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18. Pratyahara: The Art of Turning Inward · Lately with Lexi

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  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Through the Veil.
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  We are continuing our journey through Patanjali's Yoga Sutras
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  and the Eight Limbs of Yoga.
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  So last week we explored pranayama,
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  which is the spiritual science of breath.
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  SPEAKER_00: I shared some of my favorite breathwork techniques with you.
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  SPEAKER_00: Definitely go check that out in case you missed it.
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  SPEAKER_00: And this week we're moving into the fifth limb, Pratyahara.
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  And this is the practice of withdrawing the senses and
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  discovering the peace that
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  SPEAKER_00: exists when we tune and turn our awareness inward.
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  SPEAKER_00: So...
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  SPEAKER_00: Pratyahara is something I thought I would kick off by sharing.
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  SPEAKER_00: I feel like it's one of the most misunderstood limbs of yoga,
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  SPEAKER_00: yet it's really essential for anybody on a spiritual path.
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  SPEAKER_00: In Sanskrit, Pratyahara means withdrawing from external nourishment.
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  SPEAKER_00: Specifically,
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  you can think of the constant flood of sensory inputs that
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  we're receiving in every
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  SPEAKER_00: moment of every day.
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  SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
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  SPEAKER_00: The moment you wake up,
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  SPEAKER_00: your senses are starting to be bombarded from the sound of your alarm,
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  SPEAKER_00: the light coming through your window,
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  SPEAKER_00: maybe the smell of coffee,
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  SPEAKER_00: other people in your household moving around,
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  SPEAKER_00: your breakfast notifications on your phone.
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  Your attention is constantly being pulled outward by these
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  different sensory experiences.
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  And when your senses are constantly engaged with these external
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  objects and
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  SPEAKER_00: your mind follows naturally.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your awareness gets scattered.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your energy gets depleted.
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  You lose touch with your own internal landscape because you're
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  so consumed by the
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  SPEAKER_00: world around you.
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  SPEAKER_00: Pratyahara is the practice of really starting to reverse this flow and
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  It's about consciously withdrawing your attention from external
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  stimuli and
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  SPEAKER_00: redirecting it inward.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's creating space between stimulus and response.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's learning to not be controlled by every sight,
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  SPEAKER_00: sound,
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  SPEAKER_00: sensation,
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  SPEAKER_00: thought,
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  SPEAKER_00: or even an impulse that might arise.
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  SPEAKER_00: We live in a world that is constantly demanding our attention and
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  emails,
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  messages,
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  social media,
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  news,
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  traffic,
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  among many,
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  many other things,
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  right?
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  SPEAKER_00: And if we're not careful,
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  we can easily spend an entire day reacting to external things
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  without ever checking
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  SPEAKER_00: in with how we are doing on the inside,
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  SPEAKER_00: right?
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  SPEAKER_00: Pratyahara teaches us we have a choice.
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  SPEAKER_00: We don't have to respond to every notification.
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  SPEAKER_00: We don't have to consume every piece of content.
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  We don't have to let our mood be determined by what is going on
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  around us.
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  SPEAKER_00: When I practice sense withdrawal,
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  SPEAKER_00: even just a few minutes a day,
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  SPEAKER_00: I remember who I am beyond all the noise.
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  I can reconnect with my own internal compass and I access this
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  stillness that's already here.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's always present.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's just underneath the constant stream of sensory inputs.
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  SPEAKER_00: And we got to move beyond that.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is essentially what Patanjali understood.
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  SPEAKER_00: He understood that before you can concentrate,
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  SPEAKER_00: before we can meditate and experience samadhi,
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  SPEAKER_00: oneness,
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  SPEAKER_00: these last few limbs of yoga,
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  SPEAKER_00: we have to learn to master our senses.
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  SPEAKER_00: Because if our attention is always being hijacked by external objects,
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  SPEAKER_00: we'll never develop the stability needed for deeper practice.
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  Pratyahara teaches us,
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  your senses are meant to serve you,
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  not control you.
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  SPEAKER_00: I love in the Bhavagad Gita,
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  Krishna uses a metaphor where he says that the senses are like
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  wild horses and
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  SPEAKER_00: And our mind is the rein.
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  SPEAKER_00: And those reins,
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  SPEAKER_00: if we don't control the horse,
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  SPEAKER_00: they'll drag you wherever they want to go,
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  SPEAKER_00: right?
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  But if you can hold the reins and steady yourself,
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  steady the reins,
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  you can direct where you
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  SPEAKER_00: you're going.
