Drawing on Patanjali’s eight-limbed roadmap, Dharana and Dhyana form a seamless bridge from focused attention to effortless meditation.

Dharana (concentration)
• Dharma of the mind: pinning awareness on a single point—be it the breath, a mantra or an inner image.
• Patanjali’s cue (Yoga Sutra III.1): “tatra pratisthānam”—establish the mind steadily there.
• Like threading a needle in a bustling room, Dharana asks for gentle persistence, shrugging off every stray thought.

Dhyana (meditation)
• Dharma of the flow: when that steady focus loosens its effort, becoming an unbroken current of awareness (III.2: “tato dhyānam”).
• Picture a river running smoothly around rocks—attention no longer fights distractions, it simply glides.
• The boundary between observer and observed begins to blur, setting the stage for Samadhi, total absorption.

Modern echoes
• Mindfulness apps (Calm, Headspace) ring familiar tunes: guided focus, steady presence, gradual letting-go of mental clutter.
• In an age of endless scrolling and constant pings, learning to hold attention as Patanjali described is like finding a hidden oasis.

A subtle shift
• Dharana jumps hurdles of restlessness; Dhyana dissolves those hurdles altogether.
• Together, they orchestrate the mind’s transition from wrestling with thoughts to simply witnessing, paving the way for deeper insights.

With these two stages, the Yoga Sutras sketch a path from effortful concentration to the effortless stillness at the heart of true meditation.