The Eighth Limb of Yoga: Samadhi

Samadhi: The Practice of Being Fully present

The eighth and final limb is samadhi. It is also the most difficult to describe.

Depending on the translation and philosophical tradition, samadhi may be described as absorption, deep contemplation, integration, or a profound state in which the usual sense of separation between the observer and the object of meditation falls away.

Patañjali describes it as: “Samādhi is when only the object of meditation shines forth, as if the mind itself were absent.” - Yoga Sutra 3.3 (VedKosh)

It’s tempting to think of samadhi as some extraordinary spiritual achievement reserved for advanced practitioners. But there is another way to understand it.

Yoga continually asks us to become less fragmented. Less caught in the story of me. Less divided between where we are and where we think we should be. Less distracted by the past and future. More fully present.

Samadhi represents the deepening of that process.

The distinction between “me practicing” and “the practice” begins to soften.

In those moments, there is simply experience.

• Breath.

• Awareness.

• Presence.

• Being.

Samadhi in everyday life

We can catch glimpses of this quality without claiming that we've achieved samadhi.

Think of a moment when you became completely absorbed in something: walking in nature, making art, playing music, dancing, being with someone you love, watching the ocean, or sitting quietly beneath the night sky. For a moment, the constant commentary of the mind became quiet.

You weren't trying to get anywhere. You were simply there.

That is part of what the deeper limbs of yoga point toward: a life experienced directly rather than constantly filtered through the thinking mind.

The Eight Limbs of Yoga Are One Practice

It can be tempting to think of the Eight Limbs of Yoga as a ladder.

• First I master my ethics.

• Then I master my personal practices.

• Then I master my poses.

• Then my breath.

• Then meditation.

• And someday, perhaps, I reach enlightenment.

But yoga is more nuanced than that and The Eight Limbs are interconnected.

• How we treat people affects our mind.

• How we treat ourselves affects our practice.

• How we breathe affects our nervous system.

• How we use our senses affects our attention.

• How we pay attention affects what we perceive.

• And what we perceive changes how we live.

Patañjali tells us that through sustained practice of these limbs, impurities diminish and the light of knowledge becomes clearer. (Patanjali's yoga sutras)

And this may be one of the most beautiful ways to understand yoga.

We aren't practicing yoga to become someone else. We practice to remove some of what gets in the way of seeing clearly who we already are.

The mat is one place to practice. The breath is another. So is the grocery store. The difficult conversation. The traffic jam. The unanswered email. The quiet morning. The moment we realize we're clinging. The moment we choose kindness. The moment we pause before reacting. The moment we remember to breathe.

The eight limbs give us a map, but the actual practice is our life.

And perhaps that is the most pure invitation of yoga:

Come back.
Pay attention.
Live consciously.
Begin again.