Parinama — The Three Transformations of Mind in Samadhi
Patanjali describes three specific transformations (parinamas) of the mind during the progression toward samadhi: the transformation of the object of awareness, the transformation of the quality of attention, and the transformation of the state of concentration.
Sutras 3.9-3.12 describe three specific transformations (parinamas) through which the meditating mind progresses: Nirodha Parinama (the transformation of suppression — the mind oscillates between distraction and one-pointedness), Samadhi Parinama (the transformation of samadhi — the mind becomes progressively more saturated with its chosen object), and Ekagrata Parinama (the transformation of one-pointedness — arising cognitions become identical with subsiding ones, creating perfect continuity). These three transformations describe the progression a practitioner actually passes through: from oscillation between distraction and focus, through increasingly stable attention, to a continuous, self-sustaining meditative state.
The mind's transformation into suppression, samadhi, and one-pointedness.
Psychologist Daniel Kahneman's System 1/System 2 model of cognition describes the same oscillation pattern that Patanjali's Nirodha Parinama maps: the untrained mind defaults to automatic, associative thinking (System 1); sustained meditation practice cultivates the capacity for deliberate, focused cognition (System 2 with System 1 quieted).
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali