() most commonly refers to a "completed action", technique or practice within a yoga discipline meant to achieve a specific result.
Etymology is a Sanskrit term, derived from the Sanskrit root , meaning 'to do'. means 'action, deed, effort'. The word karma is also derived from the Sanskrit root () , meaning 'to do, make, perform, accomplish, cause, effect, prepare, undertake'.see: kṛ, कृ Monier Monier-Williams, Monier Williams Sanskrit–English Dictionary (2008 revision), pp. 300–301; Carl Cappeller (1999), Monier-Williams: A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, Etymological and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages, Asian Educational Services, Mulla & Krishnan (2009), "Do Karma-Yogis Make Better Leaders? Exploring the Relationship between the Leader's Karma-Yoga and Transformational Leadership", Journal of Human Values, 15(2), pp. 167–183 Karma is related to the verbal Proto-Indo-European root 'to make, form'.John Algeo and Thomas Pyles (2010), The Origins and Development of the English Language, 6th Edition, , pp. 54–55
The root () is common in ancient Sanskrit literature, and it is relied upon to explain ideas in Rigveda, other Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, and the Hindu epics.See Rigveda 9.69.5, 10.159.4, 10.95.2, Svetâsvatara Upanishad 2.7.v.1, Mahabharata 1.5141, etc.
Practices The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 2.1 defines three types of , namely tapas (ascetic devotion), svadhyaya (study of the self or the scriptures), and (devotion or surrender to higher consciousness).
The yogic purifications or shatkarmas are sometimes called the Shatkriyas ("the six actions").Shatkarmas – Cleansing Techniques , in Yoga Magazine, a publication of Bihar School of Yoga
The Kriya Yoga school, associated with Yogananda, is centered on pranayama techniques.
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