Traditionally speaking, these are only two of the eight stages. Brief History Yoga is one of the world's oldest branches of spiritual inquiry, and one of the longest standing, most intense experiments on the human spirit. Akin to the Native American spiritual tradition of this century, Yoga teaches guidelines and values to follow, and practices for purification for the body, mind and spirit. The earliest text with just a hint of the guidelines for the yogic tradition, are the Vedas, the sacred canon of Hinduism, dating back some 3,000 years to 1500B.C. The Vedas explore the possibilities of the human spirit and of the energy and powers in the universe, and discuss the purpose and meaning of life. The roots of Yoga evolved from the spiritual and metaphysical disciplines of the Vedas and the Upanishads, a sacred text from near 600B.C. Yoga, however, rejects the pursuit of metaphysics, and sticks to the practical path of transcending the ego in order to awaken the center self, the pure being of consciousness and awareness.
Yoga looks to engage in the spiritual path rather than to speculate about it.
It is the exercise of discipline, the practice of purification. It is said that the great sages spontaneously practiced yoga, evolving out of their relationship and harmony with nature. Using their deepest intuition, intelligence, and experience, they became familiar and instinctual about the energy flowing through all life forms. They developed natural ways to access, build, nurture and direct the energy for greater health and awareness. The oldest and most popularly known book of Yoga is the Bhagavad-Gita, translated to mean Lord's Prayer.