Samadhi: Integration and Coherence

Samadhi, the ultimate goal of Patanjali's yoga, is often mistranslated as 'absorption' but more accurately means integration or coherence. In nervous system physiology, samadhi corresponds to a state of optimal coherence where the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems are balanced, the vagal tone is healthy, and there is no gap between observer and experience. Rather than dissociation or trance, samadhi is radical presence where the nervous system's regulatory capacity peaks. Patanjali describes samadhi as progressively more subtle: from savikalpa (with support) to nirvikalpa (unsupported), mirroring how nervous system regulation deepens from conscious effort to spontaneous embodied wisdom. Pursuing full samadhi is unnecessary for practical regulation, but understanding its progressive unfolding illuminates the trajectory: from fragmented, reactive nervous system states toward unified, responsive, coherent functioning. Even brief moments of samadhi recalibrate the entire nervous system toward stability.