Lately, on my morning beach walks, I’ve been playing with shifting my gaze. – Throwing it way out like a yoyo to take in the big picture, all the way to the end of the creseent that is Magen’s Bay, and then slowly reeling it in and enjoying the scenery along the way, until I’m finally looking straight down at my feet.
There’s a spot where my gaze is most comfortable. It’s where my eyes, neck and head are in their ‘rest’ position and it’s approximately 12 feet ahead.
When I look to the end of the beach I can see the big picture and people and objects in the distance are small and indistinct. As I bring my gaze in closer everything becomes bigger and clearer until, up close and personal, things are super-sized and fill up my field of vision like my giant big toe.
12 feet ahead provides the perfect little world in which to walk. It includes the footsteps of those who’ve gone before, the sand, any obstacles, jelly fish, sea gulls, sand crabs, a peripheral view of the sea, approaching people and a peaceful, private inner place.
The word Drishti came to mind when I was walking. It’s a Sanskrit word that refers to where to place your gaze in each yoga posture so, when I got home I got down David Swenson’s Ashtanga Yoga Practice Manuel and sure enough, what I’d been doing was experimenting with my drishti – looking for the perfect balance between my inner and outer worlds – my beach walking Drishti.
Each asana (yoga posture) has a Drishti associated with it – a suggested place to focus your gaze that enhances the benefits of each posture – like increasing your stretch by leading it with your gaze or deepening a bend by gazing at your big toe. In Yoga the Drishti also refers to an internal gaze and inner awareness that like a microscope reveals what we may not see externally.
As there is a Drishti associated with each yoga posture, for our outer and inner benefit, I’m seeing that there’s a Drishti associated with all our movements whether we are walking on the beach, washing dishes, having a conversation, sitting at our desks, doing pirouettes, reading a book, driving a car etc.… an ideal positioning of the body, head and gaze that is comfortable, ergonomic, expends the least effort and helps us to be present and focused on what is immediately before us and immediately within us.
I used this notion of Drishti (conscious focus) with great results when walking on the Camino de Santiago in France several years ago. My companion forged ahead on the steeper hills, leaving me, slow and steady, in the dust. When the going was steep and long, I found that if I l kept looking ahead, I got discouraged but if I looked up at the beginning to take stock and then kept my gaze (Drishti) about 12 feet ahead of me, staying in the present in my mind and with my gaze, I enjoyed the journey and celebrated summits. It worked downhill too with me in the lead leaping ahead like a goat.
I learned that it’s good to have a destination and then not to get too far ahead of yourself en route.
The same thing holds true for paddle boarding. If I’m la di dahing around out there scanning the horizon looking for turtles and dreaming of dolphins my gaze ranges far and wide but when I’m determined into the wind and mustering strength to move the board through the water, I focus on the water just in front of the board (probably about 12 feet ahead), gauge my speed and cultivate momentum.
In Buddhist meditation, you are encouraged to mediate with your eyes half open and your gaze cast downward and in front of you – a Drishti to enhance the purpose of the practice – being fully present.
The message I’m getting is that once we know where we are going, we’d do best to return to a manageable chunk of the present. Keeping our focus on what’s in the here and now will enhance whatever we are doing inside and out.
Like all yogic practices, Drishti uses the gifts of a human body and mind as a starting place for connecting to our full potential.. When we clear our vision of the veil
of habits, opinions, ideas, and their projections about what is real and what is false, we gaze beyond outer differences toward the absolute Truth.
May we all cultivate the ideal drishti – or perfect gaze for whatever we are up to today and always.
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