Pratyahara is often neglected and misunderstood in Patanjali’s eight-limbed Ashtanga yoga system. With the other limbs either being more tangible, more accessible to conceptualize or so far off we don’t even bother, Patanjali’s vague fifth limb can be easily overlooked. Patanjali himself only dedicated two sutras to pratyahara in his Yoga Sutras. But, regardless of its obscurity, pratyahara is fundamental to yoga.
True Meaning Of Pratyahara
Different yogic texts and schools of yoga offer a variety of approaches to pratyahara, but its essential meaning remains consistent. Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the senses or the independence from external stimuli. Focusing on Patanjali’s eight-limbed system of aśtanga yoga, Patanjali places pratyahara as the fifth limb and the gatekeeper from the outer limbs to the inner limbs.
Patanjali still considers sense withdrawal (pratyahara) to be an outer limb while listing concentration (Dharana), meditation (dhyana), and absorption (samadhi) as the inner limbs. Pratyahara is our bridge to higher practices of yoga. As long as we remain dependent on external stimuli and our senses remain scattered rather than bound, our yoga practice shall stay externally oriented within the first four limbs: Yama, niyama, asana, and pranayama. Though with consistent and faithful yoga practice, the limbs will eventually unfold themselves, pratyahara is so essential to our yogic development that it deserves more attention and practice than it typically is.
Patanjali’s View On Pratyahara
Patanjali does not elaborate on how to practice or achieve pratyahara. The only limb he does describe in detail is samadhi. For the remaining seven limbs, he only describes the results of these limbs once they have been achieved and does not give insight into technique or practice. In Sutra 2.54, Patanjali states in Sanskrit, “Sva vishaya asamprayoge chittasya svarupe anukarah iva indriyanam pratyahara,” which can be translated as “when the mind is withdrawn from the outside then the senses follow and disengage from the sense objects. This is pratyahara. This is a sense of withdrawal when we turn our attention inwards and detach from the stimulations and distractions of the external world.
Patanjali continues in the next sutra 2.55- tatah parama vashyata indriyanam, or, “from that comes supreme command over the senses.” When we are no longer attached to or distracted by external gratification and stimulation, we have achieved command over the senses and can focus the mind inwards.
Therefore there are two aspects to pratyahara. The first aspect is the detachment from external aversions or desires by reigning in our wandering senses and withdrawing from the outer world. The second aspect is going inside and realizing that everything we need is already inside us.
As long as we believe we need external sensory stimulus, the longer we continue to be a slave to our senses, our desires, and the outer world. This is not to advocate shutting out or negating the external world, as the world is our road to freedom. It is also not the say we shouldn’t enjoy the external world or sensory pleasure. Instead, it asserts that the more we believe we need sensory stimulation and the more enslaved we are to superficial pleasures or aversions, the more difficult it will likely be to discover the inner world of consciousness and freedom. This is why we practice pratyahara.
Prana And The Senses
Prana goes where the mind goes, and it is no shock to say that the mind is generally unfocused. Therefore when our senses are unregulated, our mind follows our senses outwards, we attach to objects, and our prana becomes dispelled. When the senses reach out, and we identify with the external world, we pull away, and prana can not be accumulated and arrested inside the body. By pulling the senses inwards, we begin to steady the mind fluctuations and retain prana. The accumulation and retention of prana are fundamental to practicing the higher limbs of yoga.
Way To Practice Pratyahara
As pratyahara is quite essential, as it leads us from the outside to the inside (as Yogi Sunil Sharma always emphasizes, it is a defining factor of yoga), how does one practice it? As mentioned above, Patanjali describes the effects of achieving the limbs but not their practice. As with most yogic traditions, the practical technique is meant to be taught by a qualified teacher according to the student’s capacity.
Even later, more informative texts, such as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, are meant to be taken in conjunction with a guru’s teachings. Just as there are delineated techniques for the practice of asana, pranayama, and meditation, there are also described techniques for the practice of Pratyahara. Where asana works on a physical level, pranayama on an energetic level, and meditation on a mind level, pratyahara works on all three levels and thus is practiced in asana, pranayama, and meditation. join our 200-hour yoga TTC in Rishikesh for the best Pratyahara practice.
An essential technique for withdrawing the senses is to bind them to something else. We do this in our daily ashtanga asana practice, sometimes without realizing it. As we breathe and move through our postures, we remove our attention from the external world, beginning by focusing on our body alignment and movement.
The sense of sight is bound by the practice of Drishti or the prescribed focal point of the gaze. The sense of hearing is bound by listening to our ujjayi breath. Our body wraps the tactile sense in asana and by the consistent activation of bandha. As our asana practice becomes more advanced, so does our capacity for pratyahara, and we become more adept at disengaging from environmental stimulation.
Different Asanas For Sense Withdrawl
There are also specific asanas that help to induce a sense of withdrawal. Supta kurmasana, or bound tortoise pose, is an excellent example. It functions as an intense forward bend, a leg over-head posture (and the first leg over-head posture of the ashtanga vinyasa system). Forward bends themselves function as the first steps on the path inwards. Supta kurmasana is compared to a tortoise withdrawing its limbs into its shell from the outer world. The shell is our mind, and the limbs are our senses. This asana is a direct practice of the faculties of sense withdrawal.