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  SPEAKER_00: So if we think about this from a yogic perspective,
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  SPEAKER_00: most people are completely at mercy of their senses.
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  And if like,
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  for example,
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  if something looks appealing,
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  we might chase it or fixate on it.
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  SPEAKER_00: If something is like irritating, we might react right away.
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  And this constant reactivity can keep us trapped in the
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  external world where we're
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  SPEAKER_00: not in control and
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  SPEAKER_00: And we're blaming things outside of ourselves.
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  SPEAKER_00: So you're always seeking pleasure and avoiding pain through the senses.
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  Your peace is dependent on getting the right sensory experience
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  and avoiding the wrong ones.
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  But the truth is,
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  lasting peace doesn't come from managing our external
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  environment.
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  It comes from withdrawing our identification with sensory
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  experiences altogether.
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  Now,
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  I want to clarify,
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  this doesn't mean we become numb or disconnected.
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  It means we develop the ability to experience sensations
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  without being controlled by them.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can see something beautiful without clinging to it.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can hear criticism without maybe totally collapsing.
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  We can feel physical discomfort without it like dominating our
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  entire experience.
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  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think about my meditation practice.
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  SPEAKER_00: When I first started, I was constantly distracted.
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  SPEAKER_00: I was so frustrated.
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  SPEAKER_00: I had a hard time dropping in.
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  SPEAKER_00: A sound would pull my attention,
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  SPEAKER_00: a sensation in the body,
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  SPEAKER_00: how I was sitting,
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  SPEAKER_00: like that would just consume me.
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  SPEAKER_00: A thought could carry me away.
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  And Pratyahara is what allowed me to sit with all of that
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  without being swept up
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  SPEAKER_00: and swept away by those distractions.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I learned to notice sounds without following them,
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  SPEAKER_00: to feel sensation without making it mean something,
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  SPEAKER_00: to watch a thought without attaching to it.
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  And when you discover the power of this practice is when you
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  stop feeding your
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  SPEAKER_00: senses with constant stimulation.
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  SPEAKER_00: You stop responding so much and
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  SPEAKER_00: And you are going to notice your mind will start to quiet down.
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  SPEAKER_00: Those sensations and distractions start to quiet.
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  SPEAKER_00: Think about like a fire that dies when you stop adding wood to it.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's the same thing here.
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  SPEAKER_00: You're creating space.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in that space,
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  SPEAKER_00: something else starts to emerge,
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  SPEAKER_00: a deeper awareness and inner knowing,
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  SPEAKER_00: a connection to something greater than the sensory world.
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  SPEAKER_00: So
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  SPEAKER_00: For this week, I want to invite you to reflect on a few things.
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  SPEAKER_00: The first is how much of your day is spent reacting to sensory input?
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  SPEAKER_00: Are you in control of your attention or is it constantly being hijacked?
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  SPEAKER_00: Just notice.
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  SPEAKER_00: What would it feel like to spend time without any external stimulation?
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  SPEAKER_00: Going a day, no devices, no phones, no music, no TV.
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  SPEAKER_00: What would that do?
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  SPEAKER_00: Is that something you'd want to explore or try out?
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  SPEAKER_00: Does that sound terrifying?
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  And then where are you using sensory experiences to avoid being
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  with yourself?
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  Or being alone or being out in public and you just go for your
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  phone even though
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  SPEAKER_00: there's really no reason for it.
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  What are you not wanting to feel or see when you give yourself
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  that space?
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  SPEAKER_00: That space to, I don't know, maybe be bored.
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  SPEAKER_00: Maybe start to tune inward a little bit more.
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  SPEAKER_00: So there's a couple quick,
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  SPEAKER_00: simple ways that you can practice this and I want to share them with you.
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  SPEAKER_00: There's three and the last one's my favorite.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I think you're going to really enjoy it.
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  SPEAKER_00: So the first, this is about creating daily silence periods.
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  SPEAKER_00: It could be three minutes.
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  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to be, you know, a hour long meditation.
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  SPEAKER_00: And during these three minutes,
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  SPEAKER_00: withdrawal from all sensory stimulation,
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  SPEAKER_00: no phone,
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  SPEAKER_00: no music,
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  SPEAKER_00: no TV,
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  SPEAKER_00: no mantra even,
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  SPEAKER_00: just allow yourself to experience silence.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sit in a quiet space, close your eyes and just be.
