~ by Pilar Salazar
In the last article I talked about the roots of yoga and mentioned different types of Yoga that I will like to go over one by one.
Yoga Philosophy
Let’s begin the journey with Karma Yoga, which I consider to be one of the most profound methods of the practice, because it is about our spiritual relationship with the world around us. In general, it’s known as the Yoga of “Service” or “Action”, but it is more than that. This branch of yoga comprehends the experience of selfless service through which we can find a real and profound state of peace and contentment.
I think we can all remember particular moments in our lives in which we have provided others with our service without a personal agenda, only with the genuine desire to benefit someone else, and those events left a unique feeling of plenitude and connection with others. Karma yoga is service, help, and support to others allowing those actions to come from our deepest sense of love. It’s a way to give meaning to our lives through our actions. At the same time, this practice implies not only selfless acts, but to give your best effort as you do so. Karma Yoga is the understanding that: it is by giving that we receive.
A simple example of when we practice Karma Yoga in our lives is at the moment we become parents. Before having children, our major focus of attention relies on ourselves and the pursuit of our own happiness, and at the arrival of our beautiful offspring, the focus (and our entire lives) switches to our children, their wellbeing and happiness, and there, we find an unfailing source of contentment ourselves.
