Pratyahara Mudra with the Pirate

I know, probably all you can see is the pirate in the background. He is there alright.  Then in front of him there is me with the pratyahara mudra, attempting the 5th limb of yoga.

Ramaswami taught it in a way where the covering emphasis is put on the ears and eyes whereas for the nose and mouth the gesture is more of a suggestion. Besides, the ring and the little fingers are way too short to reach without getting into very compromising positions. 

The middle and little fingers are too short, besides just a suggestion
seems to work for smell and speech/taste

This is part of the ritual of practicing all limbs of yoga in every practice, or, rather, up to the sixth one and hoping the last two will one day happen.

I take the mudra right after pranayama and hear the heart-beats and breath, that is the first reaction, then I notice that the pressure on the eyes is always too strong, so I need to ease up and balance it.

Hearing what is going on internally in the body is calming and soothing,  sometimes I wish I could stay in it for the next part, the focusing on a object.  James has threatened that he wants to do a whole meditation attempt with the mudra engaged.

I enjoy hearing just the heart-beat and connecting with the breath when
the ears are covered.

Grimmly calls pratyahara the "Cinderella" limb of yoga, the one that is so ephemeral, and has to run quickly, before midnight, well, those are my words, the fairy-tale character caught my imagination.

Not much to do in it really, even though I managed to write 32 unusual ways to practice basic sense withdrawal in daily life, when it comes to being practiced as a limb it is so much more ephemeral than asana or pranayama.

Have to hang that picture by the way!

See also:

10 Things to Know About Pratyahara