Focus of the Week

During the past couple of weeks, I've had a hard time focusing.  I sit in front of my computer for hours waiting to come up with creative ideas for school-related papers or dharma talks, all while I check Facebook, read the New York Times online, and think about my next yoga class.

This is scary turf for me.  Before I started meditating, I suffered from a disease I believe every New Yorker suffers from- ADD...  I used to run around like a maniac attending meetings, going to school, I'd help friends with their creative projects, take on yoga classes I couldn't take on, and volunteer.  Everything I did was with great intention, but it was way too much.  Rather than dealing and focusing on one thing at a time, I chose to deal with 100 different things, never committing my full attention to one item.  It was a vicious cycle.  My non-New Yorker friends thought I was insane.  My New Yorker friends were right there with me, doing 100 things per day.  It was pretty bad.

    

That's changed a lot since I've started meditating.  By working on staying focused during meditation, my racing mind has calmed down a lot.  I feel liberated from the craziness of what used to be my thoughts and I have learned to say no.   I've learned to calm my life down through managing my thoughts.     

Drishti, the focus of the week, is defined as the focal point where one’s gaze lies to attain concentration and alignment to find inner and outer balance. When meditating, one's drishti should be in the breath for the first 5 to 10 minutes of meditation.  This helps direct the meditation towards stillness of the mind.  In asana practice, for example, in warrior one, one's drishti should be directed to the palms, as it helps the gaze forward, ground the feet and calm the mind.  

Exploring drishti in asana practice can be either scary or liberating.  One can assess at what level of concentration one is currently on, deal with it, and improve it.   For example, if you're prone to loosing your balance in a balancing pose, your eyes are probably wondering around,  most likely your mind is full of moving thoughts that pop in whenever they want- your drishti is all over the place. In that instance, keeping your drishti in one place for the entire pose count is your challenge.  By keeping drishti in one place, everything will align, beginning with your thoughts and allowing the body to follow.  

On the other hand, if you're grounded in balancing poses, your drishti is in good form. You most likely can gaze at one spot and immediately calm the mind, your drishti aligning to work with your body,  You are ready to explore different drishtis because the stillness of the mind is not affected the shift in the focal point.   It's very liberating to experience this.   

No matter where you are in your drishti practice, concentration can always improve for the goal is to reach Emptiness. Drishti is working ground for the most of us.  

Let's get on it...  And if you read this entire post, you're on a good path. 

Staying focused while demonstrating Adho mukha svanasana