How do we practice Pratyahara?

Recently, I was asked a very interesting question about how to practice Pratyahara. I felt this cannot be answered directly in a few lines, because to understand this properly, we need to look at another important concept from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

In Ashtanga Yoga, we see the sequence as Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. That is the order given. But at the same time, Patanjali in verse 2.53 of Yoga Sutra says that the result of Pranayama is

धारणासु च योग्यता मनसः (Yoga Sutra 2.53)

dhāraṇāsu ca yogyatā manasaḥ

which means the mind becomes fit for Dharana. Naturally, a question arises. If Pranayama is preparing the mind directly for Dharana, then where is Pratyahara in between?

Let us understand this from a couple of perspectives.

First, we need to see what exactly Pranayama is doing. Pranayama essentially helps in calming the mind. When the mind becomes calm to such an extent that it can stay with a single thought, that is what Dharana is. Initially, this will require some effort, but the preparation happens through Pranayama.

Now in this transition from Pranayama to Dharana, Pratyahara is not something separate that we are doing. It is something that is happening in the process itself. As the mind starts calming down, the sensory inputs may still continue to come, but the mind slowly reduces its reaction to those inputs. The world does not stop, the senses do not stop, but the reaction reduces.

This reduction in reaction is what we can understand as Pratyahara.

So in this way, Pratyahara can happen naturally as a result of practicing Pranayama, which eventually prepares the mind for Dharana. At the same time, it is also something that can be consciously cultivated.

There is another way of looking at this, which is more practical.

Normally, our senses are always directed outward. This is their default state, and this often happens unconsciously. If we observe carefully, we are constantly reacting to sounds, visuals and other sensory inputs without even being aware of it. We are simply living in an impulsive way, allowing the senses to respond to whatever is happening outside.

Now what happens if we start becoming aware of these sensory processes?

For example, there are always sounds around us. These sounds keep coming into our ears and create a kind of background activity in the mind. Usually, this happens unconsciously. But the moment you become consciously aware of your hearing, something changes. Instead of all the random noise going on in the background, your attention becomes more structured.

When you become aware, you naturally start focusing only on certain inputs, and the rest of the random inputs lose their impact. In a way, you are reducing unnecessary sensory engagement without trying to suppress anything.

So the awareness of the senses itself becomes a way of practicing Pratyahara.

The more and more you become aware of sensory inputs, the randomness reduces. The mind is no longer scattered across multiple inputs. This itself brings a certain calmness to the mind. Earlier, the sensory inputs were going in all directions and creating disturbance. Now, because of awareness, that unconscious disturbance reduces.

So from one perspective, Pratyahara happens when the mind becomes calm through Pranayama. From another perspective, Pratyahara can be approached through awareness of the senses, where unconscious engagement reduces.

Both ways point to the same thing.

Pratyahara is not about forcefully cutting off the senses. It is about reducing unconscious reactions and bringing awareness into how we experience sensory inputs. Instead of the senses constantly pulling the mind outward, the senses begin to follow the state of the mind.

This is why Patanjali directly says that Pranayama prepares the mind for Dharana. Because once the mind is calm and less disturbed by sensory inputs, it naturally becomes capable of focusing.

So Pratyahara is not missing. It is happening in between, but in a very subtle way.

If we understand this clearly, then the whole process of Ashtanga Yoga becomes much more meaningful. It is not just a sequence to be followed mechanically, but a process that unfolds within us.

And in that process, Pratyahara plays a silent but very important role.