Withdrawal of the Senses

 The senses withdraw themselves from the objects and imitate, as it were, the nature of the mind-stuff, this is pratyaharah. 

Pantajali's Yoga Sutras, Book II, 54

Pratyaharah is the 5 th limb of Astanga or Raja yoga, according to Patanjali. It is defined as being the ability to control the senses...a withdrawal of the senses from their outside world focus and returning them to an inner world focus.  The fifth limb can be practiced after one masters, to some degree, Yama or abstinence from violence, lying, stealing, lustful urges, and greed; Niyama or observance: purity, accepting but not causing pain, study of spiritual books and self-surrender. ( page 120); Asanas and pranayama ( basically what I teach in my yoga classes). I am more than ready for the practice of this fifth limb.  Infact, I have been practicing for years with breath awareness, attention to the karmic effects of my actions etc. 

It helps though to better understand what it means:

The withdrawal of senses:

The senses are like a mirror.  Turned outward, they reflect the outside; turned inward they reflect the pure light.  By themselves, the senses are innocent, but when allowed to turn outside, they attract everything and transfer those image sto the mind, making it restless. Turned inward, they find peace by taking the form of the mind itself. Translated by Satchidananda, page 156

I may need to look into this a little more.

All is well

Satchidananda (Translator) ( 2011). The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Integral Yoga Publications: Yogaville, Virginia