The eyes are the window to the brain, although we may be more familiar with the term that the eyes are the window to the soul. The brain functions with the eyes to process and make sense of the things that we see.
Brain
Our eyes can provide clues about what’s going on in the brain, such as in blood flow to access muscle control. It is the visual cortex, in the brain, is what gives us vision in order for the eyes to see images, shapes and tones. The brain contains over 100 billion cells called neurons, and they work on many different levels to help us see what's in front of us in the world around us. Visual information moves from the eyes through the visual cortex in a very short amount of time.
As the eyes and the brain work together to process visual information, we rely heavily on our sense of sight to gain maintain balance of being in a body on this earth and at the same time as gaining information about the space around us and our experience of being in this world.
Yoga
In Yoga training, focus of the eyes is an automatic part of our regular yoga practice. It is called a dristhi, a single pointed focus in space. By using this method, using a soft gaze and focus on a static point straight aid aids the process of balancing. This can be seen in yoga balancing postures and at the same time it is connecting to the neurological system whether in standing postures where the eyes gaze straight ahead to aid stillness in the posture or in a moving posture where the eyes need to rotate when the head is turned when the focus becomes mobile as in a moving drishti . The movement and gaze of the eyes is a great way to maintain a healthy neurological connecting to keep the brain functioning optimally.
Trauma
What we see with our eyes is 100% affected by and reliant upon how our brain processes the images we take in. If there is a disconnect, what we see and what we think we see don’t match up creating chaos within the body. This creates anxiety and can trigger PTSD. So a disconnect
is not only disorienting in a cognitive way, disrupting our ability to trust what we see is real but it can also create other physical issues. Â
Eye exercises are an importan t part of our yoga practice, They may be practised separately on in longer held poses.. Research shows that when eyes move from side to side consistently, in a horizontal fashion, the optic nerve connects directly to the amygdala, a small part of the brain that has many functions including those linked to memory, learning and the processing of emotions.
All classes and workshops at Horsham Yoga take an approach directly to the neutological system,
firing up neurological connections that may be hidden, shy, frightened or challenged so they may become felt, sensed and embodied.
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