Drishti - Definition from Matthew Sweeney and David Swenson: Point of Gaze, Focus, Looking Place, Perception.
Drishti is like a gateway to Pratyahara (sense withdrawal), bringing your conciousness within the field of your body and cultivating inner awareness, going toward those inner limbs - Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi - but also keeping your awareness anchored on an external point, balancing the internal and external practice.
From Matthew Sweeney:
"The linking of breath with movement is the foundation of the tradition as it combines the three elements of Breath, Body and Mind. That is Pranayama, Asana and Drishti, or looking places. These are known as the Tristhanam, or the three places of attention. "
As a part of the tristhanam - three points of focus in the Ashtanga practice: Breath, Bandhas/Body, and Dristhi - Dristhi tends to get left behind...maybe because it is the most subtle of the three. As we begin the Ashtanga practice we start with the most gross aspect - the body - where to put it, how to hold it (bandhas/asanas) and using the breath as a gateway to being aware of the state of the body. The Dristhi is there to help us steer the mind...direct it, focus it, and still it.
But I think sometimes (many times) we get stuck in the more gross aspects, striving for more physical challenge and leaving behind the mental challenge. This mental challenge is a very important part though. Its what balances our practice, and sustains it in the long run, and actually allows us to develop the physical aspect more deeply. As we continue down the path of the physical practice, the postures and transitions get harder, requiring more and more focus and attention, and showing us where we are failing - giving us clues and cues to narrow our focus even more. The aim and purpose of a yoga practice is, after all, samadhi, which has more to do with spiritual/self/mind development and exploration than physical.
From David Keil:
"Dristhi is the last—and I personally
found to be the most difficult—piece of the tristana puzzle. Yes, it’s a
looking place, but it’s a looking place that maintains attention on that
looking place. Looking at your toe and thinking about the emails you have to
reply to isn’t dristhi. Of course trying to do this is hard work and forces us
to continue to control our mind and place it somewhere. We all know how
difficult this can be at times."
Where to look?
There are 9 official Drishti, and there is a Dristhi assigned to each pose in Ashtanga, and these are listed in some of the books you will come across - the ones I have that list them are Matthew Sweeney's Ashtanga Yoga As It Is, David Swenson's Ashtanga Yoga Practice Manual, Lino Miele's Ashtanga Yoga the Yoga of Breath, and Gregor Maehle's Ashtanga Yoga: The Intermediate Series.
However, they don't always agree, and interestingly, Pattabhi Jois's book Yoga Mala doesn't list the dristhi for each pose, but says what general direction to look in. In general, according to David Swenson, you should look in the general direction of the stretch, and according to Matthew Sweeney, no dristhi for transitions (like from trikonasana to samasthih), but generally looking down - or at least not looking around the room.
Matthew also talks a bit about the general effect on the body when the drishti is shifted. For instance, in reference to the drishti in Upward Dog, which is sometimes taught as Third Eye and sometimes Tip of the Nose, he says: "Looking up and back (anything overhead, including the third eye) has an expansive effect on the body and consciousness. This can tend to aggravate the body in areas where it may be weak. Looking down at the body (particularly the nose or navel) tends to keep the attention inward and the body stable."
He goes on to mention other postures where the dristhi can be adjusted to accommodate tightness or weakness depending on the person. For example, if in forward bends the neck and shoulders are cramped, keep the gaze at the tip of the nose.
I was at a workshop a couple of months ago with David Garrigues, and when asked about dristhi for certain poses, he answered the questions, and then said he thinks the drishti as listed for most poses is really fairly advanced. For example, the toe dristhi for paschimottanasana. For most people, until they can really flatten their chest against their thighs, looking at their toes will cause tension in the neck and shoulders...nose dristhi is more appropriate until that time.
So there is some wiggle room regarding where exactly you are looking at, and dristhis can be helpful in getting the body lined up and moving in the right direction, but really when it gets right down to it, as part of the tristhanam, its not so important for you to be looking at the exact right thing or place, but rather finding a place for your attention to rest and keeping it there.
Still the mind
