Throughout your yoga practice, you need to focus your gaze on a specific point as this will assist you in positioning your body and focusing your mind. This is referred to as Drishti. Drishti is about using one focal point to bring everything into balance – from your alignment to your concentration and train of thought. It supports your intent and shapes your practice. This process gives your body time to adjust without any distractions.
Drishti isn’t linked to yoga alone. It also relates back to vision, wisdom and your point of view. The key take-away is the Drishti is all about focus – in all aspects of your life. Without focus, you are aimlessly trying to achieve something with no clear direction or end goal. If you are looking to add value to your yoga practice, you need to focus on exactly that and work towards achieving it. If you are looking to achieve something in your day-to-day life, you need to be dedicated to making that happen.
Tips for improving your Drishti
Relax your gaze
Each yoga pose can be linked back to a specific gaze or focal point. While it entails focusing on one specific point, the idea is to have it be as natural as possible. The gentle approach to your gaze can assist in calming your mind. The simplest way to describe this practice is to have your eyes rest on one spot while focusing on your body’s posture while holding the pose.
Keep your eyes open
While it becomes easy to close your eyes while practising – either due to a sense of calm or to try and cope with a difficult pose – you need to resist the urge to do so. You need to navigate your situation while maintaining your awareness.
Shift your focus
Focusing your gaze can become difficult when shifting between poses as you may need to change your focal point. As a result, you are required to be able to keep your balance as well as focus as you make the shift from pose to pose. It may be easier to slowly shift your focus as opposed to making a sudden change. You need to be comfortable while still pushing your boundaries.
Take it easy
There’s no way to master Drishti. As with most yoga poses, it takes practice and dedication. It is necessary for you to be able to push yourself further with each and every practice. You cannot force yourself into becoming a “pro” as yoga is a continuous journey. There is no “final step” to your journey.
Drishti is best summarised by the following: Yoga is about clearing away that which is in us preventing our living in the most full as well as whole way. With the practice of yoga, we become aware of how as well as where we are restricted — in body, mind in addition to heart — and how to gradually open and then release these blockages. As these blockages are released, our energy is released as well. We begin to feel an increased level of harmony as well as more at one with ourselves. Our lives start to flow — or we start to flow more in our lives.
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