by: sippakorn

Do you tend to get headaches? Feel tension in the neck and shoulders? Do you get intent on what you are doing and tend to use the eyes with a hard focus? Is this accompanied with a holding of the breath? In yoga, we talk about softening the gaze.  Being gentle with the eyes, and recalling that the eyes are not the only means of gathering information around you helps to take pressure off the eyes.

Try standing in a balance pose, or really any pose which requires concentration, and notice how the eyes are working. If you tend to focus your gaze, see if you can soften the focus at least a little so the gaze is not so heavy or hard. Allow the body to notice other sensations. Where do you feel the primary effort taking place? What is supporting this effort? What do you hear? Smell? Open yourself to feeling with all the senses.

Try taking moments to open the senses periodically throughout the day. How does it change how you feel? Do you feel distracted? Open? Refreshed? What new aspects of the day did you come to experience as a result?

Yogic Pose of the Day: Eagle Pose – Garudasana

Yogic Concept of the Day: Soften the eyes. See what happens.