When consciousness internalises by uncoupling from external objects the senses do the same.
Yoga Sutra 2:54

Pratyahara translates as “sense withdrawal”.  The idea of looking internally rather than externally. We spend so much time looking out, filling our senses but without some inward direction are we just projecting our thoughts and emotions onto the outside world unnecessarily?

Human beings have a definite tendency to look out on the world as the source of their unhappiness, their dis-ease, their discontent. We spend time searching outside ourselves for contentment. If only I had a better job/more money/the perfect partner/could lose weight then I would be happy. And then we get those things and realise still, something is missing.

Looking inward is not, however, the same as introspection.  During introspection were are still using the senses and the emotions and if we aren’t careful the Ego can soon go crazy with questions during introspection:  ”why me?”  ”when?”, “what if?”

Sensory withdrawal is different and I’m not going to pretend it’s easy.  It involves reigning in Ego and judgement. It involves letting go of what the Ego tells us is “bad” and “good”. It is about realising that how we see things is only our angle of vision and not truth.

There is nothing wrong per se in sensory experience. I love music, cupcakes, the blogosphere, Australian soap operas (well I’m only human!), but I also want to be sure I make time to not be surrounded by these things. To work out who I am.

How can we incorporate Pratyahara into our yoga practices?  Well we have to be fully aware of our sensory experiences before we can withdraw from them.  We can do this through our practice of asana, exploring our bodies, finding our capabilities and our limitations, finding our breath.

Then with the use of correct breath and pranayama we can explore the asana more deeply.  It doesn’t have to be a complicated or advanced posture – a simple Mountain pose or Warrior will suffice.  Here we can find our edge, the place where we find both strength and ease.  We may find our capabilities and limitations change here.  We may find our previous judgements of the posture were only that, judgement and not truth at all.

And this is where we begin to draw the senses in.  We stop thinking about the posture and start being the posture.  We withdraw from discomfort, from consciously holding the posture.  And this  is pratyahara.  (Emma describes this beautifully in this post).

Finding this place is not something I can teach anyone.  It is something that needs to be found by each individual.  Explore space.  Explore time in quiet solitude and see what happens.

Pratyahara comes when it comes.  It is part of our practice, of our journey.  Let go of those things that no longer serve you and step within.

How do you feel about Pratyahara?  Have you ever experienced a similar feeling for example during a technology fast or retreat?

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Parts of this post were rejigged from a similar post I wrote last October.  Just in case you were wondering!

Pratyahara is one of Patanjali’s 8 limbs of yoga. The idea of sense withdrawal, looking inwards. We spend so much time looking out, filling our senses but without some inward direction are we just projecting our thoughts and emotions onto the outside world unnecessarily?

Human beings have a definite tendency to look out on the world as the source of their unhappiness, their dis-ease, their discontent. We spend time searching outside ourselves for contentment. If only I had a better job/more money/the perfect partner then I would be happy. And then we get those things and realise still, something is missing. Looking for happiness in external things is akin to “planting an apple seed and hoping to see a banana tree grow”1.

In yoga we stand all this on its head. If we believe all suffering is about perspective and it therefore originates in the mind then it is the mind that needs to be changed. And to do this we need to bring the awareness inwards. Pratyahara.

Sensory withdrawal is not easy and I don’t want to make this post any longer than is necessary. It involves reigning in ego and judgement. It involves letting go of what the ego tells us is “bad” and “good”. It is about realising that how we see things is only our perspective and not truth. And I learned a very important lesson in this on a personal level recently.

How do we approach Pratyahara in our modern world, surrounded as we are by sensory stimulus? One way that has been springing to my mind recently is occasional technological fasting. A weekend perhaps without computer, phone, iPod. I think a huge amount of insight and creativity can come up out of that. There is nothing wrong per se in sensory experience. I love music, the internet, watching Australian soap operas (well I’m only human!), but I also want to be sure I make time to not be surrounded by these things. To work out who I am.

Some people have said to me that Pratyahara is like closing a door. Shutting out the world around me. Ignoring, or even ignorance. But I see it more like a door opening. I feel if I take the time to withdraw from the things that cause my mind to give me pain and examine the root of that pain I am able to cope with the world around me, or my perception of the world around me with heightened insight and hopefully (eventually) a little more patience and mindfulness.

1 from Darren Main’s “Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic”

As we go through our daily life, many of us our not using our senses properly. We take in so much and we are so overstimulated by the energy of the world around us, but we never take the time to really process all the stimulus our senses soak up. When was the last time you stopped to smell a flower, or listen to birdsong, or taste the flavour of the food you are eating? I know for my part I have a tendency to live my life in a constant state of rush – from client to class to errand completely ignoring everything around me apart from the task I am focussing on.

Most of us our guilty of rushing through life in this way, thinking only of train timetables, email inboxes, telephone calls. We rarely stop to allow ourselves to be aware of the wonder that surrounds us and the things that our senses take in every day.

By being aware of our senses and what they take in, we can begin to have some measure of control over them and only then can we come to have any measure of control enough to steady the mind.

A good way to start is mindful eating. Next time you eat, be it a full meal or just an apple, begin to be aware of each mouthful, how it feels in your mouth, how it tastes in different parts of the mouth. Chew slowly and swallow with awareness and gratitude, taking time before the next mouthful.

Slowly over time we can begin to bring mindfulness into all the tasks in our daily routine!

Namaste!