The Eyes Have It

For many yoga students, the focus in class is where do you put your body. The position of the feet, the arms, the alignment of the hips, the turning of the head - all the broad movements we do in an effort to achieve a posture of steadiness and ease.

In reality, the success of a yoga posture and indeed the successful outcome of your entire yoga practice - asana, breath and meditation - depends on where you put your eyes.

The focus of the eyes - your gaze or view - in yoga is called Drishti. Literally, drishti means "pure seeing." Drishti is the specific focal point where the gaze rests during asana and meditation.

The correct drishti helps with the alignment of a posture and directs the concentration of the mind. When the eyes wander, the mind becomes distracted and the integrity of a posture is compromised.

In some cases, an improper drishti can actually be harmful, as in shoulderstand where the head should not turn to look left or right. When assuming shoulderstand, your gaze (or drishti) should be right down the nose and into the chest. This position of the eyes in this posture promotes a grounded calmness and an effortless extension.

More powerfully, drishti directs the flow of energy (prana) through the body during asana and activates different areas of the brain during meditation.

The yogis realized that energy follows the gaze of the eyes. That was one reason the eyes are closed in meditation and pranayama - to re-direct the outward moving energy of the eyes internally. When it is necessary to keep the eyes open, as during the practice of asana, there is a recommended drishti or gaze for every posture.

In the practice of Ashtanga Yoga for example, there is a specified drishti for every posture in the first series. There are nine drishtis, or gazing points, in the Ashtanga practice: Thumbs, Nose Tip, Navel Point, Third Eye, Hands, Toes, Far Left or Far Right, and Up to the Sky. Many Ashtanga students overlook these drishtis but when employed properly with each successive posture, the experience becomes amazing. The flow of prana is correctly and sequentially directed through the nadis (energy meridians) by the drishti that facilitates the awakening of the latent energy of evolutionary awareness, or kundalini. The use of drishti turns the physical practice into a transformational flow.

In your next Ashtanga class, ask your teacher where the drishti is for each posture. You can also find the answers in the book Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual by David Swenson.

In Kundalini Yoga, the drishti or gaze is generally at the brow point (third eye) with the eyes closed during much of the practice. Kundalini yogis may also focus, when so directed, at the tip of the nose, crown of the head, and the center of the chin.

The different positions of the eyes (brow point, nose tip, crown of the head and center of chin) create a pressure with the optic nerve that affects different areas of the brain. For example, gazing at the chin area affects the emotional area of the brain while focusing at the brow point stimulates intuition.

The classical Hatha sequence of postures in a Sun Salutation practice (Surya Namaskara) starts with a drishti at the thumbs as the hands raise over the head, then at the toes with the forward bend, at the horizon with lifted head, gazing to the navel point with downward dog, and so on through the movements. In Warrior Two, the gaze is Far Left or Far Right, toward an imaginary horizon. In Warrior One, the drishti is past the thumbs toward the sky. Not only do these gazes properly align the head in a posture, the position of the eyes also stimulate the correct part of the brain.

While a drishti can be described as a fixed focus, the eyes should be soft as if looking through the object of the gaze. It is a transcendent and unforced awareness that looks beyond the surface to the inner essence. There should never be any strain in the eyes, neck or face.

Beginners often make the mistake of trying to force the gaze prematurely, as if staring or glaring, instead of letting it develop naturally. Hold the gaze as a place to rest, trying not so much as to see but to be.

In your next class, let your eyes see beyond the surface of your practice and lead you into the experience of real yoga.