Its the little things Archives

Let’s Chat about Sugar….

It seems I’ve had a conversation about sugar in some form with just about EVERYONE I’ve talked to recently!

The biggest driver is questions surrounding “what’s ok” and “what’s’ not”.. there is also a lot of confusion about how carbs and sugar go hand in hand.. what type of sugar comes from what source.. and how all this plays in with the micro biome (gut health) and inflammation within the body.. so.. since I suspect there are LOTS more of you out there with these same questions.. lets dive into it!

Sugar by itself is NOT BAD! In fact it is the driving force of energy within our bodies! The problem comes in when we pump our bodies with TOO MUCH ADDITIONAL sugar.. and sadly .. our mass produced .. (Intentionally engineered to be addictive) food supply is LOADED with WAAAAYYYYY TOO MUCH SUGAR!

So.. YES.. you have to be VERY AWARE of EVERYTHING you put in your mouth..

How much is too much? This part is easy.. the guiding number is 24 g.. as in.. do everything in your power to not exceed 24 g of sugar in a day (that’s 6 teaspoons).. more than that and you will begin to introduce toxic loads to your system.. (ie.. your cells cant function with too much sugar.. )

So where does sugar in our food come from ? Well obviously we all know about table sugar, cane sugar and the incredibly evil (I’m not kidding) high fructose corn syrup (more on that later) and we all know about reading nutrition labels and seeing how much “added sugar” is in a product.. and really.. that’s your first step.. READ THOSE NUTRITION LABLES.. every single one.. if its in a bag, box, jar, can, bottle or some other container.. it should have a label.. and its your job to READ IT!

Once you start reading those labels.. and I’m going to remind you here and now that the nutrition label part is not the only thing to read.. because the cold hard truth lies within the INGREDIENTS LABLE!!! So READ THAT TOO! Once you start reading all those labels… you will begin to realize the scope of what we are dealing with here.

Example.. 1 8oz serving of orange juice (pick the brand, pick the quality..) ONE serving contains 23g of sugar!!! (HELLO! THAT’S AN ENTIRE DAYS WORTH OF SUGAR IN ONE GLASS!!!!)

Example.. The first ingredient in “Louisiana” brand cocktail sauce (good quality brand right?) is HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (wait.. Kim.. you said that stuff was pure evil?!?! And it’s the FIRST ingredient?? EEK!).. but WAIT.. there’s MORE.. one serving of cocktail sauce is ¼ cup.. and that contains 17g of SUGAR! (lord have mercy all I’m doing is dipping my shrimp and I’m almost maxed out on sugar for the day again?) Double whammy!

Example 3.. (and this one still blows my mind!) One medium McDonalds vanilla shake contains SEVENTY TWO g of sugar.. and worse even (can it get worse? YES) .. Their seasonal “shamrock shake” (comes out in march..) contains no less than NINETY THREE g of sugar in ONE medium shake!!!!!!!!!!! That is INSANITY!!!

So when I tell you that sugar is EVERYWHERE.. I’m not kidding! Read your labels!

Here’s another sad truth.. because our delightful food manufacturers are just itching to keep us addicted.. they are adding sugar to “healthy” food too.. things like fruit yogurt, almond milk and salad dressing and so much more!. guess what.. all LOADED with sugar!

Its ok tho.. I PROMISE! There are SAFE and DELICIOUS alternatives to all of the above that do NOT have added sugar! You just have to be intentional and read those labels!! For example.. PLAIN ORGANIC Greek Yogurt, UNSWEETENED ORGANIC Almond Milk.. and certain brands of salad dressings are just fine! (I like Annie’s brand among others.. or better yet. MAKE YOUR OWN!!)

Anyway.. I think you get the idea…..

