Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi
Pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi are four of the eight limbs of yoga. Pratyahara means with-drawl of the senses. Dharana means concentration or focus. Dhyana means meditation and samadhi means bliss. These particular four limbs of yoga have great depth in how they can be applied in someone’s life and how they can be translated into practice. The purpose of this paper is to explain how I personally apply these principles into my life.
It is meaningful to examine how someone applies the principles of yoga to their life because how you live your life can have implications on the world around you. In order to create peace around you, it is most important to start with yourself. The eight limb path of yoga is meant to lead to peace within and even bliss, samadhi.
In order to explain how I use pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi in my life I will give examples for each pinciple and explain in detail what each principle entails.
“Pratyahara is generally thought of as turning the senses inward. It’s the ability to turn off the external messages from your eyes, ears, and other sense organs, and tune in to your internal environment (Carrera, 2006)”. Often times when people tune into their internal environment they recognize the tapes in the mind that are playing. Once someone recognizes the tapes they are playing then they may be able to change the stories they tell themselves and begin to tell more peacefull stories so they are more likely to feel a state of calm.
Pratyahara is part of my meditation and my yoga practice. I close my eyes in my meditation practice to decrease the signals from the outside and I focus my energy on one part of my practice such as the breath, a certain body part, or a certain alignment principle. When I am intensely focused on one thing then other things in my world become less prominent.
“Dharana, concentration, is the ability to maintain focus (McCall, 2007, p.17).” When I am able to go inward and focus on one thing I become more effective and resourceful in life. I practice dharana, concentration, when I am working, or by focusing on one point in front of me while practicing asana. One of my yoga teachers taught me that using my gaze is a great way to create dharana in my practice. The gaze in yoga is parrallel to the fluctuations in the mind, when your gaze is wandering so are your thoughts.
Dhyana, meditation, is a relaxed concentration where the stream of thoughts in the mind slows(McCall, 2007). There are many techniques that people use to practice meditaiton. The technique most commonly practiced for meditatioin is following the breath. Simply noticing the inhales and the exhales prevents the mind from wandering and brings us to the present moment. When thoughts arise while watching the breath, the practice is to notice the thoughts but not to react to them. Many say, envision the thoughts as if they are a clouds passing by. For me meditation is a way of cleaning the slate and creating a new perspective.
Samadhi is thought of as blissful absorption. “Yoga experts differ in their definition of samadhi (sah-MAH-dee). Some feel it is something that can be tasted, fleetingly, in asana and pranayama and even in the course of everyday life, while others consider it to be the pinnacle of yoga, experienced only by masters (McCall, 2007)”. Samadhi is a place where practitioners strive for, however, it is recognized that most only experience for moments at a time. I experience samadhi in my life when I am doing the things that I love. I love to ski, listen to music, teach yoga, and be with my friends and my family.
References
Carrera, J. (2006). Inside the Yoga Sutras: A Comprehensive Sourcebook for the Study and
Practice of Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras. : Integral Yoga.
McCall, T. (2007). Yoga as medicine: The yogic prescription for health and healing. New York: Bantam Books.
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