Man is born with his personal karma - the burden of past lives. Depending on his actions in the past, he can be born rich, poor, sick, strong, beautiful, holy fool, etc. It is on this that karma yoga focuses its attention .
The description of the practice of karma yoga can be found in the Bhagavad Gita, when Prince Arjuna talks with Krishna and complains that he does not want to take part in a fight where his relatives are fighting on both sides. Krishna responds that one must act independently of one's desires or pleasures of results, but according to one's duty. Arjuna's duty is to take the role of warrior.
Swami Vivekenanda formulated the essence of karma yoga - as fulfilling one's duties without attachment to the fruits of labor. Only this way one can atone for one's sins and be cleansed of karma . Swami Vivekenanda was a famous Indian humanist and philosopher who lived at the end of the XIX century. Swami Vivekananda created a whole treatise on karma yoga, where he described in detail both the ideal of karma yoga, and the definition of terms "duty", "dispassion", "labor", etc.
Exercises
Exercises of karma yoga are used in any other form of yoga, because the essence of karma yoga is the development of such qualities as accuracy, patience, diligence, respectively, work on karma. However, without classical asanas of yoga, karma yoga will be inferior.
- We raise our hands-inhale, exhale, stretch our crown upward. We stretch out to the right, center, on exhalation to the left. Center - inhale, pelvis forward, bend in the back. Inhale - exhalation, palms to the feet.
- Breathe - right foot step back, knee on the floor. Breathe - hands up, stretch vertically. Exhale - palms down, stretching both legs, feet together.
- Exhale - we lower our knees, chest, chin on the floor. We rise on inspiration in a cobra, we drag the crown upwards.
- We bend our toes, with an exhalation push ourselves up, the dog's pose with the muzzle down. At the inspiration with your right foot step forward, we raise your hands up. Exhale - palms under the shoulders, inhale pull the right foot to the left, tilt forward.
- Hands together, stretch up and back. Breathe, on exhalation - we lean forward. Inhale - with your left foot step back, hands pull up. Legs stretch - posture of the bar.
- Exhale - knees, chest, chin on the floor, elbows looking up. Inhale - we leave in a pose of a cobra.
- Fold your toes, push yourself up - the dog's pose with the muzzle down.
- Inhale - step forward with your left foot, hands up, pull the right foot to the left, pull your palms down, press the body to your feet.
- Pull up, bend in the back, join hands in front of the chest - namaste. Breathe your hands up, sit on your knees, on the heels, and relax in the pose of a child.