07-Aug-2011

Close Your Eyes

Get Into the Yoga Zone

Do you sometimes have a hard time relaxing in your yoga class? Is it hard for you to walk away from the stress of your day and leave it all behind? Do you want to get all the benefits of yoga? If you want to get into a better state during yoga class, try closing your eyes. I’m totally serious! For most poses, except balancing poses, I love the feeling of closing my eyes, focusing on the breath, and really getting into the pose.

If you are new to yoga, it’s not always recommended that you close your eyes, but now that I’m a veteran of yoga class, I know most of the poses and can follow the instructor’s flow without watching her. I really find it helps remove the clutter from my mind and get fully into the yoga zone.

When your eyes are closed, you are not fixating on the flexibility of the person next to you or checking out your body in the mirror. All those distractions can really hold you back, and before you know it, you’re focusing on something non-essential like your shopping list. By closing your eyes, you focus on how your body feels in the pose, how to take yourself to your edge in the pose, and on receiving all the benefits of yoga.

As you progress with your yoga practice, you are also likely to learn some specific eye focus techniques (called drishti). Focusing at your brow point (third eye), the tip of your nose or practicing Tratakam meditation (focusing on an object) can be very powerful for healing your eyes and opening your intuition. Yoga class is a perfect place to practice developing your inner vision— so next time you are in class, give it a try. Just close your eyes and enter the yoga zone.

Meditation for Inner and Outer Vision (99 KB)

Maria Santoferraro
Blogger, Yogi
The Daily Downward Dog

Recommended: Eye Yoga - How You See is How You Think by Dr. Jan Rigney Battenberg