External withdrawal

svaviṣayāsaṃprayoge cittasvarūpānukāra ivendriyāṇāṃ pratyāhāraḥ - "When the mind maintains awareness, yet does not mingle with the senses, nor the senses with sense impressions, then self-awareness blossoms” - The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - 2.54

In this blog, we'll explore the importance of pratyahara and how it can enhance the quality of our lives.

Brief Yoga History: Yoga Sutras + 8 Limbs of Yoga

The true meaning of Yoga is the union of body, mind, and soul to reduce suffering.

According to the practice, we often suffer because of not knowing our true Self and the illusion of separation of our individual consciousness from Universal Consciousness.

So taking a step back... where does Pratyahara come from? 

Pratyahara or sensory withdrawal is the 5th Limb of Yoga, within the 8 Limbs of Yoga, which are 30+ concepts that come from the Yoga Sutras. If you'd like to dive deeper into the other Limbs, I have written the additional blogs below:

1st Limb of Yoga - The Yamas

1. Ahimsa/ NonViolence
2. Satya/ Truthfulness
3. Asteya/ NonStealing
4. Brahmacharya/ NonExcess
5. Aparigraha/ NonAttachment
   
   

2nd Limb of Yoga - The Niyamas

1. Saucha / Purification
2. Santosha / Contentment
3. Tapas / Self Discipline
4. Svadhyaya / Self Study
5. Ishvara Pranidhana / Surrender
   
   

3rd Limb of Yoga - Asana

4th Limb of Yoga - Pranayama

5th Limb of Yoga - Pratyahara

6th Limb of Yoga - Dharana

7th Limb of Yoga - Dhyana

8th Limb of Yoga - Samadhi

The Yoga Sutras contain 196 verses, which discuss the aim of yoga and how you strive for freedom, liberation and self-realization - the 8th Limb of Yoga, also called Samadhi.

The Yoga Sutras were transcribed by a man (and most likely many of his colleagues and students) named Patanjali, presumably from India, living somewhere between the 2nd and 4th century BC, and act as a practical guide to assist you on your journey of remembering the ultimate union.

According to the Sutras, beginning the pursuit of self-realization is the most significant step in life – as they make us aware of our pitfalls and how to overcome them.

The Meaning of Pratyahara

Yoga has an outer layer, which consists of conscious living, care of the body, and enhancement of vital life force energy. This is what the first four Limbs  - yamas, niyamas, asana, and pranayama  - are supporting us with. The yamas and niyamas build a foundation of these conscious behaviors through values like nonviolence and truthfulness and practices like cleanliness and contentment. Asana makes the body strong and flexible, and pranayama develops and balances our vital energy, helping to calm the nervous system and eventually the brain, which is creating our thoughts, words, actions, experiences... and therefore life.

Yoga also has an inner dimension—meditation or the development of higher consciousness and this is the part of yoga that the yamas, niyamas, asana and pranayama are preparing us for.

Pratyahara is the bridge then between these two states of existence and the key to the relationship between the outer and inner aspects of yoga; it shows us how to move from one to the other.

The term “pratyahara” is composed of two Sanskrit words, prati and ahara.  

• ‘Prati’ meaning ‘against’ or ‘away.’ 
• 'Ahara’ means anything we 'take into ourselves from the outside'.

Pratyahara then translates literally to ‘gaining mastery over external influences or distractions'.

The term is usually translated as 'withdrawal from the senses', but the concept goes much deeper than this as well.

'As the senses withdraw, the intuitive mind awakens.'

In yogic thought, there are three types of aharas, or 'intakes'...

1. The first is food and the five elements necessary to nourish the body—earth, water, fire, air, and ether. 
2. The second is impressions or the sensations of sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell.
3. The third is associations, the people who serve the soul with harmony, lessons, distractions, or do nothing for us.
   
   

Pratyahara is then multi-facted. 

It involves withdrawal from wrong food, impressions, and associations, while simultaneously opening up to the right ones and they are all actively intertwined and positively and negatively affecting each other. We cannot control our mental impressions without right diet and right relationships and vice versa. By withdrawing our awareness from negative impressions, pratyahara strengthens the mind’s powers of immunity. Just as a healthy body resists toxins and pathogens, a healthy mind resists the negative sensory influences around it. 

If you are easily disturbed by the noise and external environment around you, you need to practice pratyahara. Without it, you will be aggravated often and will struggle to meditate.

In our capitalistic, materialistic, commercial society functions by stimulating our interest through the senses to spend money and for entertainment purposes. We are constantly confronted with bright colors, loud noises, and dramatic sensations. We have been raised on every sort of sensory indulgence—it is the main form of entertainment in our society.

The problem is that the senses, like untrained children, have their own will, largely instinctual in nature. They end up communicating to the mind and controlling what to think, say, do and experience.

If we don’t discipline them, they can dominate and disturb us with their endless demands. 

Ways You Can Practice Pratyahara 

There are so many active and passive ways you can practice this amazing life skill!

If you are a beginner, I always suggest starting with active practices - meaning that 1 or more of the 5 senses are actively engaged - unless you are naturally drawn to more passive styles. Start where you feel comfortable and it's enjoyable, otherwise you will quit and not keep up the practice. 

