Pratyahara and the role of the senses
Pratyahara sits between pranayama and dharana in the eight limbs. After posture and breath, Patanjali asks how the senses relate to the objects we perceive and to the movement of attention.
What turning inward means
Sutra II.54 describes the senses loosening their connection with their objects and following the mind. In ordinary perception, a new sound or movement can set the next direction of attention. In Patanjali’s account, the state of the mind gives direction to the senses. Iyengar relates this turn to learning to notice the inward side of experience.
How this leads to concentration
Pratyahara concerns our relationship to sense impressions. Dharana introduces the task of keeping attention in a chosen area. Hearing a sound can send you looking for its source. You can also notice the sound and defer the search. That ordinary example helps make sense of why Patanjali addresses the senses before sustained attention.
What mastery of the senses refers to
Sutra II.55 connects pratyahara with mastery of the senses. In the context of Iyengar’s commentary, this continues the work of directing attention. You may notice an impression, investigate it further, or return your attention to the activity at hand.
What Iyengar’s bridge connects
Iyengar calls pratyahara a bridge between outward and inward inquiry. On one side are the practices that bring body, breath, and senses into a coordinated relationship. On the other are the practices concerned with the direction and continuity of attention. A bridge belongs to the transition itself. Iyengar’s description helps explain why pratyahara appears in his group with asana and pranayama and at the same time points toward dharana.
Sensing, interpreting, and acting
A sound from another room illustrates how quickly these processes can follow one another. You hear it, form an idea about its source, and may feel ready to turn your head or get up. Each part adds something. The sound is the sensory impression. The explanation is the work of the mind. The movement is a possible response. Iyengar’s discussion of pratyahara includes the coordination of perception, action, and mind, so the change he describes involves more than the volume or number of impressions around a person.
A practical way to read the distinction
Picture yourself reading a page while a familiar sound plays in the background. If you begin to follow the sound, your attention leaves the page. If you notice the sound and keep your place, the impression can be present without deciding what you do next. This is an everyday illustration of the distinction. Patanjali’s account of pratyahara belongs to a larger practice, and the illustration makes one aspect of its relationship to concentration easier to follow.
The transition
Pratyahara helps explain the passage from work with the body and breath to concentration. It draws attention to what happens between receiving an impression and deciding where to focus.
Source
B. K. S. Iyengar. Heart of the Yoga Sutras.