Exploring the Eight Limb Path of Yoga: Pratyahara & Dharana
By: Juliana Cole - Student, Yoga Instructor, Studio Manager at Yoga Heights Welcome back to The Eight Limb Path of Yoga! It feels as though it’s been a while since we touched on this specific subject; there was a heaviness about mid-February and the tragic event in Florida that called for the attention of readers everywhere. Although last month’s blog post was not what I had planned on - sudden events that seem to put a halt on the routine or planned path we are on - that scenario calls to mind what yoga is all about in real time. What is it that we practice all these things for? It is about maintaining steadiness, balance and ease to deal with the everyday and to understand what tools to employ to deal with the very challenging and unsteady nature of what this world is really like. That is not to say we are here as yogis observing the world from the outside, but that we are equipped to stand strong and steady with conviction, a clear mind and an able body when we are called to make great choices. So, to recap, we have covered the first four limbs on the Eight Limb Path of Yoga: The Yamas, Niyamas, Asana and Pranayama. These four limbs are considered the first stage of yoga; what I like to consider the conditioning or preparation for the second stage. You have laid the foundation from which you better understand what is real and true versus what is a distraction from that truth. The second stage is, generally speaking, that of self-study. I will talk about the first two of the remaining four limbs here: Pratyahara and Dharana. Pratyahara is commonly defined as turning inward. You probably hear this phrase all the time when you go to a yoga class or listen to a meditation. Turning inward is the point at which we recognize the sensory world and the distractions it provides, and then we start to separate from that world, or actively turn away from that in order to find what is deep within. This deep within is often considered to be THE truth, also called the light within us all, and it is that which is beneath all the layers that we work to peel back. The first four limbs, or those of conditioning, are what bring us to understand the very nature of the layers, which enables us to peel them back. By that, I mean to say that we start to recognize how our senses, our environment and our overall social conditioning influence how we receive the world. The more we work to understand that, the more we can separate from that external experience. Pratyahara is just that: the process of turning inward or the process of separating from the hold that our sensory and external world have on our understanding of our self. I like to think of this limb, and the four leading up to it, in the great example of coming to a yoga class and all it entails: you decide it is time to try yoga or it is time to come to class; you get the clothes and you get the mat; you find the studio or a teacher that best fits you; you sign up for class; you show up and you set yourself up in the classroom; class begins and you lie down or sit down; you start by working to shut off the world and all that may distract you during your practice and you turn inward. We practice Pratyahara every time we embark on a task that necessitates our full attention. It’s the process at the beginning of embarking on the task that is Pratyahara. This process of Pratyahara falls seamlessly into Dharana.
Dharana naturally follows the fifth limb and is much simpler to grasp. The process of turning inward is thus followed by concentration. Once the distraction of the senses and the external world are behind us, Dharana, or concentration can be realized. We work to focus our minds on one point, on the light or the inner self, and keep our attention there. This is the part that becomes challenging and is generally an ebb-and-flow for all practitioners. Our minds are used to receiving information and deciphering it on a daily basis, so they become tools or instruments that are constantly working and being honed. We have to train that instrument to be still, at ease and to not be distracted by external or sensory forces. We practice the previous limbs (and yoga in general) to understand the instrument that is the mind in order to better control it and steady our concentration on that one point. All other things fall off, all thoughts of past and future are let go of and we are able to concentrate on the now. We all experience this during various activities in our lives and I believe we all come to the mat in order to practice this experience or this concentration in a more concerted way. I notice this most when I teach (more so than when I practice) as I turn my attention inward and let go of the minutia of all the little details leading up to that. What I chose to wear, what my hair looks like and how it may get in my way during class, what songs will play, what the temperature of the room will be - all of this slips away as I teach. It inevitably comes back, which is the reason we call Yoga a practice; it never concludes and we are always practicing, all the time. I believe that Dharana is universally achieved when we are doing a thing that we love or doing that thing which is considered our calling or our Dharma. Our minds are clear and most focused on one point or subject when it is something we care about. This clarity and focus is the pathway to the “oneness” we talk about in yoga, or the inner self. That feeling that we’ve all had a taste of that we want to come back to - when there is clarity, light and an overwhelming sense that everything is right, makes sense and is whole. So, continue to practice! Does it feel as though you are getting close sometimes? I certainly feel that way, and then I feel far from it but I know what I need to do in order to get back to a place that is steady, from which I can find clarity. That is the practice - that is why we continue to cycle through all the limbs of this path - that is Yoga.
Take class with Juliana:Tuesday at Takoma – 10:00 am (All Levels Flow)Thursday at Takoma – 7:45 pm (Restorative Yoga)Friday at Takoma – 5:00 pm (Half Price Flow)Saturday at Georgia Ave. – 10:45 am (All Levels Flow)