The Yoga Sutras and The 8 Limbs of Yoga - Pratyahara and Dharana

PRATYAHARA – Sense withdrawal, introversion

The Sanskrit word Pratya means to ‘withdraw’, ‘draw in’ or ‘draw back’, and the second part ahara refers to anything we ‘take in’, such as the various sights, sounds and smells our senses take in continuously. When we sit down for a meditation practice, this is probably the first thing we do - we focus on ‘drawing in’. The practice of drawing inward may include focusing on the way we’re breathing, so this limb would relate directly to the practice of pranayama too.

The phrase ‘sense withdrawal’ could be understood as the ability to actually switch off our senses, but instead the practice of pratyahara just changes our state of mind so that we become so absorbed in what it is we’re focussing on, that the things outside of ourselves no longer bother us and we’re able to meditate without becoming easily distracted. You may even be able to practice pratyahara in everyday life – when we’re so concentrated and present in a given moment, that things like sensations and sounds don’t easily distract the mind.

DHARANA – Focused Concentration

Dharana means ‘focused concentration’. If you feel like your brain is constantly moving from one thought to the next - or what Yogis call the ‘Monkey Mind’ - you may find that practicing Dharana helps you improve your focus and slow down your thoughts. The goal of dharana is to bind your consciousness to one particular object, place, or idea. This single-object meditation can focus on an internal thought or an external object around you in the outside world. The previous limb, Pratyahara is necessary to start practicing Dharana. So, we first tune out external stimulation to tune inside and we draw our focus onto one single object like the breath, a body party, a chakra or a mantra. Candle gazing is another practice for Dharana. It takes continuous practice. A continuous refocusing of the mind as it’s very normal for our minds to drift off. The practice is to bring the focus back to the object of meditation. Again and again :)

Dharana can even be found in our day to day activities - it happens whenever a person is fully present and focused on an activity or object. Perhaps that’s painting, or reading a book.