Pratyahara
“The senses are like a mirror. Turned outward they reflect the outside. Turned inward they reflect the pure light.”
The fifth limb of Yoga. Pratya meaning to withdraw. Ahara meaning food. Food of the mind primarily in this context.
Our mind interprets the world through our senses. Sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. So what are we feeding our mind? We are bombarded with so much information through so many apps/media sources that its hard at times to filter through all the noise and truly know what we believe to be true for ourselves.
The first four limbs of Yoga- Yamas, Niyamas, Asana and Pranyama - help us to become aware of the senses and how we express ourselves and behave in the external world. Hopefully by choosing right action, right thought, right words etc we are perceiving and expressing a healthier reality for ourselves and others. Sri Swami Satchidananda taught that first we control the body, then the breath, then the senses and then the mind.
Pratyahara serves as a bridge to guide us deeper into the internal. If we could withdraw the senses or at least not be distracted by them, another world of self, separate to the mind, emerges. An internal self not influenced by the external world or by ego. This is how we begin to prepare for the last three limbs of yoga- Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (Meditation) and Samadhi (pure contemplation).
I am placing more of my time into mindfulness and meditation practices over the next few months. I hope to incorporate what I will learn into my day to day Yoga practice and in the classes that I lead in the community.
Already I have noticed how noisy my mind and my life is. I am dragged and distracted by all my senses so easily. At times I feel like I have no control. It is a familiar feeling for most of us to find ourselves lost in a binge of Instagram reels and to be shocked to realise that what felt like five minutes was in fact thirty minutes. Or to reach for the chocolate bar and realise we have devoured it without really tasting it.
I am interpreting Pratyahara for myself as a quieting of the noise of life. If I could simplify my life and have less choices, less distractions, less rushing around could I then begin to stay quiet and notice the moment just before or just after my senses pull me away from the present moment?
I haven’t been a practicing Catholic for many years but have recently began reading and praying again in a search for meaning and purpose. I’m also exploring the teaching of the Buddha. The lessons of all the great spiritual teachers are the same. Its a sad world we live in that religion causes wars when all the spiritual teaching is pointing us back to the same source.
Lent is the tradition of fasting from something as a form of repentance. I hope to try to fast from some distractions in my life but I see it as a form of growth rather than repentance. Repentance keeps us locked to our past. Keeps us guilty. Growth allows us to change from the inside and improve our relationship with others and with ourselves.
“The restraint of the senses occurs when the mind is able to remain in its chosen direction and the senses disregard the different objects around them and faithfully follow the direction of the mind.”
References:
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , Translation and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda, 2019
The Heart of Yoga, Developing a Personal Practice, T.K.V Desikachar, 1995
