From Pranayama To Pratyahara

Written By Sarah Wall

Prana is life force energy. ‘Pra’ means first and ‘na’ is the most basic unit of energy, therefore practicing pranayama is to expand your life force energy with control. This can be done with movement and breathing exercises.

To detach awareness from outside sounds and from sensations in your body, such as the urge to scratch that itch or continuously make small adjustments while attempting to sit still, you can use pranayama. You can use your breath to distribute prana throughout the body.

Pratyahara is a withdrawal of the senses from the outside world and is the start of the process of going within. It’s one of the eight limbs of Patanjali’s yoga, and is an integral part of meditation.

Meditation Practice

1. Begin in a comfortable seated position, or svasana (lying down) if that is preferred. Make any last minute adjustments and ensure you will be warm enough throughout the practice by layering the right amount of clothing.
2. Close your eyes, relax your tongue, bring attention to the bridge of your nose. This helps to maintain awareness of your breath on your nostrils.
3. Allow your face to feel soft, imagine every cell of your body is becoming softer and more relaxed.
4. Breathing* slowly, fully and deeply, scan your body noticing any areas of discomfort and then imagine releasing that discomfort with each exhale.
5. Notice the sounds outside and in the room if you are inside; sounds that are far away and close by. Take a moment to really listen to and acknowledge each sound, but without following it, then slowly let each sound fade into the background.
6. If your mind starts to wander, return to your breath or even try a silent mantra such as So-Hum. Or you can simply repeat internally ‘inhale’ as you breathe in and ‘exhale’ as you breathe out.
7. Should you feel the urge to scratch that itch, try not to respond the first time. Chances are the sensation will leave you. Of course if you are in extreme discomfort, or any pain, it’s important to make an adjustment or stop what you are doing in order to be safe.
8. Continue following your inhale and exhale in this relaxed state and when you no longer respond to your body’s physical sensations, or to the sounds of the outside, you have reached Pratyahara!

Keep practicing the above steps, it’s okay if you can’t fully relax the first time, with practice you will get there.

*If you are familiar with Ujjayi breath, sometimes referred to as ‘ocean sounding breath’ or the three part yogic breath, you are welcome to try with one of these techniques to aid concentration.

Sarah Wall is an author, speaker, yoga teacher and business coach. She leads international workshops and retreats, helping people to explore their inner world through yoga. As a holistic leadership coach, Sarah incorporates mindfulness and the implementation of wellness initiatives in the workplace for organizations and entrepreneurs. She is the author of Life Reboot: An Inner Wisdom Guide To Finding Your Passion And Purpose. Discover more at body-mind-spirit-coach.com.