Yoga Instagram challenge starting on October 1st
10 days… 1 drishti per day and one day of turning our gaze inward to our heart in meditation…
We are so excited to announce the first Live and Breathe Yoga Instagram challenge to help you inwardly focus. ALL levels are welcome to join this challenge. This is not about getting into difficult postures and snapping the best one until it’s perfect, rather our aim is to help inspire you to practice with the main focus being on the drishti (gazing point) in each yoga posture.
“Each posture in the Ashtanga yoga system has a gaze point on which to focus. There are nine drishtis and each is intended to draw the outward looking eyes inward.” John Scott.
The drishti is the third part of the tristana (three pronged) method used in ashtanga yoga (breath and bandha are the other two). When all three are used correctly, over time, it is said we will find peace/union/yoga. I’ll have some of that please!
How will the challenge work?
Step 1 : Follow us on Instagram.
Allison @liveandbreatheyoga Mel @melissaavabaker and Harry @harrynormand
Step 2 : Repost this challenge to your Instagram account (from our Instagram account) and tag us and any of your friends to get them to join in the fun. Include the Hashtag #liveandbreathedrishti
Step 3 : The day before, each of us will be posting an option for you to try the next day. This will hopefully inspire you to get on your mat the next day and practice.
Step 4 : On the day, once you have practiced, take a pic of the posture you are choosing to do, focusing on the correct drishti for that posture. Don’t worry about getting the posture perfect this is about getting on your mat and learning the importance of drishti in your practice.
Step 5 : Upload your photo each day to Instagram and tag us all including the hashtag #liveandbreathedrishti
Step 6 : Have fun, practice with a whole heart and be safe.
Go in the draw
If you post a pic and tag us all and (MOST IMPORTANTLY include #liveandbreathedrishti) every day for the 10 day challenge you will go in the draw to win a beautiful Drishti bell candle (from www.drishti.com.au) that we will send to you (anywhere in the world). If you don’t include the hashtag we can’t include you in the draw.
Not sure what the 9 drishti are?
- Angusta Ma Dyai (thumb)
- Nabi Chakra (navel)
- Urdhva (up to the sky)
- Broomadhya (third eye)
- Nasagrai (tip of nose)
- Padhayoragrai (big toe)
- Hastagrai (hand or middle finger)
- Parsva (far right)
- Parsva (far left)
We have used Sharath’s book Anusthana as our first point of reference, but also Guruji’s and Lino Miele’s book Astanga Yoga and Matthew Sweeney’s Ashtanga Yoga As it Is. (there are a few discrepancies between all three so we have done our best to get it right however the experts seem to all have their own thoughts on the correct drishti).
Want to know why drishti works? Read this excellent blog post from the Confluence Countdown.
Hope you can join us!
~Allison
ps – we took part in an instagram challenge run by some very well know yoga teachers back in July and Alli blogged about her experience here…