During this month of thanksgiving many people engage in Karma yoga, one of the six branches of yoga (I’ll get to the other five in a moment).
KARMA YOGA is the path of service. At any time you volunteer yourself in a selfless manner, you are practicing Karma yoga. Letting another car jump into traffic ahead of you, donating time, goods, or money, or volunteering at pre-school, or soup kitchen are all examples.
Curious about the other five branches of yoga? Here they are in no particular order:
HATHA YOGA
This yoga addresses the care of the physical/mental/emotional body and could be considered the most practical. It requires commitment, effort and may lead to self-transformation. My Kripalu yoga classes are considered Hatha Yoga. Other examples of Hatha Yoga are Iyengar, Svaroopa, Vinyasa, Yin, and Anusara.
RAJA YOGA
This type of yoga is one of meditation and contemplation as its foremost practices. Living a Raja yoga lifestyle may look like living like a monk or nun; no need to join a monastery to practice, though!
BHAKTI YOGA
The love yoga! Practicing Bhakti yoga helps us to cultivate acceptance and tolerance for everyone we come into contact with. Gathering with others to sing and chant at a kirtan is another way to practice this devotion to acceptance not only of others, but of yourself in all your human-ness!
JNANA YOGA
The yoga of the sage or scholar—seekers of wisdom. Jnana yogis study the ancient yoga scriptures such as the Upanishads and the Yoga Sutras. Examples of this path are Kabalistic scholars, Jesuit priests and Benedictine Monks.
TANTRA YOGA
The yoga of celebration and a ritualistic approach to life in experiencing the Divine in everything we do.
There you have it! You may practice one or more of these types of yoga. Or you may simplify your view of yoga and view it in the words of Swami Kripalu (1913-1981) “to perform every action artfully is yoga.” Some days this is all I need to be reminded of.