Yoga and Meditation -- The Original Connection

In the West, yoga became physical exercise and meditation became a phone app. In the original tradition, they are parts of the same path.

The Original Relationship

In Patanjali's Yoga Sūtras, meditation (dhyāna) is the seventh of the eight limbs of yoga:

• Yama -- social ethics
• Niyama -- personal discipline
• Āsana -- posture
• Prāṇāyāma -- breathing
• Pratyāhāra -- withdrawal of the senses
• Dhāraṇā -- concentration
• Dhyāna -- meditation
• Samādhi -- absorption

Āsana (posture) comes before dhyāna (meditation) for a reason: a prepared body sustains meditation for longer.

In Practice

An integrated sequence: 1. Āsanas -- 20-30 minutes of postures to prepare the body 2. Prāṇāyāma -- 5-10 minutes of conscious breathing 3. Meditation -- 15-20 minutes of directed attention

In this order, each practice prepares the next. The body relaxes so the breath deepens. The breath calms so meditation can happen.

The Error of Separation

Doing yoga without meditating is exercise. Meditating without body preparation is difficult (the body complains). The tradition integrates both because it understands that body and mind are inseparable.

Beyond Both

In Vedānta, both yoga and meditation are preparations. They prepare body and mind for what truly liberates: [self-knowledge](/blog/what-is-vedanta). They are means, not ends.

Start with [basic meditation](/blog/how-to-meditate) and, if possible, integrate with āsana practice.