Yogi Corner: Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: Pratyahara

The most famous part of the Yoga Sutras is called the "eight limbs." Sometimes referred to as branches, these limbs are to be worked on until the impurities are dwindled away in order to achieve yoga. For July we will discuss the 5th limb, that of "Pratyahara."

"Sva Visayasamprayoge Cittasvarupanukara Ivendriyanam Pratyaharah." 
B.2, V.54
Translation: When the senses withdrawal themselves from the objects and imitate, as it were, the nature of the mind-stuff, this is pratyahara.

Ah, the senses. Most of us have a feeling that without them, we could not understand the world. Imagine a world without the sense of smell, sight, hearing, touch and taste. In an instant if all of those senses were lost one might have a feeling of complete loss and confusion - a disorientation to the world around him. And one would be right too. The idea is to lose that connection to the world around you, and delve into the world within you.

"The senses are like a mirror. Turned outward, they reflect the outside; turned inward, they reflect the pure light. By themselves the senses are innocent, but when allowed to turn outside they attract everything and transfer those message sot the mind, making it restless. Turned inward, they find peace by taking the form of the mind itself" - Sri Swami Satchidananda.

This limb and those following begin to create quite a challenge for a yoga aspirant to understand because they ask of us to understand the esoteric nature of the mind when in truth our mind can only understand what it has been programmed to know through our senses. The idea is that this "knowledge" is limited. It is like the saying that a computer is only as smart as the person who programmed it. There are limitations to the full scope of knowledge of our nature. This is why pratyahara is so important.
Let's assume that you are with me so far. How does one achieve pratyahara? Do not look to Patanjali for the answers. He ends Book 2 of the Yoga Sutras with the following:
"Tatah Parama Vasyatendriyanam." 
B.2, V.55
Translation: Then follows the supreme mastery over the senses.
Ok, thank you Patanjali for the detailed information. So we look towards other master yoga teachers such as Satchidananda, who have given us insights over these esoteric concepts. Over the years I have come to understand that the following practices will help us to gain pratyahara:
1. Breathing practices
2. Meditation
3. Asana practice
4. Any activity requiring our full concentration
It has been noted that pratyahara assists in pain management, something that I myself experienced a few years ago when I experienced a situation that resulted in an emergency appendectomy. I wrote about it in my blog back in 2011. Here is a quick link if you are interested in reading or re-reading it: How I Found Bliss in the E.R. This article was also published in "Elephant Journal" on the internet around that same time. 
I have read that pratyahara, dharana and dhyana (the following two limbs) often all come at once. That was certainly my experience. It is interesting that in the month of July, a month that is mostly known for vacationing, socializing and recharging oneself through total sensory experiences, that we are looking at pratyahara. We have almost 5 full weeks in July. Why not experiment with the awareness of each of the senses for one week. Journal about your experience of each sense in different circumstances or try meditating on each. See what you uncover in these experiences, so that we can move into dharana for August.
Namaste.

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