Using Drishti To Find Focus in Yoga

"Warrior 2, pause and stay here. Turn your heart to the left, continue to press your front knee to the right. Straighten your arms, one line of energy from hand to hand. Now set your gaze over the front hand. Drishti."

Huh? What was the last part? Drishti?

Yoga is often described as a journey inward, a space to quiet the mind, move with intention, and connect deeply with ourselves. The asana practice itself is much more than a physical experience - at least that’s the way we want our classes to be experienced. It's a combination of movement, breath, intention, and focus. And one incredibly powerful technique that aids in this process is the use of drishti, a specific focal point for the gaze that enhances concentration, balance, and presence within yoga postures.

What Is Drishti?

Let's get it right from the start, drishti is pronounced "drish-tee". It comes from the Sanskrit word for "sight," "view," or "gaze". In yoga philosophy it goes well beyond that literal meaning of just seeing, implying a focus on inner vision and awareness of a specific point. The root ("dṛś") actually translates to "to see" or "to perceive", emphasising an observation, insight, and clarity not just physically, but mentally and spiritually. And we use it this way in our physical practice to cultivate awareness, alignment, and inner focus.

Drishti is a deliberate placement of the gaze, directed to a single point like the tip of the nose, the front hand or middle finger (like in Warrior 2), or even the third eye - that symbolic space between our eyebrows. The goal being to fix attention on a point and use that focus to shut out other distractions, and in doing so bring a sense of stability, both literally in balancing postures and also mentally. The practice is not just about where the eyes look and lock; it's a method for aligning the mind with the body's actions.

Drishti To Find Focus In Your Yoga Practice

Deeper Concentration and Mindfulness
In yoga (and life) distractions are bound to arise. Our minds wander; it feels like that's what they're made to do! And we often lose focus on the pose we're holding or the breath we're cultivating. Drishti helps refocus our attention by creating an anchor point. Directing our gaze to that specific point naturally cultivates presence in the moment. By focusing outwardly on a single point we invite a journey inward, creating the sense of introspection. This shift allows us to observe what's happening without attachment or judgement, which is another foundational element of yoga in the first place.

Promotes Stability and Physical Balance
You're in Half Moon pose (Ardha Chandrasana), left leg reaching back, right leg strong, pressing down through the ground. The top hand reaches high, bottom fingertips press against the floor. Your eye gaze, drishti, sets on a single point on the floor.

"Now. Can you look up? Shift your eye gaze to the top hand. Drishti to your thumb," the teacher cues.

Uh ohhhh, here we go! You're super stable, nothing else moves except the gaze, and as you shift focus, over you go. Look out neighbour! But then if the gaze makes it to the top thumb and locks, somehow we can find that point of effortless balance again… The smallest shift in focus in balancing postures can cause us to wobble or fall out of alignment. Drishti provides a point of focus that stabilises our awareness of where the body is in space. This steady gaze gives a greater sense of balance and control over the unsteady movements.

Breath - Body Connection
We talk about it all the time in our classes because it matters; breath and movement are intimately connected and drishti plays a big role in deepening this link. In Vinyasa practices we move through poses on the breath, "one move, one breath", as you'll hear us often say. Adding drishti creates a powerful point of awareness, anchoring the gaze, the breath and the body into one rhythm. It's a big factor in the meditative state we want to achieve in class. 

How To Incorporate Drishti Into Your Practice

Practicing drishti may feel challenging initially, especially during intense or balancing postures. So start with the simple, steady poses and direct your gaze to a natural focal point, like the tip of your nose or a point in the room. Take Warrior 2 again, locking in on the middle finger of your front hand keeps the mind steady. Stick with longer holds in simple postures until the practice becomes more comfortable.

Over time, once you're comfortable, try incorporating it into more dynamic flows and balancing sequences, noticing how it affects your focus, stability, and breath. You know those people in class that effortlessly flow through the sequence, completely tuned in and moving seamlessly? It looks so meditative. Well there's a very good chance their drishti is on the tip of their nose, or just ahead of it. This nasal gaze (Nasagra Drishti) contains your field of vision within the bounds of your own body, within the confines of your mat. Nothing else is out there, it's just you, your breath and the practice.

The Power Of A Focused Gaze

Drishti may seem like a simple technique - it's just looking at a point in space - but it has a transformative effect on how we experience our practice. Guiding the gaze from a place of distraction to presence, from instability to centred, from outward focus to inner awareness, cultivates a sense of connection that will change how you understand your own yoga practice. At the very least, your yoga practice is a rare block of time you get for just yourself each day, and drishti can really enhance that introspection. With time, this focused gaze will become a valuable tool for finding presence outside of yoga, where the power of here and now really makes a difference.