How Ashtanga Yoga Relates to Meditation

Asana as preparation, not the end point

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras describe eight limbs in sequence — yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi — and asana is defined there simply as "sthira sukham asanam," a steady and comfortable seat (Sutra 2.46), originally referring to seated posture for meditation rather than a vinyasa flow. Our guide to the eight limbs covers this in full. The point for a modern Ashtanga practitioner is that the physical vinyasa sequence, however demanding, was framed by later teachers like Krishnamacharya and Pattabhi Jois as a way to build the stability, strength, and steady breath that make sitting for meditation more possible afterward — not as a separate, competing activity.

What tristhana already trains

The Ashtanga method's own internal structure — tristhana: breath (ujjayi), bandha, and drishti (gaze point) held together throughout the sequence — already functions as concentration practice. Holding a steady gaze point while maintaining even ujjayi breath through a demanding posture is, in a real sense, dharana: sustained, one-pointed attention. Practitioners who have kept a Mysore practice for years often describe the physical sequence itself becoming meditative, particularly in the stiller, more internal seated postures toward the end of the Primary Series.

Adding a seated practice afterward

Many practitioners eventually add a short seated period — five to twenty minutes — after finishing asana practice and before showering or starting the day. The body is warm, the breath is already settled, and the mind, for some people, is quieter than it would be cold. This isn't a required addition to Ashtanga, and Pattabhi Jois's own teaching emphasized the physical series heavily, but it's a natural and traditional extension consistent with the eight-limb sequence the practice claims to follow. A simple approach: sit comfortably, let the breath return to normal, and either follow the breath, count breaths, or repeat a mantra silently, perhaps counting repetitions on a mala.

Where "Kriya Yoga" fits, and where it doesn't

It's worth being precise here, because the term gets used in more than one way. Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 2.1 defines "kriya yoga" narrowly, as a combination of tapas (discipline), svadhyaya (self-study), and ishvara-pranidhana (surrender to the divine) — a description of an approach to practice, not a specific technique or lineage. Separately, various modern teaching lineages use "Kriya Yoga" as the name for a specific initiatory meditation technique, transmitted from teacher to student in person; that kind of Kriya Yoga initiation isn't something that can be learned from an article or video, and it exists independent of the Ashtanga Vinyasa postural system entirely. See our overview of what Kriya Yoga is for more on that distinction. Ashtanga Vinyasa practitioners interested in initiatory Kriya Yoga would pursue it as a separate, additional commitment, not as something contained within the vinyasa sequence.

A quiet corner for both

Practically, this often means the same home space serves two purposes: a cleared area for the physical sequence, and, right after, a seated spot — perhaps a cushion near a small altar or a quiet corner — for a few minutes of stillness. Some practitioners keep a mala nearby for this seated portion, using it to count breaths or a simple mantra rather than as part of the asana practice itself. There's no requirement to formalize this; even two or three quiet minutes seated after practice, breathing normally and letting the nervous system settle, honors the same sequence the eight limbs describe, moving from a steady body toward a steadier mind.