If someone you know is a hoarder, you know what their homes look like. There's clutter everywhere, filled with random things, objects that take up space not because they are needed but because they were bought impulsively, and even worse, there's an inability to let go of these objects even as it has proven its uselessness. In short, a hoarder's home screams chaos.
Our minds are also like that physical space. If we choose to hoard thoughts or details in our minds that are of no consequence, it becomes very chaotic. These days, we are in huge danger of hoarding information. Most of us spend a lot of time online, or we binge-watch TV series, or even when we go to malls and don't buy anything, our minds take in all the sensory experiences of wanting to buy and wanting to acquire and attaching to what we think looks good and attractive and appealing. But just like the hoarder's home, our minds become a war zone of sorts. The focus of the month is pratyahara, which means withdrawal of the senses. This is one of the limbs of Ashtanga yoga, the eight-fold path of yoga. These limbs are not steps or prerequisites wherein you have to master one before you proceed to the other, these limbs are to be practiced simultaneously, similar to how when you're in school, you study Math and Science and English simultaneously. In the eight limbs, asana or physical poses have gained a lot of popularity while pratyahara is largely unknown to the average yoga practitioner. To practice pratyahara means we become conscious of what the mind consumes. It means we do not hoard, we become minimalists in the things that our senses consume. We stay away from reading things like gossip and fake news, we do not spend our time playing violent games, we abstain from consuming the fear and suffering inherent in animal "food" products, we don't use strong artificial smells to stimulate the senses, etc. If we want to attain yoga, we must study in a way wherein we value all these different limbs together, and not just become very good in asana but neglect pratyahara or dhyana (meditation) or the yamas (ethical precepts including nonviolence). Pratyahara is like a mental cleanse, to rid ourselves of the toxic information that clutters our peace of mind. Our senses gravitate towards objects, and our mind follows the senses, and the mind seems to be out of control following the senses that follow objects. Pratyahara is to remove the attachment of the mind to the senses so it can focus inwards. Practice today in a way that asana and pratyahara comes together. When there are pleasant sensations, instead of chasing after this sensation, turn your attention inwards. Similarly, when there are unpleasant sensations, instead of running away from the sensation, turn your attention inwards as well. Remove the attachment and the agitation, move the physical body, at the same time turn the attention inwards to the inner mind.
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