by Virginia Norman, Holystic Yoga, from the Winter 2024 Issues of Christian Yoga Magazine “The Eight Limbs Of Yoga.”
Samadhi is the eighth and final limb as identified in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. There seems to be no real consensus on what this actually means. Some definitions include enlightenment, spiritual absorption, a blank mind, meditative consciousness, or union with the divine. Sometimes it is defined as bliss or ecstasy. In traditional yoga teachings, the first five limbs lay the foundation for the final three, culminating in samadhi. As the practitioner masters the first five limbs, they become more able to practice the final three.
In A Seeker’s Guide to Samadhi, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait states that “In samadhi, the process of concentration, the object of concentration, and the mind that is trying to concentrate or meditate all have become one…all that remains in awareness is the content, the essence, of that object.” The author also states that an exception to following the yogic path, the first seven limbs, flows from complete surrender to God.
What does this mean for the Christian yoga practitioner? If yoga essentially means union, and samadhi (bliss) is ultimately the goal of the yogic path, then samadhi for the Christian is the bliss, the ecstasy, the rapture one feels when their whole being is immersed in God and filled with the Holy Spirit. As Christians, we carry the Holy Spirit within us, but a Samadhi experience would completely absorb His essence. Perhaps this experience would look different for different people.
There are Biblical examples of this kind of spiritual experience when the Holy Spirit falls upon or interacts directly with individuals. A quick search reveals the following handful of examples in no particular order.
Virginia Norman
Virginia is the creator of Holystic Yoga. Her passion is integrating breath, movement, mindfulness, and devotion into an on and off the mat yoga practice.