There's a saying that if you find yourself in Hell keep going

To me this speaks to the importance of keeping your gaze lifted. When setting intentions or visualizing a new experience, we rely on inner vision. We focus our gaze internally.

Dristi is a Sanskrit word for the practice of a focused gaze.

Maybe that’s why in Ashtanga Yoga the gaze is considered one of the key foundations of the practice

In that practice, there are specific gazing points associated with each posture, which help to harness the awareness to keep it present. This supports staying focused in the present moment while doing your practice. In meditation practice there is always an instruction for where to place the gaze.

Our attention, and our energy follows our gaze. So if we spend most of our time looking at disturbing things, our mind may become disturbed. If we learn to focus our gaze and choose that focus wisely, our mind may settle as well.

Gaze is literal and metaphorical

We can look at this metaphorically as well. Where we allow our mind to dwell during our daily activities can influence the quality of our awareness. It can also affect our mood and state of mind. So our internal ‘gaze’ is just as important, and also related to where our eyes look.

Do you want your state of mind to reflect the madness you see on the daily news?

Or do you want to embody a spacious peaceful state of mind that will keep you balanced and grounded through any challenging situation?

Where you focus, your energy flows.

It is said that Prana–which is our life force energy– and mind are two sides of the same coin. So where we focus our awareness, our energy— or life force— follows. So be careful where you choose to focus your attention.

Try this simple practice.