Steady Gaze/Steady Mind

Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone whose gaze was darting all around, or with someone who wouldn't look directly at you? At best, the conversation might have been a bit frustrating; at worst, you might have wondered if you were even understood. Seeing "eye to eye" is more than an expression, it literally means that communication is happening. When we practice, we need to give ourselves and our bodies as much focused attention as possible. As much as possible, we need to direct our eyes so that we can get the most benefit from our asanas.

In Sanskrit, drishti means to gaze or to view, from the root drsh meaning to perceive, to see, or to understand. In yoga practice, a drishti is a point for focusing the gaze during practice. Using drishtis can be helpful, by bringing focus, concentration, and awareness, thus directing energy inward. When the eyes are always open and inward gazing, the focus is the practitioner. Drishtis discipline the mind while the asanas discipline the body. Keeping a drishti not only helps concentration, distractions are minimized. No comparison, no competition, no judgment--drishtis keep attention where it needs to be: on our individual practice.

Drishtis steady and quiet the mind, enabling us to concentrate on alignment, breathing, and self-examination. The eyes are quiet, relaxed, and soft. The optic nerves and eye muscles become part of the yoga practice. There is a "closed loop" between the see-er and the seen. Drishtis are often mentioned during balancing poses, as an aid to concentration and for calming the breath.

Most asanas have a drishti. Memorizing which of the nine drishtis is meant for each asana isn't really that difficult; in fact, the focus point is pretty much obvious. If you listen carefully during your practice, you can usually figure out where to focus your eyes. As a general rule, the drishti is usually in the direction that the head is turning (well, that makes sense, as our eyes are in our heads). The drishti includes more than merely turning the eyes toward a focal point: the mouth, the tongue, the back of the throat, even the ears must be relaxed for a drishti to be completely effective. How is that possible? It's not too hard. savasana, or final relaxation pose, has the same facial cues. 

Here are the nine drishtis--and where they are used during our practice together. There are two different presentations of this information: the first, for those who like charts and graphs; the second, a more narrative and photographic approach.

The Looking Places - NAVA DRISHTIS
Drishti	Gazing Point	Typical Postures
Nasagrai	The space just beyond the tip of the nose (this is the most used drishti).	Sitting Postures
Ajno Chakra	"The third eye" - the space between the eyebrows.	Cobra/Upward Dog
Nabi Chakra	The navel	Downward Dog
Hasagrai	The hand	Triangle poses
Podhayoragrai	The toes	Shoulder Stand
Parsva Drishti	Far to the right, or far to the left	Twisting Postures
Angusta Ma Dyai	The thumbs	Beginning the Sun Salutation
Urdhva Drishti or Antara Drishti	Up to the sky	Warrior I

The tip of the nose (nasagrai) as when we begin and end our practice while seated (sukasana), and most sitting poses.

The space between our eyebrows (anjo chakra) when we close our eyes to set a focus for our practice, or when we are in cobra (bhujangasana) or up dog (urdhva muka svasana).

The navel or bellybutton (nabi chakra) while we are in down dog or adho muka svanasana.

The upraised hand (hastagrai) while we are in triangle poses or forms of trikonasana; the outstretched hand while we are in warrior II (virabhadrasana), or side plank poses.

Our toes (padhayoragari) while we stand in forward bends, or in boat poses (navasana).

The far left or far right, over our shoulders (parsva drishti) while twisting from the center, as in half lord of the fishes (ardha matsyendransana) or spinal twists.

The thumbs (angusta ma dyai) when our arms are stretching upwards, as at the outset of sun saluations.

And finally, up to the sky (urdhva drishti) when we are in warrior I (virabhadrasana), chair pose (utkatasana), or during the cow part of cat/cow stretches.

It's important to know that as we transition from one asana to the next, the drishti becomes immaterial. The gaze point is important while a pose is held (that's when we need the concentration and focus). Never, ever force the gaze to the point of strain. If the drishti is the toes, but if that's too much (hypertension, a crick in the neck, etc.), looking down is good enough. If looking at the navel during down dog causes discomfort, look to the nose instead. Allow the drishti to develop over time, just as the physical aspect of the asana develops. Remember, yoga is a practice, not a perfect; there are years and years of improvement ahead of every yogi and yogini.

So what's the point of the drishti, other than mental focus? Well, when the body is busy with alignment and the eyes are looking toward a goal, it's almost impossible to multi-task. And that's one reason why yoga is so popular: it's a form of exercise that works the body and keeps our mind in the present. Focus, breath, body, gaze, mind--all are working toward a single goal. When our time together is over, the whole self is invigorated and refreshed, ready to take on the multiple demands of life our 21st century.


Until next week, Namaste
Nancy