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| I Went to Whole Foods and Came Back With Some Pratyahara |
As an athlete, yes dancers are athletes, and as a yogi I find myself in a perpetual state of motion. As the infamous Charlie Sheen said, “I have one speed. I have one gear. Go.” I find this to be especially true in the physical sense. I had a performance last weekend and earlier that week I strained my left serratus anterior muscle and on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst pain, I was experiencing an 11! Despite the painful sensation I felt each time I moved my arm up or each time contracted my abdominals or twisted my torso, I still kept on doing it even when I was resting! It’s as if the injury was a crime and my ego was the criminal returning to the scene of the crime. I just couldn’t help myself. I had to keep testing and trying and touching and stretching and flexing in order to see if the injury was still there. Duh, of course it was. I knew this intellectually, but the mover in me is never satisfied until the movement is perfected or the accompanying sensation appropriate. I pondered this strange phenomenon and somehow arrived at the idea that I don’t get enough pratyahara in my life. Pratyahara is a very important part of any yoga practice. It is an advanced practice involving sensory withdrawal. Pratyahara marks the beginning of yoga as a meditative practice. Pratyahara is the fifth limb of Patanjali’s Eight-Limbed Yogic Path after pranayama. By withdrawing our sensory organs we have no choice but to pay attention to the authentic self. Our eyes stream so much data through to our nervous system that it’s not surprising that so many people feel stressed, fatigued and generally overwhelmed by life. This is especially true in today’s social media driven world because it forces us to move at warp speed. Pratyahara is the act of mental introspection and is the first step towards gaining mental control. The mind is like a young child that needs constant attention. If you look away for a moment, the child will likely run amok. Not every parent is a good parent. The good ones are patient and disciplined because they know that one day their patience and discipline will result in a well-behaved child. Exercises cultivating pratyahara can be quite revealing about your true identity. It seems ludicrous to ask someone to remain unaffected amidst constant overstimulation. Pratyahara isn’t just some technique practiced by the “gurus” of trendy yoga studios nor is it a technique simply for attaining enlightenment or any of that “hokey pokey” stuff. Instead pratyahara is more a way of navigating in the world. It is an uninterrupted state of mind in the midst of any situation anywhere at any time. Ask yourself this: “Can I approach the most difficult yoga poses the same way I approach the easy ones?” Yoga asanas are simply metaphors for real life situations. Successful pratyahara occurs when you can remain unaffected by the process or the results, whether they are related to your yoga practice, job or even your pending acceptance into Harvard Business School. The outside world suddenly begins loosening its powerful grip on the “Pratyaharian” rendering all sensations equal.
YOGI TIDBIT TO TRY: Scenario 1: Feeling paralyzed by indecision at an establishment like Whole Foods? Find yourself fascinated with unnecessary shiny objects you didn’t intend to buy at Bed, Bath and Beyond? Try this:
Scenario 2:
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