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There is so much more to learn, look below to help guide you to wellness.
Seek out Dharma:
Our thoughts and feelings often appear separate from our physical reality yet our mind and body are inseparable.
Yoga asanas allow us to intimately experience the connection between mind and body. It is by dealing with the physical body that we gain the sensitivity to move inward.
This is why practicing yoga asanas is an infinite journey. It is a path to the more subtle aspects of our mind, our emotions and overall well being. It is there that we can seek out our dharma, our “true nature” and not just take a peek at it, but to rest in it, identify it and forget any other “self” that we may have imagined.
So we would say in yoga that the subtle precedes the gross, or spirit precedes matter. But yoga says we must deal with the outer or most manifest first, i.e. legs, arms, spine, eyes, tongue, touch, in order to develop the sensitivity to move inward. This is why asana opens the whole spectrum of yoga’s possibilities.” ~ B.K.S. Iyengar
Drishti:
Drishti is often said to mean “gaze” or “view”. It actually comes from the root drsh in Sanskrit which means “to perceive” so its meaning (and application) goes a bit deeper than just our visual gaze.
External Gaze
Put simply, find one steady, still point and fix your gaze there. This will help you stay upright when you’re trying to balance in various yoga poses by eliminating distractions. It can also help you move and maintain proper alignment. But no matter the direction in which we’re physically looking, drishti teaches us to hone the practice of looking inward.
For example, poses in which the hand directs the energetic reach, such as this photo of camel or ustrasana, your drishti is towards the fingers. You can think about gazing in a direction so that the back of your neck remains long.
When our eyes wander, either because we’re scanning the room and checking out the other students or gazing out the window, we become distracted and our thoughts wander. Holding your gaze steady helps to steady your mind (and the thoughts in your mind). Our attention (and energy) flows to where our gaze is focused.
Drishti is part of the mental practice of yoga and builds your mental muscles. It helps you learn to hold your concentration on and off the mat, something that is beneficial in our attention deficit culture. During meditation practice, you turn your gaze inwards and focus on an internal drishti.
Ultimately, the practice of drishti can help you see the world as it really is. There’s a concept in yogic philosophy that our perception and interpretation of the world is colored and influenced by our experiences and the stories that we tell ourselves (or have been told). That we are layering veils on top of ourselves and obscuring the truth.
The idea of drishti is that eventually, you’ll be able to see through all those veils and see the real truth and meaning. To perceive the real truth.
Your gaze should be soft, not a piercing stare, with relaxed, possibly even gently blurred eyes. Don’t force your gaze. You shouldn’t feel strained in any way, either mentally or physically. Instead, let your drishti develop naturally. It will take time and practice.
We have a tendency to focus on one point on the ground, particularly in standing postures. While this can help us to maintain our balance and focus, some say when we take our gaze down to the ground, we’re in our “thinking” brain and we want to try to get out of our thinking brain as much as possible. So, look up. Instead, keep your gaze at eye level or above.
Diaphragmatic Breathing:
Fascinating how we breathe unconsciously most (if not all) of the day, yet when we breathe thoughtfully and honor the diaphragm’s proper mechanics, we move into a more relaxed state of mind and body. Try this short tutorial on YouTube by Ray Long:
Neck Forearm and Wrist Release:
This stretch is especially nice for releasing tension in the neck and wrist. As you breathe smoothly and fully, you can feel it softening and stretching the neck, creating space between each vertebrae in the cervical spine, as well as countering the daily stress placed on the forearm and wrists from repetitive keyboard use.
Sit upright with both feet pressed evenly into the ground trying not to let your back touch the back of the chair. Align your head above your spine and lift through the crown of the head, gazing straight forward. Extend your left arm out to the side, actively pressing through the palm. Breathe in, and on the exhale drop your right ear toward your right shoulder. Take several breaths, feeling the stretch on the left side of your neck, down into the forearm and wrist.
To deepen the stretch, continue pressing the palm away as you reach over your head placing your right hand on the left side of your head to gently pull your neck away from your shoulders.
Let the breath soften the muscles along your neck, forearm and wrist. Hold the pose for at least five more breaths. Slowly lift the head and switch sides to repeat.