A common word to hear in any yoga practice is that of drishti. While specific drishtis are outlined in an Ashtanga yoga practice for each asana (pose), it has become a catch-all phrase in other styles of yoga particularly during balancing poses. “Find your drishti.” Or “Set your gaze to your drishti ” Perhaps the teacher will more specifically direct your gaze to the floor, wall, fingers or 3rdeye.
A beginner may confuse drishti with the actual point on the wall or floor they are encouraged to look at to help maintain their balance. But drishti refers to the action of focus and perception. There is not one right drishti, but drishti implies a constant evolution of the quality of focus, awareness and perception you are able to hold as you find deeper meaning from the physical world. It is, in essence, a form of meditation and reflection.
I was practicing ardha chandrasana (half moon pose) and having a difficult time with my balance on this particular day. Though my gaze was steady, my thoughts shifted in all directions and I noticed I was releasing a bit of anger through my eyes to that point on the wall. Immediately, I worked towards softening my gaze a little, and any attachments I had to holding the pose and then the most interesting image appeared in my mind. It was as though I were a kite flying in the wind, anchored by the point of my gaze. Each limb seemed to have its own string attached to this point and with the gentlest tug on any of the strings I could glide into alignment feeling pure freedom and expansion. And as I returned to my practice throughout the week, each time I found myself coming into deeper alignment than before with this new super-powered drishti.
Through my study of somatic expressive therapy, it has become a habit in yoga and in life to visualize the support I need in any giving moment. And at this moment as in many others, I was dumbfounded by how a single imaginative thought instantly became reality and changed my whole experience. My drishti at that moment gave me a sense of power and possibilities beyond that of my physical reality in which I been struggling moments before. Without the physical concerns of toppling, I could really explore my inner being and watch how easily it could take flight.
When your eyes soften, so does your whole body, mind, and spirit. When we stop running from or powering through certain experiences it is only natural for us to become aligned with them. Universal principals constantly seek balance. It is us that hold against this union. As you soften to become one with your drishti, you become one with so much more.
Finding your drishti is more about choosing the quality of your internal focus, perception or experience than finding any external point. Yet there is a beautiful dualistic relationship between the two. In practicing yoga asanas, the purpose of the external focus of the eyes is to reduce the amount of stimulus the eyes must process. Thus, allowing stillness of body and mind so you can notice your breath, your thoughts, your feelings and eventually your opening into states of oneness or at least deeper experiences of energetic stability.
Obviously, when your gaze darts from one object to the next or one situation to the next it can be hard to find your balance and center. When your gaze is focused too hard on any external point, the result is instability and an actual loss of energy to that external object. Which is profound when you think of it. I am going to play with the term drishti a bit here, as I apply it to daily life.
To find direction:
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where there is too much going on? Everybody seems to want something from you, your head is spinning and you can’t seem to get perspective on anything?
Next time you are feeling out of balance and out of your center, think about where it is you want to be (a goal perhaps) or how you want to feel. Stay with that thought as you breathe and bring awareness to the body. Notice how thoughts may change as you stay with this process. Keep softening your focus. Allow the shift in perception to happen naturally as you hold the intention of coming into alignment. Eventually, you will find yourself aligned with your chosen thought.
To heal:
How many times have you found yourself leaking energy to an external person, place or situation? Maybe you find you can’t stop thinking about it or talking about it as you verbally release even more of your energy to the cause. Maybe it is a cause that brings you great joy but you find yourself neglecting other areas of your life. Or maybe you are hurt and angered by this particular point of focus and the experience is leaving you defeated. In this situation, you may have set your gaze, focus or drishti too hard.
Bring that which has hurt you to mind. Allow it to be your drishti. Soften your heart and stay present to your breath, thoughts, feelings, and inner guidance. You may notice your body’s temperature change as the energy of emotions runs through it, or you may notice that tears are released. Allow whatever happens to happen as you stay with it and keep noticing. Eventually, clarity will come and you may find that what seemed to be weakening you is also offering you wings to fly.
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