This sadhana to bring you closer to the Supreme Goddess.

What is pratyahara? It is described as withdrawal of one’s senses. The maximum dissipation happens when one is involved with everything that is happening around one. One’s eyes are gazing at some object or happening, the ears are listening, there may be a smell, a sense of lingering taste and lastly the sense of touch.

All the senses combine and form powerful images and one responds to them. It is all connected with one’s mind. Then one’s movements, and actions are influenced. It happens all the time. There is not a free moment.

Many of us go through life in this whirlwind. We are multitasking all the time and feel in control. Then why do we have this sense of emptiness within us. We have everything and it’s a beautiful world. The answer is that we need to switch off and stop concentrating on ourselves. We have to seek the truth within.

Inhale, exhale, visualize

We have to close our eyes for sometime every day and start with being aware of our breath. Our breath is the only neutral activity which we can control. Sit in any position and breathe normally. Inhale, exhale eleven times while chanting Aum. Visualize your breath with prana going in through your nostrils and going to your lungs. Exhale and visualize your breath going out of the lungs and through the nostrils. Practice twenty-seven times with Aum. This is called external respiration.

We will now practice complete respiration with visualization. Our idea of breathing consists of only external respiration, and we overlook the internal respiration which happens, without our awareness. Now inhale breath with prana, through both nostrils, visualize it going to the lungs and then visualize it going to each and every cell in your system. This is cellular respiration.

Pause, then exhale and visualize the carbon dioxide and toxins being eliminated from the cells going to the lungs and being expelled from the nostrils. Pause, again. Start the next round. Practice fifty- four times with Aum. Always counting backwards.

Your learnt pratyahara

Open your eyes. Congratulations. You have learnt the practice of pratyahara. What happened to you? You were practicing awareness of your breath, practicing visualization of the prana in your breath, and visualizing it going to each and every cell, you were concentrating on the counting of your breath and the chanting of Aum.

You had no time to engage with any external happenings and your senses were focusses on an internal and neutral activity. This is the sadhana of pratyahara in its minimalist way. It is effortless. You have energized your prana and you have the blessings. Start by doing the pratyahara sadhana once a day and then do it at night before going to bed.

This is what is described in Devi Sukta, that by withdrawal of our senses we are ready to receive the cosmic mother’s blessing.

Aim Hrim Klim