The word “yoga” comes from the ancient Indian Sanskrit language ?C possibly the oldest language on earth. The literal meaning is to “yoke” or to “join together.” Though there are many different kinds of yoga, the majority of which involve no physical exercises whatsoever, the kind of yoga that most of us are familiar with today is a branch called “Hatha” yoga, which is a broad term for all kinds of physical yoga, including all the styles that are popular today: Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Anusara, Hot Yoga, etc. The word “hatha” refers to the sun and the moon, or more specifically, therefore, is to find a balance between these two energies in one’s body and mind. To find a perfect combination of strength and flexibility not only in the body, but in the heart, as well. The “joining together” of Hatha Yoga refers to the linking of breath and movement, and of ourselves to nature and to the divine within us all.

The word “Karma” refers to one’s actions in both this life and our previous existences (in Sanskrit, kar means “to do” or “to make”). Thus Karma Yoga is the yoga of action. It is the belief that each person should do his or her best in life to make the world a better place, yet without any attachment to the result…