Yoga’s ideal state of knowledge is reached after a person has gone through eight different stages. These include aspects of self-control, religion, postures, regulation of breath, restraint of senses, steadying of the mind, meditation, and profound thought. For a practitioner of yoga, or "yogi" the progression through these stages is a movement from the physical toward a perfect mental state.

人要经过八个不同阶段的训练才能达到瑜珈的完美境界。这包括了自制、信仰、体位、调息、节欲、内省、冥想和三摩地。对瑜珈修习者来说，这些阶段是从身体到完美精神境界的进程。