Whatcha Lookin At? (a yogic gaze)

Hey, you.

Yeah, you.

WHATCHALOOKINAT.

teehee.

There's a word we use in the yoga practice: drishti.

Gaze. Focal point. Sight. Seeing. Aim. Attention.

Drishti is form and formless.

Drishti is direct and physical and also imaginary and metaphorical.

In the simplest sense, when we are 'doing yoga' (the asana, the poses), drishti is where ya gonna look.

Gazing at your front fingertips in Warrior 2. Maybe toward your top hand in Triangle. Settling your gaze at one point while in Eagle can help you balance. In dance, when spinning and turning, it's called spotting. In the whirlwind of movement, of twirls, of a difficult yoga flow, drishti is the focused gaze that keeps you grounded.

In very early yoga texts, drishti was defined very specifically. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes two drishtis: nāsāgre, a view toward the tip of the nose, and bhrūmadhye, a gaze toward the space between the eyebrows.

Throughout various forms, systems, and lineages of yoga, there have been VERY PRESCRIPTIVE places one is meant to settle one's gaze.

As you might guess, I'm a little less interested in what I'm supposed to do, and a little more interested in the effect a thing has on what I'm actually doing. Probably I don't believe that there is only one place to settle the gaze during downward facing dog. But I'm fascinated by feeling the effects in my body and mind when I choose any one point and focus my gaze.

Where your eyes go, your attention follows. If you're scanning the room, distracted, looking around, watching your phone, checking your smartwatch, it's infinitely harder to turn your attention inward. Infinitely harder to balance in tree pose.

Infinitely harder to take steps forward in your life when you're floating from thing to thing to thing without taking care to focus your perspective.

DRISHTI.

Your point of view. Your worldview.

Your perspective on humanity and our collective wellbeing.

Drishti cuts through the veils of illusion to see what's true.

If it's true that where your drishti goes, your attention follows.

then it's also true that where your attention goes, your energy follows.

So. Ya know.

Whaddayalookinat.

AND

WhaddayaWANNAlookat.

What things are you watching. What books are you reading. What thoughts are you tumbling around in your head all day long. Which relationships could use more of your gaze.

Let's all think on it.

Especially moving into the end of a year, the beginning of a new one.

We could focus our gaze, attention, and energy more skillfully on what we want to create.

Together.

Apart.

Individually and collectively.

SEE WHAT I MEAN?!

(teehee. see. see what i did there?)