Drishti - Finding Your Focus
Drishti (also known as focus or gaze) is a very common word heard in yoga. Not only will your teacher ask you to focus on a fixed point on the wall in front of you, or on spot at the front of your mat, to encourage stabilization in your balancing poses, but we are often told to practice drishti off our mat.
What does that mean?
The amount of opportunities we have to distract ourselves easily taking us out of our day, our moment, our purpose... is endless.
We look at our phones, computers, tablets, gaming consoles and we can’t get through one video without some advertisement pointing us to another show, another app, a notification that another friend playing a different game, another idea or outlet we “have” to explore.
Even when I started to research the best ways to launch something like Hammer & Flow Yoga, it was sensory overload, and I would sometimes quickly forget my intention, my why. I eventually wrote on a piece of paper what I wanted for myself and what I wanted others to feel with Hammer and Flow Yoga… and often I would need to come back to that same piece of paper to make sure I was sticking to my initial intention. Not to say things can’t change - we very much have to evolve. However, remembering your initial “why” is important. And even when writing this… there are many things regarding your focus/gaze/drishti I want to share! How can I be clear and precise with my word, with the point I want to get across? It’s not an easy task!
For today’s purposes I’m not going to talk about bringing things INTO focus. I’m looking at the opposite side of the coin, and talking about how you can practice yoga’s drishti when things in your life get fuzzy/out of focus.
When it comes to our point of view, our world view, what we believe in, what we think should or shouldn’t happen, there are two questions we should ask ourselves - to insure we are in full focus…
(1) Are we too close to a situation or circumstance? Sometimes we get so wrapped up in a situation that we start to lose focus – we can’t see it clearly. Our gaze becomes chaotic. Our emotions let loose and we lose “why” we started believing in something in the first place. We lost our intention. Or, sometimes worse, we have our emotion so deeply intertwined that instead of being clear with our word we’ve lost our impact.
It’s not to say “don’t be passionate.” Passion is what makes this world go around, it’s what makes inventors and heroes alike, but when passion overtakes your focus, then you need to step away to regain your balance. Like in your yoga practice when you get in your head about how you can’t hold a pose, or your focus shifts to how you look while do it, resulting in every time you attempt said pose, you allow emotion to create chaos. However, if you just pick a point on the floor four feet in front of you and focus... you would become steady, your mind will calm. You can have passion without losing yourself in emotion, and practicing this on your mat will help you recognize where you need this off your mat
(2) Are we not close enough to a situation or circumstance? This often leads to judgment. It’s human nature to be skeptical or uncertain of what we do not know, of what’s foreign. And also, what a great opportunity this is to learn more, a different side of things, another’s worldview. Let’s take a look at the others around us. Anyone doing something or acting in a manner which we don’t agree or don’t understand? And why do we feel this way? Did we ask them their “why”? Does our emotion bubble to the surface causing us to lose focus, resulting is unnecessary criticism their reasoning? Is it more comfortable for us to sit at a distance where our worldview is uninterrupted?
If you’re too far away you can’t pull focus. Your gaze is too easily distracted by your peripheral vision. So get closer. Get out of your comfort zone. Connect with your uncertainty and/or that person. Worse case you come out still thinking they’re a bit crazy, but now you understand their why.
On your yoga mat you may see someone do a pose which looks impossible… There’s no way you’ll get there. And how do you handle that situation? Do you shake your head and walk away, not giving it a try. OR do you look at the possible progressions and variations which can benefit you in the same way. The whole premise of yoga isn’t about nailing a peak pose, it’s about what you learn in the process, what your body needs and how to best benefit yourself.
Keep a clear focus. Dristhi is key to your own stability on and off your yoga mat.
Next time you’re on the mat, stay intentional with your focus. Notice how stable and balanced you feel when your sight is clear. Then take that off your mat. Be balanced in your emotion and intention. And where your gaze looks a bit blurred, take a breath and reset your lens. You may still not quite see what others see, but you can recognize there’s another side to the coin.
With gratitude and excitement,
Namaste