“BUT” (you excitedly say) “I don’t eat/drink anything with extra sugar Kim.. I ONLY get “sugar free”, “diet” “zero calorie etc..”so I don’t have to worry about any of that”!! J

Sorry to burst your bubble.. we now enter huge massive enormous monster problem number two.. because when you see that packaging.. or if you see “0 sugars’ on the nutrition label.. I want you to send your eyes to the ingredients label (remember that cold hard truth part?) well.. there it is in black and white.. I’ll be willing to bet you’ll find “ASPERTAME” or “SUCRALOSE”.. (aka splenda, sweetNlow, and equal)

Sometimes you’ll get lucky and see “stevia” or “monk fruit” (these are both FINE AND SAFE! More on that later)

The other two tho (aka “artificial sweeteners”… aspartame and sucralose).. are right there in the PURE EVIL category with High Fructose Corn Syrup!

The biggest (and this is a BIG deal).. the biggest issue with artificial sweeteners.. is that while they are marketed to “leave the body unchanged.”.( so supposedly they don’t ‘do anything” inside the body) the reality is that as they pass through the intestinal tract (where all our very important “good guy” bacteria lives.. ) .. the artificial sweeteners KILL OFF ALL THIS SUPER IMPORTANT GOOD BACTERIA!!!

(why do I care Kim? Well.. since you asked.. the nutshell is that this Good gut bacteria is CRITICAL to how our bodies metabolize, absorb and use the nutrients in our food! Without this GOOD gut bacteria we literally cannot function like we’re supposed to.. we cant make the vitamins and hormones that our body needs without this good gut bacteria!!! And furthermore, since nature abhors a void.. BAD Gut bacteria will over populate and proliferate and take over .. and guess what? This BAD bacteria.. is REALLY bad.. because.. not only does it NOT do the job that the Good gut bacteria is supposed to do.. but it also sends up CRAVINGS FOR MORE SUGAR & MORE PROCESSED REFINED JUNK FOOD!!!

I may have hit a nerve there for some of you? YES GUT HEALTH IS SO IMPORTANT!!! If you experience sugar cravings.. or cravings for junk food.. Id be willing to bet your gut bacteria is out of whack!

So.. a SUPER important component of helping to get your gut health on track is to absolutely refuse and I mean NEVER EVER ingest, drink, eat or chew on ANYTHING with artificial sweeteners. (yes.. that means your diet coke! KICK IT TO THE CURB!!!)

“But But BUT!!! I “NEED” my diet coke!” (or whatever other product you are addicted to)..

My friend.. I’m gonna stop you right there.. cuz the truth is .. 1) you DON’T need it.. an 2) those “diet” products make you gain weight (yup).. make you crave more junk (hello unstoppable munchies.. )… and create inflammation in your body that wont ever stop till you clean up what you are putting into your mouth… sorry kids.. that’s your truth..

Now.. lets move onto some SAFE ways to sweeten your life!

Remember how I mentioned Stevia and Monk Fruit? Well.. guess what? They are both PLANTS! In fact I grow stevia in my herb garden.. and WOW are those leaves SWEET! (like putting a mint leaf in your mouth.. its SOOO MINTY! Well stevia is the same experience. You put a leaf in your mouth and WOW! ITS SOOO SWEET!)

For stevia (granules, liquid etc).. the extraction process requires some distilling.. which creates a “slight’ aftertaste that does not exist in the plant itself.. for monk fruit there is no aftertaste.. however its EXTREMELY Sweet. (even more so than stevia) so a little goes A LONG way!!! Both work great as substitutes for sugar and are commonly used in healthier products as an alternative to sugar. Happily both Stevia and Monk Fruit do no affect the glycemic index and so the label will read “0 sugar”.

Moving forward lets look briefly at a few other safe sweeteners.. these all do affect the glycemic index tho and so should be used mindfully.. (remembering that no more than 24 g of sugar in a day bit)

Honey – Raw, unfiltered (try to get it from local farmers markets and or seek out organic) because unfortunately there are a lot of unscrupulous manufacturers out there that will put all sorts of things into a bottle and label it “honey”.. so stick with the real stuff.. that’s actually good for you! (assorted vitamins and amino acids abound in honey not to mention all the anti allergy help if its local!) I personally use honey in my coffee, make salad dressing with it, and top my musleix/kefir and blueberries with it (just a teaspoon at a time and not every day)

Maple syrup – again.. I’m talking about the “REAL” stuff (not log cabin!) nature makes its own sugar so why not take advantage of it? You can cook with this, put it in your coffee.. all the places you would use table sugar!