1. Start to remove senses 1 or more at a time, then you can work your way up to removing them all
   
   
   • Close eyes whiles listening to instrumental music or sound healing
   • Close eyes and listen to a guided visualization or just visualize/ imagine on your own
   • Close eyes while stretching or practicing an entire yoga class and notice the difference in how AND what you feel
   • Close eyes while smelling aromatherapy, incense, essential oils
   • Close eyes and just breathe
   • Open eyes and gaze at an object or something in nature
   • Close your eyes while you chant mantras
   • Close your eyes while you eat in silence and focusing intensely on the flavors in your mouth
   • Yoga, dancing, playing an instrument or doing another activity that allows you to be 100% present - meaning you are unable to think about anything else - past or future.
   • Turn the TV off during meals and before bedtime. You could even skip TV for one night a week. Another option is to do a week-long TV cleanse. During this time, opt to read, cook, or do a visualization meditation. Notice how you feel. 
   • Listen to a podcast or audiobook without doing a secondary activity—just close your eyes and listen. 
   • Drive someplace without music or any other audio stimulation—focus on what you see. Notice if the drive is more or less pleasant. 
   • Skip dessert for a week and notice the difference in your mood. 
   • Drink a cup of tea in complete mindfulness. Focus on the aroma, warmth, flavors, and bodily sensations. 
   • Do a digital detox—whatever that means for you and your life. It can mean removing social media platforms or simply setting specific times during the day to avoid using any electronic device.
   • Unfollow channels that invite violence, fear, sex, comparisons, or unwanted distractions. 
   • Practice a period of celibacy, sobriety, fasting, or any other version of sensory withdrawal.
   • Next time you get the urge to shop online, opt for a bath or a walk around the garden.
   • Avoid meaningless chatter and gossip—focus your words on what brings value to people’s lives. 
   • Practice silence. This can be for a brief moment once a day or during a particular activity—such as before eating or after an activity you usually talk at

Maybe people are already practicing Pratyahara by not eating or drinking anything every moment! You have already removed 1 sense and are often practicing 3-4. 

Pranayama is then essential for pratyahara

Control of the senses requires the development and control of prana. Unless our prana is strong we will not have the power to control the senses. If our prana is scattered or disturbed, our senses will also be scattered and disturbed.

Prana is gathered in pranayama and withdrawn in pratyahara.

Yogic texts describe methods of withdrawing prana from different parts of the body, starting with the toes and ending wherever we wish to fix our attention—the top of the head, the third eye, the heart, or one of the other chakras or energy centers in the body.

Motor Organs VS Sense Organs

In addition to sense organs, we also possess motor organs like the hands and tongue. We cannot control the sense organs without also controlling the motor organs. The motor organs involve us directly in the external world and the impulses coming in through the senses get expressed through the motor organs, and this drives us to further sensory involvements. 

Just as right intake of impressions gives control of the sense organs, right work and action gives control of the motor organs. This involves karma yoga—actions supporting life and others and balancing these out with those based solely on self-desire and gratification. 

Karma Yoga

Karma yoga has two parts: outer action or service (seva), and inner action, which consists of various forms of rituals (puja).

Karma-pratyahara can be performed by surrendering any thought of personal rewards for what we do, doing everything as service to a higher power, humanity or the planet/ universe. 

The Bhagavad Gita says, “Your duty is to act, not to seek a reward for what you do.”

Asana or yoga poses can also be used to control the hands and feet, control which is then needed when we sit quietly for extended periods of time and meditate.

The yogis tell us that mind is the sixth sense organ, and that it is responsible for coordinating all the other sense organs. 

We take in sensory impressions only where we place our mind’s attention. The mind also coordinates the sensory and motor organs, for example by linking what the eyes see with the movements of the hand when we pick up a cup from the table. In a way, we are always practicing pratyahara. The mind’s attention is limited, and we give attention to one sensory impression by withdrawing the mind from other impressions. Wherever we place our attention, we naturally overlook other things.

We control our senses by withdrawing our mind’s attention from them. 

According to the Yoga Sutra, “When the senses do not conform with their own objects but imitate the nature of the mind, that is pratyahara.”  

Pratyahara is related to all the Limbs of Yoga

All of the other limbs—from asana to samadhi—contain aspects of pratyahara.

For example, in the sitting poses, both the sensory and motor organs are controlled. Pranayama contains an element of pratyahara, as we draw our attention inward through the breath. The yamas and niyamas contain various principles and practices, like nonviolence and contentment, that help us control the senses. 

In other words, pratyahara provides the foundation of yoga and meditation. 

It follows the 4th Limb - pranayama - and by linking prana with the mind, takes it out of the sphere of the body.

Pratyahara is also linked with Dharana - the 6th Limb of Yoga

In Dharana, we start to consciously focus our attention on just 1 thing and Pratyahara becomes the negative or thing we are reducing, and Dharana becomes the positive aspect of the same function.

Many of us find that even after years of meditation practice we have not achieved all that we expected. Trying to practice meditation without some degree of pratyahara is like trying to gather water in a leaky vessel. No matter how much water we bring in, it flows out again. The senses are like holes in the vessel of the mind. Unless they are sealed the mind cannot hold the nectar of truth. Anyone whose periods of meditation alternate with periods of sensory indulgence is in need of pratyahara.

Pratyahara offers many methods of preparing the mind for meditation. It also helps us avoid environmental disturbances that can be the source of physical, emotional and mental pain.

 “Pratyahara itself is termed as yoga, as it is the most important limb in yoga sadhana” - Swami Sivananda

Other Benefits of Pratyahara:

• It is a great way to cool down our bodies. 
• It helps us stay more active and aware by controlling the path of the flow of energy.
• Removes stress and anxiety. Thereby giving our lives a more positive approach and way of living. 
• Pratyahara is a great means to remove all negative feelings and thoughts from our minds.
• Develops endurance for physical injuries by controlling the senses and stimulus.