My apologies for the absence our world has been chaotic as of late! Middle school football, preschool field trips, hubby working insane amounts of overtime, and I have been prepping to finish out the year for the studio!

Onward to Limb 5 – pratyahara!  Pratyahara is the practice of withdrawing the senses from the outside world.  So…what in the world does that mean?

To get our bearings, let’s revisit the previous 4 limbs.  Recall Limb 1 – the yamas, which represent the ethical rules by which we live our lives.  Limb 2 is the niyamas, or the spiritual observances that guide our habits and behaviors.  Limb 3 is asana, or the physical practice of yoga postures, which helps to strengthen the body and mind.  Limb 4 is pranayama, or breath control, which helps to calm the mind.  So, as we progress through the 8 limbs, we are working from the physical realm toward the mental realm.

Limb 5 continues with that progression – by allowing the mind to withdraw from sensory perception.  If you think about it, we are constantly bombarded by sensory stimulation.  We take in sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and physical touches that all affect how we understand the world.  While we depend enormously on our five senses for survival and self-preservation, sensory stimulation can also be a distraction if we are too reliant upon it, especially when we really need to look inward to understand what our inner constitution is asking of us.

Enter pratyahara.  Through this 5th limb of yoga, we slowly retreat from the sensory world and come into greater awareness of our inner world.  Think of it as the bridge between the physical and mental realm.  The process of pratyahara can be achieved through several different methods.  For many, it can be achieved through intentional silence – say, going to a quiet space and committing ourselves to silence for a period of time, so that we aren’t distracted by noise and conversation.  It can also be achieved through temporary fasting (and therefore not depending on our love for taste/food to distract us from inner stillness), or perhaps through refraining from watching TV.  Whatever the method, pratyahara is the limb of yoga that helps us withdraw temporarily from the outside world.

Pratyahara, in turn, prepares us for the next limbs of yoga – dharana, or concentration, and dhyana, or meditation

How can you turn inward this week in an effort to practice Pratyahara? 

Namaste

Jessica