09/29/2025
Karma is often misunderstood.
In pop culture, it’s reduced to a kind of cosmic scoreboard: do good, get good; do bad, get bad.
But in yoga, karma simply means action—every choice you make, every word you speak, every thought you follow.
These actions leave subtle impressions (samskaras) in the mind, which, over time, shape how you see the world, how you respond to it, and who you become.
This is the law of karma: not punishment or reward, but a continuous, unfolding cycle of cause and effect.
Yoga asks us to be aware of not just what we do—but how we do it.
The Bhagavad Gītā offers this teaching:
“yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam”
Yoga is skill in action. (2.50)
Skillful action means choosing with awareness.
Acting from clarity, not compulsion.
Showing up with intention—and letting go of the outcome.
This is the path of nishkāma karma—taking action without attachment to results.
Not as inaction, but as a radical kind of freedom.
Yoga is more than actions on your mat. It’s how you live your life.
Dive deeper into the concept of karma and what it means for your life in the full article by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait here: https://yogainternational.com/article/view/karma-q-a-with-pandit-rajmani-tigunait/