Agave Syrup – this one is a little bit of a double edge sword so you have to be more cautious.. Agave can be used like sugar, honey, maple syrup.. its got a slightly different sweetness and so works well when sometimes the others don’t.. From what I gather.. Agave syrup originated somewhere in the desert reaches of central America.. Basically its from a cactus.. and the sweetness has been extracted to make a tasty syrup.. (and tequila!) .. the locals in these areas used agave syrup as their sweetener for generations.. and then somewhat recently.. the north American manufacturers figured out that more and more people are looking for “healthy” alternatives and so started making this stuff and selling it.. Here enters the problem.. and you may have already picked up on this.. American manufacturers do NOT have our best health in as their priority.. they have profit as their priority.. and so these manufacturers have figured out how to over process and over refine this simple natural sweetener into something the body does not recognize (just like high fructose corn syrup! EEEK!) .. so.. I DO use and support the use of Agave Syrup.. with the caveat that it be organic (no chemicals) .. and as minimally processed as possible..

Xylitol and erythritol are two other names that pop up constantly.. these are “sugar alchohols” and as such teeter on the edge of not so great.. further that.. Xylitol if its NOT organic is made from GMO corn which is loaded with glyphosate (roundup) and is therefore on the NEVER EVER eat list.. (glyphosate is showing up in non hodgkins leukemia patients.. so avoid anything made with GMO corn and all the other mass produced crops like the plague!) Sugar alchohols don’t affect the glycemic index and so are “0 sugar”.. the biggest issue with these is that they “trick” the brain into thinking its super sweet sugar and so cravings get created for more excessively sweet sugar.. in addition, these sugar alchohols also trick the brain into thinking that it hasn’t eaten.. and so the hunger hormones persist and people end up eating more than they need….. all of that is obviously a very slippery slope.. Xylitol and Erythritol do bake pretty well .. so I do use ORGANIC (no chemicals/no glyphosate) Xylitol to make things like buttermilk pie and peach cobbler .. these are also better than the alternative options for people who are dealing with diabetes.. (Stevia and Monk Fruit are much better options tho!)

So now that we have a list of “KIM APPROVED” sweeteners.. lets hit the list of RUN SCREAMING IN THE OPPOSITITE DIRECTION if you see these on the ingredients label..

The top of the chart is HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.. (just keep “pure evil” in mind when you see it!) .. this stuff starts out life as corn.. (duh).. but the type of corn that is inedible.. because its engineered to grow specifically for corn by-product processed ingredients. (I actually have a book with a list of over 200 ‘things” that this type of corn is made into.. things like dextrose, xantham gum and caramel color are all corn derivatives! But I digress).. these corn crops are also engineered to be “round up ready” .. as in the fields are sprayed / drowned in roundup in order to keep the weeds at bay.. while the crop grows on.. the roundup absorbs into the meat of the plant and becomes part of it.. so issue number one with HFCS (and any other ingredient that comes from this type of corn).. is that you are filling your system with glyphosate! (as mentioned above.. this is showing up in cancer cells.. and there is a dramatic increase in this type of cancer as well..) Issue number two is that the body has NO idea what this over processed, over refined, chemical filled substance is.. and so as it passes through the body.. our immune system reads it as an “invader”.. and attempts to protect the body by surrounding the molecules of HFCS with inflammation .. which creates an environment of systemic inflammation.. (aches/pains, insomnia, brain fog, stubborn weight, autoimmune conditions, skin issues, allergies etc are all influenced by this type of inflammation) naturally HFCS also affects the microbiome supporting and feeding the growth of “bad gut bacteria”.. AND it also “Tricks the brain” as its way more sweet than our systems know how to process and so our brain wants MORE of this sweetness at the same time that the bad gut bacteria is sending up cravings for more junk food..

