By Victor M Fontane
Pratyahara is a Sanskrit term, generally translated as "withdrawal of the senses." It is the fifth limb of Patanjali's eightfold path of yoga, believed to be a vital preliminary step before the more advanced practices of dharana (concentration) and dhyana (meditation). Is not really shutting down the senses but stopping the mind to flow out through the senses.
Ways to do it and achieving Pratyahara are:
-Bhakti or loving devotion towards any personal deity (the mind goes where the heart is). Visualizing that deity in the heart the attention goes there and concentrating in the visualization stop that mind flow through the senses.
-Telling strongly the mind that you are not interested on any thing from the exterior world through the senses or even on your own thoughts. Also, that what you are interested on, the mind can’t supply. This is because the senses are the servers of the mind and once you loose interest on the mind the senses will stop working.
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