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Pratyahara

Introduction

Pratyahara is the fifth of the eight-limbed practice of Ashtanga Yoga introduced in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: a roadmap to peace through meditation. The Yoga Sutras – essentially a poem comprised of fewer than 200 partial sentences arranged in four chapters – is one of two widely recognized authoritative texts on Raja Yoga.

Pratyahara (transliterated as “withdrawal from the senses”) refers to concentration of the conscious mind; it is often practiced by silent recitation, essentially stringing together individual, sequential thoughts – often rhythmically – to momentarily control the content and flow of thoughts.

The stated, penultimate goal of the Yoga Sutras is to all-but-eliminate conscious thought – since at that point, without thoughts to interfere, we are conscious only of our own true nature.

Science

The four functions of your mind are:

1) Buddhi – this is your conscious mind – and the focus of the Yoga Sutras. At any given moment, you are conscious of whatever is reflected in this part of our mind. This is the aspect of mind that gets us in trouble – sometimes referred to as the “monkey mind” as we often seem at a loss to control what’s reflected therein.

2) Manas – this is your sub-conscious or sensory mind which works behind the scenes, automatically processing senses and basic bodily functions.

3) Ahamkara – this is your mental foundation: it’s the most elemental aspect of your ego: the awareness that you are a unique being – separate and apart from everything else.

4) Chitta – this is the storage aspect of your mind: your memories which still have karmic potential (i.e., to the extent the ripples of your past actions haven’t caught up with you yet, the corresponding karmic triggers are stored here).

Context

Patanjali introduces Ashtanga Yoga in Chapter 2, yet splits the discussion of the eight limbs between Chapters 2 and 3: concluding Chapter 2 with remarks on Pratyahara, and beginning Chapter 3 with a discussion of the last three limbs, signaling that Pratyahara is more akin to the first four, than the last three.

Pratyahara is the fifth in a sequence of progressively subtle exercises or practices intended to settle your conscious mind for meditation:

• Yama & Niyama – presented first, these two limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are the most important as they have the greatest impact on your peace of mind. The Yamas & Niyamas constitute a code of conduct intended to balance your actions; specifically, to mitigate the negative consequences thereof.

Note: of the 25 sutras devoted to Ashtanga Yoga in Chapter 2 (i.e., a little over 10% of Patanjali’s entire Yoga Sutras), 15 (60%) discuss these two sutras (“conduct”); three discuss Asana (“posture”); five discuss Pranayama (“breath”); and 2 discuss Pratyahara (“concentration”).

• Asana – Patanjali encourages us to learn to sit still and comfortably to facilitate meditation;

• Pranayama – Patanjali encourages us to learn to breathe deeply and subtly to facilitate meditation, as breathing exercises stimulate/calm circulation of our elemental energetic building blocks;

• Pratyahara – Patanjali encourages us to learn to concentrate (i.e., to fully-engage our conscious mind) to quell the effects of desire – the product of ego, memory and the senses – to facilitate meditation; the intent of Pratyahara is to turn one’s attention or awareness from the sensory to the thinking mind – and to begin to learn to control its content and flow.

The longer you can sit comfortably, breathe deeply and subtly, and hold the content and rhythm of your thoughts steady, the longer and more effectively you’ll be able to meditate.

Summary

When you’re sitting comfortably, breathing deeply and subtly, and controlling the rate, rhythm and content of your conscious thoughts, there is a synchronization of sorts between your heartbeats, breaths, and thoughts – a calmness that prepares you for the last three limbs of Ashtanga Yoga which involve further refining the content of your conscious mind by progressively narrowing its focus.

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Mental Yoga

In the same way that there lots of shades of grey between black and white, there are lots of yoga practices which are a combination of the two principle types: physical and mental.  Mental or Raja Yoga is largely about seeing life differently – beginning with yourself.

Here’s the short version:

You can’t count and recite the alphabet simultaneously because your brain thinks single, consecutive thoughts (similar to the way your heart beats and you breathe).

But when you silently count “1+1=2”, two things do happen simultaneously: the counting – and the awareness of the counting.

Yoga is based on the premise that your awareness (aka your consciousness) is not a mental function; rather, it’s a separate and distinct part of you – the way your body and mind are distinguishable parts of you – but unlike your thoughts and physical body, your awareness never changes. It can’t because it’s simply your awareness or perception OF something – not the cognition and judgement which follow; so there’s nothing to change.  This is the distinction between mind and consciousness: the former functions while the latter simply exists – universally, yet separately within each of us.  Without awareness, we’d all robotically go about our business – unaware as we were doing so!

The stated objective of Yoga is to self-identify with your awareness rather than your body/mind. The Yoga Sutras include an eight-step proof that your consciousness is indeed distinct from your mind. Few people get to that point in their practice, but the mental and physical benefits of trying are cumulative and hugely rewarding/calming.

The first five steps essentially prepare your mind to meditate – and the last three steps are meditation exercises. Of the five preparatory steps, the first two which address personal conduct (essentially “be a good person”) account for 70% of preparing to meditate – the next three steps (posture, breathing, and concentration) only account for 30% of preparing to settle your mind.  The implication is that your conduct has twice the impact on your state of mind as stretching, breathing and concentrating!

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20 Minute Daily Routine

Prerequisites:

A rudimentary understanding of the anatomical and energetic aspects of your respiratory system (read: don’t try this without some initial instruction and supervision).