Now that we have the granddaddy of evil food exposed.. I’ll touch on other not good sugar..

Table sugar being the most obvious.. sadly .. what started out as a good product (hey cane sugar is a plant too right?) has become something bad. This because unfortunately those food manufactures got their hands on it and bleached it, chemicalized it, refined it, processed it, and stripped it of anything recognizable as “natural”.. leaving a product that the body has no idea how to identify and once again.. you are set up for systemic inflammation.. so given all the other easy “better/good” sweet options out there.. just stop using the stuff.. it is not serving your body..

Brown sugar/cane sugar are basically less bad than white table sugar. They have not been refined as much and so are slightly more recognizable to the body.. but still not great options.. if my only choice is white table sugar or brown sugar.. I’ll go with the brown every time..

What about all those other “sugars” that I see Kim?

You are right! Nature is FULL of sugars naturally. It is the “energy” of the system that it comes from..

Glucose is the sugar that the human body needs for energy.. it is created within our systems from the carbohydrates that we ingest.. carbs can come from “simple” sources like bread, cookies, crackers, simple pasta, white rice, tortillas, chips etc.. These sources have no nutritional value and break down to sugar upon entering the body.. creating a load of sugar that the body does not need and setting up for toxic levels and systemic inflammation.. so you are best off not eating these things or at a minimum limiting yourself to rare occasions.. Added sugar falls into this category.. so candy and other overly sweet things should be very limited.. the body after all only needs so much glucose.. excess gets stored as fat and who needs that?

Complex carbs on the other hand are NOT BAD and are in fact NEEDED! Things like sweet potatoes, organic oats (non organic are packed with chemicals! So get organic only!) Brown rice (not white!), quinoa etc are all great sources of these good carbs.. they have lots of fiber within them as well which is also very important for good digestive health.. the fiber helps to slow the digestion which helps slow the sugars so your body is not overwhelmed with too much too fast.

Fructose is Fruit sugar… lets jump back to that glass of orange juice.. when you drink the juice it is extracted from many pieces of fruit.. with none of the fiber that is in that fruit.. so all you get is the sugar.. alternatively.. if you eat an orange.. yes you are eating the fruit sugar contained within that ONE orange (vs many). however you are also getting all the fiber.. which helps the body to digest it all more slowly and so the sugar does not have the same crazy affect on the body.. furthermore.. not all fruit sugar processes in the body in the same way.. things like blueberries and cantaloupe have much lower glycemic index affect.. while grapes and mango are much higher. So YES eat your fruit (vs drinking it).. just limit how much and when.. 2 or so servings of fruit a day is excellent.. preferably in the earlier part of the day (so your body has time to use all the sugars as energy!).. Smoothies are great because you get all the fiber in the fruit .. The rest of your “fruits and veggies” ought to focus on the veggie side.. (it is recommended that our daily intake should be 7-9 servings of fruit and vegetables a day!)

Lactose is “milk sugar” – so when you buy milk.. or dairy of any kind.. you will see naturally occurring sugar.. this is not bad.. what is bad is when the manufacturer has “added sugar’ which you will be able to see on the nutrition label .. when you see that. Put the container down and find a different brand with “no added sugar”..

People who are “lactose intolerant’ do not have the enzyme needed to break this type of sugar down.. so some people are better off with out dairy. Others can tolerate it but may chose to avoid dairy anyway (the dairy industry is rampant with chemicals too.. so if you do drink milk, eat cheese, yogurt, ice cream , butter etc.. ) seek out organic (no chemicals), grass fed/pastured cows (these are happy cows that are raised in humane ways in a sustainable way..) better for your body.. better for the cows <3

So here we are.. a little brain weary and probably craving some chocolate? J

(btw.. small amounts of occasional Dark chocolate 85% or greater is actually “good” for you!)

Ultimately the point of this message is to give you some clear direction to help your body help itself! So much chronic illness is tied to too much sugar.. don’t you think that’s an easy problem to solve??