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  SPEAKER_00: It may feel uncomfortable at first.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your mind might be racing.
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  SPEAKER_00: You might feel restless or bored.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's all normal.
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  SPEAKER_00: What you're doing is you're detoxing from constant stimulation.
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  SPEAKER_00: And if you stay with this practice, something will shift.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your nervous system begins to settle.
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  Your mind starts to quiet and you start to remember what it
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  feels like to just,
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  SPEAKER_00: I don't know,
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  SPEAKER_00: just exist without needing to be entertained or stimulated.
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  And the second practice is similar and it's all about
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  practicing mindful sense withdrawal.
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  SPEAKER_00: So when you are eating,
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  SPEAKER_00: can you close your eyes for the first few bites,
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  SPEAKER_00: remove the visual stimulation,
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  SPEAKER_00: you know,
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  SPEAKER_00: just taste when you're in a conversation,
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  SPEAKER_00: can you notice where your mind starts planning what to say next?
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  SPEAKER_00: And then can you bring yourself back to just listen?
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  SPEAKER_00: Before bed,
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  SPEAKER_00: instead of watching TV or scrolling,
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  SPEAKER_00: spend 10 minutes in darkness,
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  SPEAKER_00: just total silence.
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  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're not even tired yet, just do it anyway.
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  These small practices train you to consciously direct your
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  attention rather than
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  SPEAKER_00: being unconsciously pulled by your senses.
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  And then the last one,
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  my favorite of all time,
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  is yoga nidra or guided body scan.
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  SPEAKER_00: So yoga nidra is known as the yogic sleep.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is one of the most powerful practices for pratyahara.
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  It's essentially a guided meditation where you systematically
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  relax each part of
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  SPEAKER_00: your body while remaining fully conscious.
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  So I personally teach yoga nidra in my restorative yoga classes
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  and on retreats,
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  SPEAKER_00: sometimes with my one-on-one clients,
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  SPEAKER_00: because this practice,
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  it is so powerful and it teaches us to withdraw our senses from
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  external objects
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  SPEAKER_00: and redirect that awareness inward.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's really powerful.
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  You are essentially awake,
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  but your senses are turned off to the outside world.
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  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
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  SPEAKER_00: To recap,
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  there's so much freedom that comes from realizing you don't
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  need constant sensory
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  SPEAKER_00: stimulation to feel alive,
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  SPEAKER_00: right?
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  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to constantly be consuming content,
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  SPEAKER_00: seeking experiences,
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  SPEAKER_00: chasing pleasure,
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  SPEAKER_00: avoiding pain.
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  SPEAKER_00: We can just be and we'll be all right.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in that being, we'll discover something far more nourishing than
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  SPEAKER_00: than anything the senses could provide.
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  SPEAKER_00: Pratyahara isn't about denying the world or becoming disconnected.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's about remembering that we're not our senses.
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  SPEAKER_00: We are the awareness that is witnessing all sensory experience.
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  So when we can withdraw our identification from the constant
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  stream of sight,
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  SPEAKER_00: sound,
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  SPEAKER_00: sensation,
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  SPEAKER_00: even for a few moments,
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  SPEAKER_00: you will touch something eternal,
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  SPEAKER_00: something that doesn't change based on what's happening around you.
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  And as you move through this week,
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  practice this turning inward,
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  creating space for silence.
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  Notice when your attention is being pulled outward and then
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  gently draw it back in.
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  SPEAKER_00: So remember the peace you're seeking, it's not out there, it's within.
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  SPEAKER_00: And Pratyahara is the practice of coming home to yourself,
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  coming home to your own inner guidance system and connection to
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  your innate
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  SPEAKER_00: divinity.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is the practice of sense withdrawal.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's a gateway to inner stillness.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is how we prepare for the deeper yogic limbs of concentration,
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  SPEAKER_00: of meditation,
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  SPEAKER_00: and of oneness,
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  SPEAKER_00: all which we're going to be exploring in the
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  With all that being said,
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  thank you so much for listening to Through the Veil.
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  Next week,
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  we're going to explore the sixth limb and you're going to love
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  it.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is all about the practice of concentration and one-pointed focus.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure you subscribe on Substack.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to book an energy healing,
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: a reading,
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: or a consult with me,
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  SPEAKER_00: all of those are linked in the show notes below.
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  SPEAKER_00: Have a beautiful week practicing the art of turning inward.
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  SPEAKER_00: Om peace.
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  SPEAKER_00: Amen.