Caveat:

As with ALL pranayama exercises, tread deliberately and cautiously; allow your breathing to return to normal if you feel ANY degree of discomfort, jitters, etc.

Guarantee:

Practice some version of this every day for the rest of your life, and you will smile more often than you’ll frown.

 

The Daily Routine: (up to 2-3x a day)[and btw – try to get at least 20 minutes of fresh air every day as well]:

Roughly 5 minutes – “Snow Globe”

Do your own “Shake It Up Baby” happy dance; after a few minutes, settle into a comfortable, seated position keeping your body upright and balanced.

Roughly 10 minutes – Pranayama

Pre-flight “check-in”:

How are you feeling generally? Bring awareness to your:

“maya kosha” markers:

  • heartbeat
  • breath
  • thoughts

“energy centers”:

  • perineum
  • genitals
  • stomach
  • chest
  • throat
  • brain
  • crown of your head

Remind yourself why you’re doing this:

Anatomically, you’re using your diaphragm as a bellows to rhythmically stimulate your internal organs and the flow of oxygenated blood throughout your body. Energetically, you’re stimulating those same organs and blood flow at a cellular level, facilitating the proper functioning of your body/mind at an elemental, or energetic level.

Abdominal breaths (your stomach distends on the inhalation) – repeat 5-6x: SLOW, DEEP inhalation; SLOW, DEEP exhalation.

Thoracic breaths (your chest lifts on the inhalation) – repeat 5-6x: SLOW, FULL inhalation; SLOW, FULL exhalation.

Alternate nostril breathing – begin with 3-4 cycles – or more as time permits (keeping the length of inhalation, retention and exhalation roughly the same; remember you’re looking for smooth consistent rhythm as you breathe); increasing 1-2 cycles daily as appropriate up to 40 cycles. [Note: eventually, you’ll just practice alternate nostril breathing].

Alternate nostril cycle =

  • close L; open R; inhale
  • close R; retain
  • open L; exhale, inhale
  • close L; retain
  • open R; exhale

Post-flight “check-in”:

Repeat the pre-flight check-in and observe any difference in your markers and energy centers; generally, you should feel more calm physically, energetically and mentally than before you started.

Roughly 5 minutes – Contemplation

Spend these few minutes contemplating consciousness.  Remember the “1+1=2” exercise: two things are happening simultaneously: thinking and consciousness of the thinking.  Perhaps the easiest way to recognize the distinction is to imagine what life might be like without one or the other: the ability to think, or consciousness. Without cognition, you’d be a vegetable – unable to process thoughts; without consciousness you’d be a robot – unaware of your own thoughts and actions! Remember, thoughts change constantly; consciousness never does.

Possible side effects: Weight loss (your appetite might wane), mild constipation, and peace of mind…and remember, practice makes perfect. 😉

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The Gist of Raja Yoga

The Yoga Sutras include a series of physical and mental practices to achieve lasting serenity (not surprisingly, the longer and more diligently it’s practiced, the better it works).

The practice is based on the belief that a) your consciousness is NOT a mental function; rather, it’s an entirely distinct part of you, and b) that the rest of you – from your thoughts to your toes – is constantly changing based on its energetic nature.

The Yoga Sutras include an integrated eight-limbed meditative practice to prove the discrete existence of your intangible consciousness; specifically, by completely quieting your mind. The theory is that because your consciousness never changes (remember: it’s your consciousness – aka your awareness or perception OF something – it’s the intangible part of you which objectively witnesses whatever is reflected in your tangible brain) – so, if there’s nothing on your mind to be conscious of, your consciousness becomes self-aware. Again, the purpose of the eight limbs is to learn to distinguish between your body/mind and your consciousness – and ultimately identify with the latter. In essence, the practice is about seeing and acting from a point of objectivity and balance. THAT will change your life.

The eight-fold path to identify with the intangible part of you includes two indirect and three direct preparatory steps, and three actual seated meditation practices to refine and ultimately empty your mind:

• Indirect preparation (~70% of preparatory text): two limbs addressing personal conduct

• Direct preparation (each ~10% of the preparatory text): three limbs addressing posture, breathing, and concentration, respectively

• Actual meditation: three limbs on meditation, or refining the content of your mind

MSRY’s intro course focuses on the three direct preparatory steps as these physically and mentally settling steps offer the greatest immediate reward for the least effort – think: “tricks” you can use for a lifetime to reduce stress!

While our conduct has the greatest effect on our state of mind, the initial two most important, indirect preparatory steps aren’t covered in MSRY’s intro course because it’s assumed that we all know right from wrong (these two indirect steps were a precursor to the Ten Commandments: don’t harm, lie, steal, etc.) – in short, Karma’s a bitch so act accordingly!

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Self-awareness

Raja Yoga is a dual practice in self-awareness and self-control.

It prompts you to rethink life in a “What in the world am I doing here?!” manner, and to see it in a “WOW, this is awesome!!!” kind of way. It’s a practice in letting go of the notion that you are only your body/mind, and realizing with the same certainty that you have a brain and a heart, that you also have a distinct and equally amazing consciousness.  This is the self-awareness portion of the practice.

However, in order to get to that point, you must learn to meditate, and while that’s clearly a mental practice, you can’t meditate an unsettled mind, and you can’t settle your mind if your body isn’t settled physically and energetically.  So while the goal here is controlling your mind, there are conduct and physical exercise components to the practice of mental Yoga!  This is the self-control portion of the practice.