Exploring the Eight Limb Path of Yoga: Dhyana and Samadhi
By: Juliana Cole - Student, Yoga Instructor, Studio Manager at Yoga Heights We have come to my final post about the Eight Limb Path of Yoga. I chose to write about the Eight Limb Path for a few reasons: first and foremost, to use this as an introduction for anyone curious about the practice and study of Yoga; I also chose to write about this in order to encourage myself to continue my reading and study of yoga. What I find so beautiful about this practice is that wherever you are on your path of yoga, the practice, the readings, and the process always presents themselves to you in a way that suits you at that very moment. Every time I come back to a reading, a posture I’ve done before, a breathing technique, or a discussion on a principle of yoga, I find something new, something I didn’t find before or something that suits what I am seeking answers to. This supports the idea that it is all there, all the time, within and around you. You simply need to draw your attention to it. I said in class, and I have repeated this various times now, that your perspective guides your actions - where you set you gaze, your drishti, in a pose is in the direction that you want your chest or your heart to go. This perspective guides your movement, your actions, and directly affects the outcome of your actions. Your outlook will shape your outcome. To review the Eight Limb Path, we started with the ten ethical principles detailed in the Yamas and the Niyamas, followed by the Asanas (postures) and Pranayama (breath work). The foundation is set in these four limbs where you condition the body and the mind for the following stages, which delve deeper into the study of the mind. We talked about Pratyahara, the process of turning inward, and Dharana, concentration. Now we reach the final two limbs, Dhyana and Samadhi. These final two stages come across to me as experiences that you cannot activate through concerted effort but are more of a result of having done the work of letting go. You’ve sharpened your tools and prepared yourself for this more intangible state that you can’t will into being - you let go of planning and of all effort and, with something I can only label as faith, you experience and understand these final stages. Dhyana - MeditationDhyana doesn’t necessarily look like the image of meditation that we can all easily draw up: a person, appearing comfortable in a seated position with their eyes closed and their hands positioned just right (after all the breathing and movement has happened in order to achieve a calm body and mind). Dhyana is experienced often and in very different circumstances for us all; it is already a part of the human experience that we tap into, probably more often than we are aware of. The practice of yoga helps draw our attention to this meditative state we call dhyana, and encourages us to manifest this peaceful, calm state of mind. From dharana (translated as concentration), where you are focusing your attention on one thing, actively concentrating on something in order to further steady the mind, we arrive at dhyana where the concentration becomes effortless, where you meditate without needing to remind yourself or train yourself into that moment of focus. You cease to think about and process each breath or action, you just do. We experience dhyana all the time, but we don’t necessarily think of it as meditation or a relaxed state of mind. I see this as showing up when we are doing the things that really make our hearts sing - something like being in the moment.We all have that thing that we do, whether it is music, a form of exercise, cooking, gardening, dancing, making art, working with our hands, riding a motorcycle, etc., where we get in “the zone” and we are no longer thinking of all the little things in that moment, like time passing, or the intricate details of our actions. That is a great way to think about the state of dhyana. The practice of getting to a state of dhyana in your yoga practice can take many forms and can be achieved through various outlets. I often find that I get there when I practice restorative yoga or yoga nidra, but I play with a fine line between falling asleep and deep meditation. In fact, the state of dhyana (and then samadhi) has been described as being like sleep, except the mind is still alert and still conscious, but the senses and the body feel as though they are asleep. In Light on Yoga, BKS Iyengar makes a great analogy to describe the state of dhyana: he writes, “as water takes the shape of its container the mind when he contemplates an object is transformed into the shape of that object." When moving through the concerted effort of concentrating on one thing (dharana) the mind eventually rests on the object of concentration without any effort, essentially embodying that thing, like when you lose yourself in your “thing”, you and that thing are one and the same. Samadhi - enlightenmentSamadhi is the final limb of this eight limb path and is the most difficult and intangible thing to describe. Samadhi is a feeling that most of us have experienced in brief, fleeting moments and is that thing that makes us want to dive deeply into the study of yoga in order to come back to that feeling. Perhaps you’ve experienced samadhi for longer periods of time; I can only speak from my experiences here and in those experiences, I don’t recognize the state of samadhi until it has passed. Samadhi is what I like to call BLISS, and many describe this as enlightenment. I describe this as a state of being where there is no feeling of worry, there is a general feeling that everything is ok and as it should be, and that there is oneness or complete unity among all things. I know this sounds very vague and broad. I don’t think that enlightenment should be something easy to understand, grasp or achieve. It is a very subjective state of mind that can only be understood through experience and through reflection. Prior to that, however, one has to be generally open to the concept of samadhi. If you have faith and trust that this state of being is possible and you practice with the intention of reaching samadhi, chances are you will experience moments that you will identify as bliss or enlightenment.I do want to mention here that there are a lot of writings on this final limb that use the phrase God and talk about samadhi as a union of the self with God. I understand from an intellectual and spiritual perspective what the theories are here: at the core of all things exists the truest and purest self (often called inner light in yoga). This “self” is the same in all things and is what ties us all together; this “self” is the manifestation of the highest form or power (often given the name God). Samadhi is then the result of having concentrated so deeply on this truest and purest self, that you become the object of your concentration or meditation - the union of the self with the object of meditation. I am cautious to use the words God and faith in this post because we all assign different meanings and implications to those words, but I chose to use them here as they are used in various yogic texts and without any alignment to one specific religion.
As you continue in your journey, and perhaps use yoga as a guide, I hope you take in your experiences with a sense of curiosity and with a gentle, kind trust that you have everything you need. The most valuable lessons that I have gleaned from my yoga practice thus far are to be patient and kind to myself, and to have faith that I don’t need to seek beyond what is already within me. Yoga has given me the understanding that happiness is available to me right now, and in every moment. All I need to do is pay attention and look for it. With an open and humble heart, I am wrapping up this introduction into the Eight Limb Path of Yoga and hope you are eager to continue your study and reading into this beautiful practice. These blog entries have been a welcome challenge for me to concisely and effectively describe what this path looks like in my view, understanding that this is where I am today along my own very personal journey. Thank you for reading!
Take class with Juliana:Tuesday at Takoma – 10:00 am (All Levels Flow)Thursday at Takoma – 7:45 pm (Restorative Yoga)Friday at Takoma – 5:00 pm (Half Price Flow)Saturday at Georgia Ave. – 10:45 am (All Levels Flow)