THE 8 LIMBS OF YOGA: 5. PRATYAHARA

I imagine you've heard of the first 4 Limbs of yoga here and there.  They are more commonly referenced, in part if not in whole.  Certainly the term "asana" might be in your vocabulary, but even if not, you'd certainly know the words "posture" or "pose" that seem to be the Western definition of yoga.

We are moving on now to the lesser known and perhaps more esoteric practices of yoga -- the "juicy" parts, I like to call them.

Pratyahara is the withdrawing of the senses; turning inward.  I could go into a discussion of the various levels of consciousness here -- the 'sheaths' described in yoga philosophy -- but instead I'll urge you to recall what it feels like just as you are falling asleep.  You are deeply relaxed, yet still awake on some level.  You hear sounds, but don't attach to them.  Things might be happening around you, but you are drifting off without attending to or responding to those external events.  This is the state of Pratyahara.

That said, you don't have to be almost asleep to practice Pratyahara.  This is a state available to us as we go about our every day lives.  In fact, it is a very useful practice that allows us to be of the world, while also be apart from it.  (I know this is very confusing and it can get even more so as you delve deeper into the study of this limb.  I'm a beginner so I'll keep it simple here.)

For example, you can get to Pratyahara in yoga by breathing to calm yourself, by focusing on a candle as you sit to meditate, by relaxing fully into Savasana, by closing your eyes and focusing on the movement of the asana.  Our senses are bombarded by information.  One practical practice of Pratyahara is to do media detox.  Turn off the TV, stash your cell phone, close the computer.  Sensory input can also overwhelm -- we hear, we see, we feel, we touch, we smell.  Try focusing on only one sense -- for a short time, attend to all that you hear, but ignore the rest.  Close your eyes.  This allows you to turn inward immediately.  Our busy minds also create chaos and an intentional practice of Pratyahara can allow places of calm -- a "pause" between thought and action creates an oasis of calm as we rush about our day and likely saves us from saying and doing things we might later regret.  Notice a thought, pause, then carry on.  That empty "pause", without thought,  is the inner you.

Ultimately the practice of Pratyahara is a path to deepening our meditation to connect to the inner realms of the mind.  We must turn from the physical, external world to the internal one to truly settle into a place of quiet where the senses are stilled in service to the higher consciousness place within us that exists, ever present, but mostly ignored -- the Seat of our Soul -- that which is unchanging in the ever-fluctuating storms of our physical/emotional life in the physical realm.

It's really pretty cool to experiment with this limb of yoga.  It is the transition from the external, or physical, "worldly" limbs of yoga, to the internal.  There is peace there -- a "tease" of the greater peace to come.©

Namaste, donnajurene

Photo Credit:  Pixabay.com
Resources:  Yoga Journal; Yoga International