At the basis of the yoga practice there is the Sankhya philosophy. This philosophy has sprung from the actual yoga practice. Its teachings deems that in the Universe there are two basic principles: Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is the absolute, active, male principle. Prakriti is the feminine, passive principle. Purusha is the active principle or the primeval cause - the essence, the no-manifested potential. In the tantric tradition they are also called Shiva - the male principle and Shakti - the feminine eternal. Prakriti is the moving creation, the manifestation, the energy in action under all its forms in the visible world. If Purusha is the primordial essence, Prakriti is the substance.

The yoga system has as purpose to help its adept know and attain Purusha, from the level of which one can act upon Prakriti. All which exists in Macrocosm also exists in the microcosm; therefore if in the Universe there is a Macrocosmic Purusha, then in the human being there is also a spark of Purusha. When one knows the cosmic Purusha by the means of one's own individual Purusha, one achieves the condition if universal consciousness. The ultimate goal in yoga is the attainment of the state of samadhi, the knowledge of the ultimate truth.