In many of his thorough and well-researched books on yoga, Gregor Maehle prescribes inversions (headstand, shoulder stand, etc.) as a direct practice of pratyahara. Citing many yogic texts and scriptures, Maehle states clearly that by accumulating and arresting amrita, the nectar of immortality, in the cavities of the skull associated with our highest chakras, then pratyahara will be achieved.
This is done by the correct and responsible practice of inversions. He even suggests that in our daily asana practice, we should extend our practice of inversions and recommends that 60 minutes be spent on asana and 30 minutes be spent on inversions and closing postures. Maehle’s in-depth and clearly explained research on inversions and pratyahara can be found in his book on yogic meditation.
Binding Attention To Breathe
The breath is a powerful vehicle that brings us from our outer world into our inner world. By consistently practicing breathing exercises and pranayama, we are using our faculty of pratyahara by binding our attention to our breath. Assuming we have become sufficiently competent in the elementary practices of pratyahara from professional asana practice, we can now practice binding our senses to the finer aspects of our breath and subtle bodies.
By focusing on the evening the force and length of the breath, counting the length and number of our inhalations and exhalations, using proper yogic breathing cycles and breath waves, and becoming aware of our breath and prana moving through our subtle body, we are practicing an intermediate level of pratyahara.
Bhramari pranayama (humming bee breath), as outlined in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, can also be considered a direct practice of sense withdrawal. Join our ashtanga yoga teacher training India to learn ashtanga Yoga. During the practice, we use our fingers and hands to pull in and close our senses to the outside world. The fingers cover the eyes and close the ears to external awareness. By humming like a bumble bee, we are aware only of the buzzing sound, bringing the agitated mind to a tranquil state and the senses from the external to the internal.
Nidra Meditation
Though outside of the traditional ashtanga system, a yogic meditation practice for pratyahara is yoga nidra meditation. Yoga Nidra, meaning psychic sleep, is a practice that uses body awareness to withdraw from the external world and enter the psyche’s subconscious and unconscious realms. Instructions are given during this guided meditation to bind the senses to various things, such as sounds and points on the body. By binding the senses, they are automatically withdrawn, allowing the practitioner to completely relax and access the deepest parts of the inner world. Yoga Nidra meditation is a powerful practice that effectively trains and strengthens our capacity for pratyahara.
Concentration And Meditation
As pratyahara is the gateway from the outer to the inner limbs, and Dharana (concentration) and dhyana (meditation) are the limbs that subsequently follow pratyahara, it is to be assumed at this point that as a yoga practitioner, our capacity for withdrawing the senses is sufficiently developed as these practices are more advanced.
Again, as with asana and pranayama practice, there are also systemized techniques in the ashtanga system for meditation preparation. Though many understand meditation practice as simply sitting still and watching the breathing, that method functions more as relaxation and self-awareness than a meditation practice.
While it is a good preparatory exercise for meditation and will fine-tune the capacity for pratyahara, we are unlikely to get very far by just watching the breath. As we have learned to control our breath and have become more familiar with our energy body and our flow of prana, we can use pratyahara practice during meditation to begin to train the mind to bind.
By removing our senses inwards, listening to our breath, and feeling the sensation of prana moving through the subtle body, we can focus on our Sushumna (central energy channel) and chakras (central energy centers). This is the beginning of learning to bind and suspend the mind, which is the beginning of yogic meditation.
Sixth And Seventh Limbs
The sixth and seventh limbs are when the ability to bind the senses transmutes into the ability to bind the mind. Once all the activity of the mind is bound during meditation, the mental fluctuations suspend, and the eighth limb samadhi (of which there are eight sub-limbs), or absorption, can be experienced and practiced.
This is how the mastery of pratyahara will ultimately lead us from the outer limbs to the higher practices of yoga and internal exaltation. As is written in the Maitri Upanishad: “if the fuel of the senses is withheld, the mind is reabsorbed into the heart.” When the senses are withdrawn through the practice of pratyahara, the inner limbs of yoga begin to blossom, and a whole other universe is placed at our fingertips.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Pratyahara is an essential limb of yoga that is often neglected and misunderstood. Its meaning is the withdrawal of senses or independence from external stimuli, which is the gateway from the outer to the inner limbs of yoga. Patanjali himself considered it an outer limb but still crucial for yogic development. Pratyahara has two aspects, first, detaching from external desires or aversions, and second, going inside to realize that everything we need is already within us. To practice Pratyahara, it is recommended to have a qualified teacher who can guide in the technique according to the student’s capacity. With consistent and faithful yoga practice, Pratyahara can lead us towards higher practices of yoga and help us attain the ultimate goal of yoga, which is self-realization. If you are interested in deepening your understanding and practice of yoga, including the often overlooked and essential aspect of pratyahara, consider joining our 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training program in Rishikesh, India. Our program is designed to provide a comprehensive and authentic learning experience taught by experienced and qualified teachers.