on one's own behavior can be very important. We often act ego-driven, even though we don't intend to. This is because we are shaped by patterns or beliefs that make us act this way. However, once these are resolved, our behavior can change, and selfless action becomes much easier, with more dedication and love.
Acting selflessly means that we don't necessarily put our desires first. At the same time, it doesn't mean we have to neglect ourselves.
b) Do something good every day
A great exercise can be to consciously do something good every day. This can be anything. Whether it's helping an elderly woman across the street, offering someone a listening ear, or giving a poor person a meal. Even a smile can often work wonders.
This point makes such a difference and yet it is easy to integrate into everyday life.
c) Help others: Discover your social side
Depending on your circumstances, you can get involved in social activities. You can support projects with money or your time. If you're even more committed, you can start your own project.
d) Increase self-love, basic trust and equanimity
To be able to act authentically and honestly, it's important that you strengthen your self-love and self-esteem. Only then will you realize that you're doing things with a different motivation. You'll be able to decide much more clearly what you're doing and why, and thus act even more selflessly.
In addition to self-love, equanimity and fundamental trust are also the cornerstones of Karma Yoga. Those who trust in life can act with significantly less selflessness and fear. Equanimity describes a sense of serenity: Those who are equanimous can remain more at peace with themselves and more positively in difficult situations. You no longer judge situations as "good" or "bad," which brings a great deal of lightness into your life.
ATTENTION: You should avoid this
When people do something good, they sometimes expect external recognition. This means that you perform a good deed and then want to be appreciated. This is completely human, but it shouldn't be the main focus. It's much more important that you do it for the sake of satisfaction. You'll find that over time, you'll feel so much gratitude and satisfaction from the act alone that you'll no longer need external recognition.
Do you already practice Karma Yoga? If so, what do you do and how are you doing with it?
