Drishti: Where is Your Attention?

       
       As with most concepts in yoga, there's both a metaphoric and a literal aspect to the concept of drishti, Sanskrit for "point of gaze."  Yoga practice brings awareness of the body, breath and mind to the practitioner, and in a literal sense, drishti refers to where the eyes are focused.  I think in a larger, figurative sense, we could also consider where we place our "focus" in life as another practice of drishti.   This focus shapes our all activities and attitudes, all our relationships and goals.

Drishti in Yoga

        With yogasanas, the postures you assume when practicing hatha yoga, not only are you aware of what your arms, legs, and breath are doing, but you also pay attention to where your eyes are focused.  Every yogasana has its appropriate drishti.  Most American yoga teachers don't teach this, at least not the ones I've had.  It might be because either they don't know about it, or they don't want to be bothered with it during class.  I've only ever encountered a couple yoga instructors who included this instruction in their entire session.  The book I mention at the end of this article lists the appropriate drishti for each asana presented in it.  I thought that was neat.

        Drishti helps you get the most out of the yoga posture.  It helps with the alignment of the spine, muscles and internal organs.  I can feel the difference when I do or don't incorporate them.  In the course of performing one asana there could be two or three different drishti to be aware of as you move through a single asana sequence.  Here are a few common drishti:

• Nasagrai (nose)  This drishti is used while standing in Neutral Pose, while moving into Upward Dog to prevent overextension of the neck, and in several other postures as a means to avoid distraction

• Anjusta ma dyai (thumbs)   Used when extending the arms in order to emphasize the upward motion of the body or, as in the case of Triknoasana (Triangle pose), to encourage the chest to open

• Broomadhya (third eye)   This gaze also encourages the upward and opening motion of the body and lengthening of the the spine

• Nabi chakra (navel)   In Downward Dog, we look at the navel by tucking the chin into the collarbone to still the mind

• Urdhva (upward)   This is an opening drishti

• Hastagrai (hand)   This gaze point is used to encourage correct alignment in extended postures

• Padhayoragrai (toes)   In forward bends, it is important to look at your toes so that your spine will lengthen naturally

• Parsva (to the side)   This focus is used during both balancing and twisting postures

Drishti in Life

          All of life is one, continuous asana.  Once in a while life's events wake us up and cause us to re-evaluate where our focus has been.  The last few years I've watched people around me face stunningly difficult choices brought about by the recession.  People lost jobs, went bankrupt, had cars repossessed, homes foreclosed.  I know in my own life I've had to bite the bullet in many areas.

          The good part is that of late, it seems to me, there are many more moments of the collective drishti of Americans softening somewhat from its usual materialistic, ego-based focus, to a more heart-centered one --initially a matter of the force of circumstances, but later as a choice based on rediscovery of what and who's really important.  It seems like people have been re-evaluating everything.   How long will this last? I wonder.

          In the meantime, it's been pleasant reading so many articles about families finding inexpensive ways to spend time together, ways to grow closer, trust and rely on each other more.  What we casually viewed in the past as material entitlements, have become luxuries, many of which we discover we could do without.   Little things can become much more important, more precious ...it's a matter of how we "look" at them in the end.

--Drishti information from Ashtanga Yoga for Women (pg. 25)
   by Sally Griffyn and Michaela Clarke

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