Astro Foorumi

[samaadhi < sam + aa-dhi]

http://www.tm.org/blog/meditation/samadhi-yoga/

Samadhi is the beginning, not the end of Yoga

by Neil Dickie on June 30, 2010

This article is for yoga people—for the throngs who have re-discovered this ancient yet very sophisticated approach to exercise. Tens of millions have taken up yoga because it’s gentler and kinder to the body, yet fun and challenging, and effective in promoting overall fitness. People also appreciate yoga for its settling effect on the mind. The unhurried pace of yoga practice and the focus on the concrete details of stretching, balancing, breathing, helps a person leave behind the concerns of a busy life and enjoy the present moment.

Though practicing yoga poses (“asanas”) can be quite enjoyable, many yoga practitioners suspect that they could take their practice to a higher level by learning to further integrate body, mind and spirit through the experience of deep meditation. There’s good reason for the notion that meditation can make yoga, a good thing, even better. For one thing, almost every system or school of yoga recommends meditation, at least theoretically. But yoga students often put off starting meditation, perhaps fearing that they lack the steely discipline and laser-like concentration assumed to be essential for success.

 :o