So your challenge, if you choose to accept it.. is to read your labels, kick all the artificial, processed and simple sugars to the curb, seek to stay at or under 24g of natural sugar a day and eat your veggies!!!

If you would like some accountability in making these changes in your own life.. contact me! As your healthy life coach we can uncover where your bad habits lurk, the cause of them, how to break those old habits while we seek to understand and cure the causes and then create new awesome healthy life happy life habits!!!

Find Your Drishti

“Find your Drishti”… I kept hearing that as I was attempting Eagle pose, or rotated standing split .. or Tree.. or Warrior III.. or.. well you get the idea.. I was basically an amazon giraffe wobbling on one limb trying really hard to not fall.. and look all yogi graceful all at the same time.. (God love the teacher and fellow classmates for not bursting into laughter!!)

I was REALLY new to Yoga.. (and at 47.. taking up something like that.. at 6ft tall with a 36” inseam is not a simple task!) But there I was .. Wobbling and sweating away with everyone else.. Learning the poses by name as the teacher gently guided us with the descriptions of each..

I kept hearing that “Drishti” word.. (no idea what they were talking about??) Until one day.. a new instructor said.. find your focal point.. find a spot ahead of you that isn’t moving that you can focus on.. Find your DRISHTI!!! AHA! Said I..so I did find.. I think it was a dark spot on the wood floor a few feet in front of me.. and I’ll be snookered.. I stopped wobbling as much! I was able to hold the pose (breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out..) for the duration! I was able to relax into what I was doing and do it better (not great.. but at least better!).. WOW! Was it me.. was I getting stronger and more balance? Hmm.. or was it that Drishti thing?

Next class.. “FIND YOUR DRISHTI”.. (I got this now.. I found.. I think, the reflection of a chair leg in the mirror in front of me.. I discovered over time.. it didn’t matter what it was.. except that it wasn’t moving! And so I was able to find my balance faster and more easily! I was able to do the called for pose with more ease and more effectively.. and actually enjoy what I was doing!) I also discovered, that the more intentional I was with the direction of my focus.. the better my balance, coordination & ability to maintain the pose became!

So now my mind is running with this idea as I’m feeling strong in reverse Warrior II or stretched in triangle.. Finding a focus in LIFE kinda does the same thing doesn’t it?

I’ve since learned.. the true meaning of Drishti in Yoga is to focus on specific points that the eye naturally gazes toward in each pose.. your third eye.. your navel.. your hands or sometimes looking toward a specific direction.. up, or to the direction of your twist…. etc.. Regardless all are fixed points that don’t move.. focal points to help focus your attention.. As one article describes it.. “Drishti is a gazing technique that develops concentration—and teaches you to see the world as it really is”…. “The practice of drishti gives us a technique with which to develop single-pointed concentration of attention.” (I’ll paste the full article below for those who would like to learn more about the full intention of drishti in yoga.. )

But my question to myself.. to you.. and the purpose of writing this little blurb.. is to ask.. How can we make fixed points that don’t move.. like gratefulness, personal growth goals, taking actions in the love of others, and daily habits like setting intention and mindfulness for the day.. how can we make those our Drishti in our day to day?? Because.. as in yoga.. having that intentional focus can help us to balance our lives, to see the good through the maze of our full days.. and to continue to move and grow toward that which we are focused on.

So what is your Drishti??

(Ps.. As a Certified Life and Health Coach.. I am always available to you if/when you would like to explore finding the answers to questions like this in your own life! We can then work together to get you on the road to making these healthy changes! Holistic health is about whole being including finding BALANCE in your life! 🙂 When you are ready.. contact me and lets get you started on your journey!

(in the interest of appropriate reference.. here is the article that I mentioned.. and took two quotes from 🙂 )

Yoga Journal

See More Clearly By Practicing Drishti

DAVID LIFE AUG 28, 2007

The practice of drishti is a gazing technique that develops concentration—and teaches you to see the world as it really is.

We humans are predominantly visual creatures. As every yoga practitioner has discovered, even during practice we find ourselves looking at the pose, outfit, or new hairstyle of the student on the next mat. We stare out the window or at the skin flaking between our toes, as though these things were more interesting than focusing on God realization. And thwack! Where our eyes are directed, our attention follows.

