Drawing towards the opposite
In every moment, we exist in both the external world and within our inner world. Most of the time, we are interacting with the environment around us. We consume information, engage with people, and perform outward-facing tasks for the benefit of our work, our family, or our community. For a few hours a day, we retire to silence and slip into the subconscious while we sleep. But, there’s a place in the middle. A place where we can exist internally more than externally; where we tune out the noise and focus on cultivating stillness within. Just as we can explore the outer limits of the universe, we should also be obsessed with adventuring within.
On our quest to realize our highest potential, we have to be willing to tune out the noise and draw our attention inward. This is where the 5th limb of yoga, pratyahara, comes in. Pratyahara refers to withdrawal or control of the senses. I think about this being less of a detachment from the world around us and more about balancing where our attention goes. In fact, this limb is often described as a “drawing towards the opposite.” If we spend most of our time looking outward, then we can practice pratyahara by spending some of our effort peering within. Furthermore, we can be cognizant of withdrawing from that which negatively affects us and becoming more absorbed in a more beneficial object of focus. I often use the acronym W.I.N. to help high performers remember to focus on What’s Important Now. Redirecting our attention from that which is distracting to that which is salient is part of the practice of pratyahara.
There’s also another aspect to this. By withdrawing some of our external focus, we can create space between who we are, at our essence, and the object of our attention. Sometimes we get so caught up in something outside of ourselves that we become reactive and knocked off our balance. The practice of pratyahara can be thought of as being committed to finding the space between stimulus and response. As Viktor Frankl said,
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
This withdrawal of our senses allows us to avoid being caught up in the swirl of life. If we mind the gap - the space between stimulus and response - then we have the freedom to choose how we are influenced by our surroundings or our circumstances. As high performers, we want to buffer ourselves against anything that might distract us. We want to protect our mind and our heart from the draining energy that can drag us down. But, we also don’t want to get too caught up in the highs. We need to be able to ride the waves with calmness and control. Through the practice of pratyahara, we remain aware of external stimuli, but we are not as affected by them. Isn’t that the goal of anyone pursuing higher levels of performance? We seek to operate from a place of higher awareness and control. Well, control over what we actually have control over. Another topic for another day.