Samadhi

Samadhi is the eighth and final limb of Ashtanga Yoga, and it means total absorption. It is the state in which the practitioner becomes one with the true self and merges into the object of concentration. In this state of mind, the perceiver and the object of perception unite through the very act of perception — a true unity of all thought and action, in which the sense of a separate self dissolves.

Samadhi is the acme (the highest point) of all yogic endeavour. It is the ultimate meaning of the word "yoga" fully realised — the connection between the individual soul and the universal soul. It cannot be reached by a leap; it is the ripe fruit of the whole disciplined path, reached only after the earlier limbs have done their work:

1. Yama and Niyama purify a person's outward and inward conduct.
2. Asana and Pranayama steady the body and the breath.
3. Pratyahara withdraws the senses from the outer world.
4. Dharana fixes the mind on a single point.
5. Dhyana turns that focus into an unbroken, effortless flow.
6. Samadhi completes the journey as that flow deepens into total absorption.

In this way Samadhi represents the highest aim of Ashtanga Yoga — a state of self-realisation and complete inner freedom.

Why Samadhi is described as the "acme" of yoga

Every earlier limb has been building towards this single state: Yama and Niyama purified conduct, Asana and Pranayama steadied the body and breath, Pratyahara and Dharana withdrew and focused attention, and Dhyana turned that focus into an effortless flow. Samadhi is what happens when that flow goes one step further and the very distinction between the person meditating and the object of meditation disappears.

Two traditionally recognised stages

Classical texts often describe Samadhi as unfolding in stages — a form in which some trace of individual awareness remains (often called Savikalpa or Sabija Samadhi) and a deeper form in which that trace disappears entirely (Nirvikalpa or Nirbija Samadhi). Not every practitioner reaches the deeper stage, and the texts are clear that it is the fruit of long, sustained practice, not something to expect quickly.

Why it is taught in a Physical Education course …