Our attention is the most valuable thing we have, and the visible world can be an addictive, overstimulating, and spiritually debilitating lure. The habit of grasping at the world is so widespread that the spiritual teacher Osho coined a term for it: “Kodakomania.” If you have any doubt about the power of the visual image and the value of your attention, just think of the billions of dollars the advertising industry spends on photography every year!

When we get caught up in the outer appearance of things, our prana (vitality) flows out of us as we scan the stimulating sights. Allowing the eyes to wander creates distractions that lead us further away from yoga. To counteract these habits, control and focus of the attention are fundamental principles in yoga practice. When we control and direct the focus, first of the eyes and then of the attention, we are using the yogic technique called drishti.

The increasing popularity and influence of the Ashtanga Vinyasa method of yoga, taught for more than 60 years by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, have introduced drishti to thousands of practitioners. On a simple level, drishti technique uses a specific gazing direction for the eyes to control attention. In every asana in Ashtanga, students are taught to direct their gaze to one of nine specific points.

In Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog Pose), for instance, we gaze at the nose tip: Nasagrai Drishti. In meditation and in Matsyasana (Fish Pose), we gaze toward the Ajna Chakra, the third eye: Naitrayohmadya (also called Broomadhya) Drishti. In Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose), we use Nabi Chakra Drishti, gazing at the navel. We use Hastagrai Drishti, gazing at the hand, in Trikonasana (Triangle Pose). In most seated forward bends, we gaze at the big toes: Pahayoragrai Drishti. When we twist to the left or right in seated spinal twists, we gaze as far as we can in the direction of the twist, using Parsva Drishti. In Urdhva Hastasana, the first movement of the Sun Salutation, we gaze up at the thumbs, using Angusta Ma Dyai Drishti. In Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I), we use Urdhva Drishti, gazing up to infinity. In every asana, the prescribed drishti assists concentration, aids movement, and helps orient the pranic (energetic) body.

The full meaning of drishti isn’t limited to its value in asana. In Sanskrit, drishti can also mean a vision, a point of view, or intelligence and wisdom. The use of drishti in asana serves both as a training technique and as a metaphor for focusing consciousness toward a vision of oneness. Drishti organizes our perceptual apparatus to recognize and overcome the limits of “normal” vision.

Our eyes can only see objects in front of us that reflect the visible spectrum of light, but yogis seek to view an inner reality not normally visible. We become aware of how our brains only let us see what we want to see—a projection of our own limited ideas. Often our opinions, prejudices, and habits prevent us from seeing unity. Drishti is a technique for looking for the Divine everywhere—and thus for seeing correctly the world around us. Used in this way, drishti becomes a technique for removing the ignorance that obscures this true vision, a technique that allows us to see God in everything.

Of course, the conscious use of the eyes in asana isn’t limited to the Ashtanga Vinyasa tradition. In Light on Pranayama, for example, B.K.S. Iyengar comments that “the eyes play a predominant part in the practice of asanas.” Besides its use in asana, drishti is applied in other yogic practices. In the kriya (cleansing) technique of trataka, or candle gazing, the eyes are held open until tears form. This technique not only gives the eyes a wash but also challenges the student to practice overriding unconscious urges—in this case, the urge to blink.

Sometimes in meditation and pranayama practices the eyes are held half-opened and the gaze is turned up toward the third eye or the tip of the nose. In the Bhagavad Gita (VI.13) Krishna instructs Arjuna, “One should hold one’s body and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose.” When using the inner gaze, sometimes called Antara Drishti, the eyelids are closed and the gaze is directed in and up toward the light of the third eye. As Iyengar puts it, “The closure of the eyes … directs the sadhaka (practitioner) to meditate upon Him who is verily the eye of the eye… and the life of life.”

