sva (स्व, sva) = (icc.) their own
vishaya (विषय, viṣaya) = (iic.) object; thing
a (अ, a) = not
sanprayoge (संप्रयोगे, saṁprayoge) = to come into contact with; to unite; to become one
chittasya (चित्तस्य, cittasya) = (g. sg. m./g. sg. n. from chitta (चित्त, citta)) all that is mutable in humankind; mind
sva (स्व, sva) = (iic.) their own
rupa (रूप, rūpa) = (iic.) form
svarupa (स्वरूप, svarūpa) = (iic.) own form; own nature
anukara (अनुकार, anukāra) = (nom. sg. f.) to imitate; to resemble; to appropriate
eva (एव, eva) = (prep.) like; as though; as it were
indriyanam (इन्द्रियाणाम्, indriyāṇām) = (g. pl. m./g. pl. n. from indriya (इन्द्रिय, indriya)) via the senses; via the sense organs
pratyaharah (प्रत्याहारः, pratyāhāraḥ) = (nom. sg. m. from pratyahara (प्रत्याहार, pratyāhāra)) withdrawal of the senses; bringing inward; literally: fast with the senses; harmony with the emotions; harmony with the emotional body

pratyahara (प्रत्याहार, pratyāhāra)

pratyahara (प्रत्याहार, pratyāhāra) literally means “to fast,” referring not to food intake, however, but to the senses as a whole. Inasmuch as for yogis, the senses are closely related to the emotions, pratyahara (प्रत्याहार, pratyāhāra) is the logical step after pranayama (प्राणायाम, prāṇāyāma). Achieving harmony with your emotions is somewhat more difficult than achieving harmony with your body or energy. Even if you have gotten a handle on your body and your energy, your emotions may still remain volatile. In other words, the ability to stand on one’s head does not necessarily translate into emotional balance. Hence emotional harmony is far more difficult to obtain than physical harmony.
This next step of pratyahara (प्रत्याहार, pratyāhāra) is likewise harmoniously integrated into asana vinyasa (आसनविन्यास, āsana-vinyāsa) practice of ashta“nga yoga (अष्टा“न्ग योग, aṣṭā“nga yoga). pratyahara (प्रत्याहार, pratyāhāra) begins with seeing (drishti (डृष्ति, ḍṛṣti)), as this is the sense that we are most readily able to control. In time, you will learn to fold all of your senses into your practice of yoga, and in this way will gain access to your emotions. And this in turn will lead to emotional harmony.

Here too, for particularly dedicated yogis (योगी, yogī) there are a few other (mainly sitting) techniques that can be realized in addition to asana vinyasa (आसनविन्यास, āsana-vinyāsa) practice.