Thank you for proposing this wonderful question and I hope that I can help to bring some clarity to the question itself.  In response to this question I hear many people say that they prefer Yoga first to meditation. It is important to point out that while Asana is an aspect of Yoga, Yoga is not Asana. Yoga is defined in the Rig Vedas as a “discipline”, then later in the Upanishads as a “union with the absolute” and the later in Patanjali’s sutras as a “cessation of the minds fluctuations or thoughts.”  Many responses I hear often point out that Asana prepares you for meditation because some teachers and students see Asana listed before Pranayama, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi in Patanjali’s 8 limbs approach. In this text, Patanjali says that an Asana is a balance of ease and stability. You need to get your body into a position (Asana) in order to give the body a task so that you can then explore the finer points of the meditative experience. In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika of the 14th century there are Asana poses listed and almost all are seated positions or Kriya style poses. Asana is simply a position the body gets into in order to practice meditation not necessarily entire Asana practice. The ancient Vedic tradition is to go from the sleeping or dreaming state directly into meditation first thing in the morning and then again to meditate last thing in the evening. Traditionally, Asana as a longer practice would be performed after meditation very similar to how Zen Buddhists sit in meditation (Zazen) first, then do a walking meditation (Kinhin) and then sit in meditation (Zazen) again. To balance this, in the modern Western world we barely sit cross legged or in a squatting position throughout or day or life. If you travel to Asia and Africa you will see people sitting cross legged and in squatting positions throughout their day. Dr. William J Broad wrote about this in 2012 in his book “The Science of Yoga:Risk and Reward” and controversial titled article “Yoga Wrecks Your Body.” So while the tradition may be to meditate first those with little practice, a sentient lifestyle, overworked and used to sitting in chairs, may need to stretch the body first. It is nice to meditate after Sivasana and that is also traditionally done (meditate before and after you Asana) but there is a challenge and tapas that comes from sitting in meditation when you are not already exposed to the state of meditation that is hopefully reached in Sivasana. ~ Darin, Sacred Paths Yoga