Drishti Tips

As with many spiritual techniques, with drishti there is a danger of mistaking the technique for the goal. You should dedicate your use of the body (including the eyes) to transcending your identification with it. So when you look at an object during your practice, don’t focus on it with a hard gaze. Instead, use a soft gaze, looking through it toward a vision of cosmic unity. Soften your focus to send your attention beyond outer appearance to inner essence.

You should never force yourself to gaze in a way that strains your eyes, brain, or body. In many seated forward bends, for example, the gazing point may be the big toes. But many practitioners, at certain stages in their development, must take care not to create such an intense contraction of the back of the neck that this discomfort overwhelms all other awareness. Rather than forcing the gaze prematurely, you should allow it to develop naturally over time.

In general, practitioners should use the various bahya (external) gazing points during more externally oriented yoga practices, including asanas, kriyas (cleansing practices), seva (the service work of karma yoga), and bhakti (devotion); use the antara (internal) gaze to enhance contemplative and meditative practices. If you find yourself closing the eyes during any practice and focusing on the dramas or perplexities of life instead of being able to maintain a neutral, detached focus, re-establish an outer gaze. On the other hand, if the outer gaze becomes a distraction to your concentration, perhaps an inner-directed correction is necessary.

A fixed gaze can help enormously in balancing poses like Vrksasana (Tree Pose), Garudasana (Eagle Pose), Virabhadrasana III (Warrior Pose III), and the various stages of Hasta Padangusthasana (Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose). By fixing the gaze on an unmoving point, you can assume the characteristics of that point, becoming stable and balanced. More importantly, constant application of drishti develops ekagraha, single-pointed focus. When you restrict your visual focus to one point, your attention isn’t dragged from object to object. In addition, without these distractions, it’s much easier for you to notice the internal wanderings of your attention and maintain balance in mind as well as body.

Drishti—The True View

Throughout the history of yoga, clear, true perception has been both the practice and goal of yoga. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna tells his disciple, Arjuna, “You are not able to behold me with your own eyes; I give thee the divine eye, behold my Lordly yoga” (11.8). In the classic exposition of yoga, the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali points out that in viewing the world, we tend not to see reality clearly, but instead get deluded by the error of false perception. In Chapter II, verse 6, he says that we confuse the act of seeing with the true perceiver: purusha, the Self. He continues, in verse 17, to say that this confusion about the true relationship between the act of seeing, the object seen, and the identity of the Seer is the root cause of suffering. His cure for this suffering is to look correctly into the world around us.

How are we to do this? By maintaining a prolonged, continuous, single-pointed focus on the goal of yoga: samadhi, or complete absorption into purusha. The practice of drishti gives us a technique with which to develop single-pointed concentration of attention. The hatha yogi uses a kind of “x-ray vision” comprised of viveka (discrimination between “real view” and “unreal, apparent view”) and vairagya (detachment from a mistaken identification with either the instrument of seeing or that which is seen). This basic misidentification is called avidya (ignorance), and its counterpart, vidya, is our true identity.

The bhakti yogi uses drishti in a slightly different way, constantly turning a loving, longing gaze toward God. Through imagination the vision of the Divine appears in the form of Krishna, and the whole world becomes prasad (holy nourishment). In both cases, drishti provides a kind of enhanced yogic vision that allows us to see past outer differences (asat, in Sanskrit) to inner essence or Truth (sat). If we remove ignorance through these practices, we can then see through deception and delusion.

When we charge our eyes with yogic vision, we see our true Self. As we gaze at others, we perceive our own form, which is Love itself. We no longer see the suffering of other beings as separate from our own; our heart is filled with compassion for the struggling of all these souls to find happiness. The yogic gaze emerges from an intense desire to achieve the highest goal of unitive consciousness, rather than from egoistic motives that create separation, limitation, judgment, and suffering.

Like all yogic practices, drishti uses the blessed gifts of a human body and mind as a starting place for connecting to our full potential—the wellspring that is the source of both body and mind. When we clear our vision of the covering of habits, opinions, ideas, and their projections about what is real and what is false, we gaze beyond outer differences toward the absolute Truth.

David Life is the cofounder of Jivamukti Yoga.