The fourth upadeśa begins: Pratyāhāra — sensory withdrawal. After purifying the body, stabilizing it with āsana, sealing energy with mudrā, and working with prāṇa, the senses are now withdrawn from the exterior.

Pratyāhāra is the bridge between external practices (bahiraṅga) and internal ones (antaraṅga). It is the fifth aṅga of Patañjali’s classical yoga.

“Liberated in life” (jīvan-mukta) is the result. Pratyāhāra allows the yogi to be in the world without being of the world, with the senses functioning but not controlling.