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By: Chloe Borgnis
As a new year begins, the scent of hope lingers in the Asheville air. After the tribulations of Hurricane Helene, many students here at AYC have expressed their eagerness to release stagnant energy, release built up stress, and awaken clarity and vitality after the fogginess of the last months. Naturally, the end of the year brings about reflection and decisions about resolutions for the coming year. When approached with awareness, resolutions can become a sacred practice. However, it is so important to be sure these resolutions aren’t misguided or scattered. This is where our theme, “How to Find Your Drishti,” comes into play…
Drishti is a Sanskrit word meaning “gaze” or “sight”. During a yoga class, drishti represents a visual point that your eyes can focus on during asanas. By fixing the eyes softly on one spot, the mind settles, distractions fade, and balance emerges. Off the mat, Drishti can be seen in the ways we navigate our life. By directing our focus inward, we find clarity amidst the noise and movement of the external world. As the year begins, drishti encourages us to stay anchored to our deepest intentions, even when the winds of life shift.
By directing our focus inward, we find clarity amidst the noise and movement of the external world.
The Yoga Sutras remind us of this guiding principle. In Sutra 1.32, Patanjali writes,
This teaching highlights the transformative power of single-pointed concentration. By grounding ourselves in one guiding intention, we transcend mental restlessness and align with our inner truth. Drishti, both physically and mentally, becomes a pathway to this steadiness.
This month, reflect on the essence of drishti beyond the yoga room. What focus is calling to you? It may take form as a word, a mantra, or a personal vision to anchor your heart. Resolutions can feel vast, but by embracing one central intention, the path ahead simplifies and strengthens. Just as drishti steadies balance in tree pose, cultivating mental focus creates deeper alignment and presence in daily life.
Finding your drishti is not about striving for perfection but about returning to your center, again and again. Let this be an invitation to step forward with grounded awareness, soft strength, and a clear sense of purpose.
As you move into the New Year, ask yourself:
Yoga Poses to Deepen Drishti:
Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)
Dancer’s Pose (Natarajasana)
Extended Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana)
Eagle Pose (Garudasana)
Practices to Cultivate Mental Drishti:
Begin each morning with 5 minutes of soft gazing at a candle flame (tratak meditation).
Pause for a moment of breath awareness before starting a new task.
Journal a single word or intention each day to reinforce focus.
Practice stillness by sitting quietly with eyes fixed on a natural focal point like the horizon or a tree.
“Om Eim Saraswataye Namaha”
A mantra invoking Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and focus, who represents the power we all have within us to create greater clarity and insight.
As we journey together into this new year, may the practice of drishti illuminate our paths and guide us closer to the essence of who we are!
Chloe Borgnis has lived in Asheville, NC since December 2023 and has been working at Asheville Yoga Center since July of 2024. She completed her first 200 Hour YTT in May of 2023, and has worked at yoga studios since. She has also helped organized and lead an Elemental Yoga Retreat in Boone, NC.
Chloe is extremely passionate about the intersectionality between her spiritual beliefs and Animal Conservation. Currently a student at Warren Wilson College, she aspires to be a Zoological Veterinarian.
