When was the last time that your mind was absolutely still?
So still that you could feel your body breathing, notice the world moving around you and witness your life as if from afar?
This state of inner stillness is called samadhi.
Samadhi is a Sanskrit word. Sama means equanimous and dhi is intellect. When your mind is still, without agitation, you are able to see your life and the world clearly.
In this post, we’re going to dive into samadhi as the 8th limb of yoga and explore the ways that reaching samadhi can fundamentally transform your life.
Table of Contents
What are the Eight Limbs of Yoga?
yama niyama–asana pranayama pratyahara dharana dhyana samadhayo-‘stavangani
|2.29| Patanjali Yoga Sutras
Restraint, observance, postures, regulation of breath, substitute food for the mind, ability of the mind to focus, meditation and higher states of consciousness are eight limbs of yoga.
The limbs of yoga develop together; similar to how pulling one leg of a chair results in the entire chair coming toward you, when you practice one limb of yoga, the other limbs begin to develop as well.
The Goal of Yoga
Before we dive into samadhi and the purpose of samadhi, let’s understand yoga.
The word yoga comes from the root word yuj in Sanskrit. Yuj means union between the body, breath and mind. It is when we come into that union that we experience all the wonderful benefits of yoga.
Besides what is already commonly understood about yoga, here are some of the lesser-known facts about the practice:
- Yoga is a spiritual practice.
- Yoga brings your body, mind and soul into harmony.
- Yoga helps you find purpose, peace of mind and deeper meaning in life.
- Yoga helps you heal, burns your karmas and takes you toward moksha or spiritual enlightenment.
The goal of yoga is to eliminate pain and suffering from your life, empower you, and bring you home to your Self.
The Role of Samadhi in Yoga
Samadhi as the 8th and final limb of yoga represents higher states of consciousness.
When you are in yoga, you can reach samadhi. That is, when the body, breath and mind come into union, you can experience higher states of consciousness.
The first 4 limbs of yoga will help you release stress and tension and bring your body and mind into harmony so that you can go inwards and reach deep meditative states AKA samadhi.
It is here that the deeper benefits of yoga appear.
In samadhi, your mind-body complex is able to find deep rest and heal so that you’re able to live more in alignment with Truth.
Why should you try to reach samadhi?
For spiritual seekers wanting to deepen their practice, raise their vibration or reach moksha, reaching and becoming established in samadhi is an absolutely essential milestone.
Yoga as a practice is meant to help you clear impurities from your system to you can gradually, over time, realign yourself with your true nature.
When I say impurities, I mean: accumulated stress, trauma, excess desires, feverishness, self-limiting beliefs, self-harming habits… pretty much everything and anything that can physically or mentally afflict you.
When I say your true nature, I mean who you are at your core, the purest version of you, the one that embodies expansive joy, unlimited peace and unconditional love.
Yoga as a practice is meant to bring you home to your Self and that can only happen in samadhi.
Blessings of Reaching Samadhi
When you reach samadhi and as you become established in samadhi, your destructive habits will drop. Automatically they will drop – things like smoking, drinking alcohol, doing drugs, or any sort of addictions will drop.
This is because throughout the process of actually reaching samadhi, you will erase the harmful beliefs about yourself that are at the root of these harmful habits – beliefs that tell you you’re not worthy, not good enough, not loveable, etc.
You will release trauma stored in the body and uproot mental conditioning associated with that trauma. All the painful, untruthful things you think about yourself will drop because in the process of reaching samadhi, you will be healing your mind-body complex.
Nothing in the world can bother you as much as your own mind, I tell you. In fact, others seem to be bothering you but it is not others, it is your own mind.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Finding Purpose, Peace of Mind and Deeper Meaning in Life
As you heal your inner world, your outer world will also start to shift.
You’ll find that your mind becomes a quieter, more peaceful place. From that inner stillness, outer stillness will begin to radiate.
Your relationships will improve, your intuition will start to shine through, you’ll be able to make better decisions, and you’ll be able to maintain healthy boundaries. Above all, you’ll let go of people, habits and things that no longer serve you.
Life will begin to flow smoothly rather than feeling like a constant struggle.
Samadhi and Moksha
Perhaps one of the least talked about and least known benefits of reaching samadhi and becoming established in that space through the practice of yoga is that you will systematically burn through your negative karmas.
The fruit of your karma brings you happiness and suffering in the world.
When you purify your system through the practice of yoga and burn through your negative karmas, you raise your level of consciousness and start to become established in samadhi.
Becoming fully established in samadhi is becoming free of the cycle of life and death. This is what is known as moksha, spiritual enlightenment or liberation.
To become fully established in samadhi, you must practice the principles of yoga.
The easiest and most effective place to start is with yoga asanas or posture practice.
Start today and watch your life transform.
Start your Journey toward Samadhi Now
Dive into the ancient practice of Yoga and allow it to carry you forward toward a Life of Purpose, Peace of Mind and Deeper Meaning
