Samadhi.

 What is quite fascinating about the way Yoga texts were written and compiled in medieval India is that they often provide systemised hierarchical methods for achieving a goal or series of goals. Not unlike the brief self improvement lists that circulate widely on social media today, such as '10 ways to authentic happiness' or '7 tips for staying young'.

The Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā (early 18th century) is an example of such a text. It identifies seven means for achieving it's yoga, the 'Yoga of the Body' 

 "...it refers to the body, or rather the person, since the techniques taught works on both the body and mind."

The seven practices (saptasādhana) are outlined with descriptions of both the methods and the outcome produced once mastered:

1. PURIFICATION is achieved through Ṣaṭkarma (6 types of cleansing techniques)

2. STRENGTH is achieved through Āsana (32 types of postures)

3. STEADINESS is achieved through Mudrās (25 types of seals)

4. CALMNESS is achieved through Pratyāhāra (5 types of sensory withdrawal)

5. LIGHTNESS is achieved through Prāṇāyāmas (10 types of breathing exercises)

6. REALISATION OF SELF is achieved through Dhyāna (3 types of meditation)

7. STAINLESS PERFECTION is achieved through Samādhi (6 types of absorption)

The text focuses on the physical techniques that need to be practised in order to perfect both the body and mind to achieve it's goal, Rājayoga (a synonym for samādhi). Like most other Haṭhayoga systems, the seven practices in the Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā do not contain ethical guidelines, such as those instructed in the yamas and niyamas of the Pātañjalayogaśāstra.

Interestingly, however, the Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā does provide a unique set of six techniques for attaining particular types of samādhi, the state of meditative absorption that is liberation.