Studio Talks: Process of Yoga

In this series of informal talks given at his studio, Richard Freeman, the director of The Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, shares his knowledge on a wide range of the more subtle aspects of yoga.

In Gazing Drsti, we explore the practice of gazing (or "drsti"). Placement of the gaze on a single point helps the mind to flow into focused meditation. Gazing is also an important part of the integrated movement that links yoga postures together. Prana and apana are two complementary types of movement coming from the core of the body. Prana is the upward, expanding, blossoming movement characteristic of inhaling. Apana is the downward, contracting, rooting movement characteristic of exhaling.

When first practicing yoga, the attention will flow with either one of the inner breaths. But as Freeman explains in The Process of Yoga, feeling and expressing only one of them at a time externalizes the attention into discursive thinking.