'action, deed, effort') most commonly refers to a "completed action", technique or practice within a yoga discipline meant to achieve a specific result.
The word karma is also derived from the Sanskrit root √kṛ (kri) कृ, meaning 'to do, make, perform, accomplish, cause, effect, prepare, undertake'.
[1][2] Karma is related to the verbal Proto-Indo-European root *kwer- 'to make, form'.
[3] The root kṛ (kri) is common in ancient Sanskrit literature, and it is relied upon to explain ideas in Rigveda, other Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, and the Hindu epics.
[5] The Kriya Yoga school, established by Yogananda, is centered on pranayama techniques.