4 Reasons to Close Your Eyes
4 Reasons to Close Your Eyes
And how yoga gave me the confidence to do it!
PC: Aaron Santoro
I remember being scared to close my eyes in the shower.
I thought...
- Freddie Krueger was going to come through the walls
- Someone, like my big bother or his friends would jump out and scare me at any given time
- I was going to miss out seeing something spectacular like the tiled wall
- What if there was a spider?!
All valid points, I know, I know. I was recently reflecting back on these memories and realized another monumental lesson that yoga taught me. You can trust yourself with your eyes open or closed. Our thoughts are more to fear then pressing our eye lashes together but tell that to someone who experiences the same uncomfortabililty like I did is highly unlikely. Our thoughts control us throughout the day. Like Mahatma Gandhi says:
“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
My point is, I created false stories around the WHAT IF I closed my eyes and so many times over, I burned my eyes while shampooing my hair. I don't remember at what point I had the courage to close them but maybe I was fed up with the burning. Hey! I survived the scary concept of lids over eye balls and so can you! Freddie won't get us. Promise!
So how did yoga contribute to giving me the confidence to keep them closed?
I'm pretty sure I didn't realize what was happening when it was happening. When I first started taking yoga classes, class after class, the dreaded savanna came. You know, the part at the end where you lie on your back, close your eyes and are suppose to clear your mind of every thought, be still and not panic and open your eyes. For some, this is the best part of the class, for others, not so much! I see it in my classes. Some of my students won't even attempt at closing their eyes. They just stare at the ceiling and honestly, in my book that is A-OK.
However, let's get educated!
Here are my 4 reasons why you should close your eyes more frequently:
- Closing your eyes can help you remember & focus. Scientists say shutting eyes frees up brain power. Pretty cool, huh? I don't know about you but I can definitely use more of this!
- Being still is more natural when eyes are closed. What we hear and understand is more important than what we see. There are some things that we can understand better with our eyes closed. Having our eyes open can sometimes provide distractions from truth that we hear.
- Challenge yourself & your balance! Try practicing with your eyes closed. This has become my favorite way to practice. It allows me to look within myself and feel the poses & the experience, instead of what they look like.
- Washing your hair will be way more enjoyable. Period.
I'm sure there will be a part 2 to this but for now, close your shampooed burning eyes.
Stay tuned- I'm sure there will be part 2 coming.
PC: Aaron Santoro
Eyes closed, maybe.