Feeling Scattered? Here's How to Reclaim Your Focus

Tyona Vallejo: Hello and welcome to Enough In Evolving Podcast. I'm your host, Tyona Vallejo, master certified life coach and mindfulness expert, helping you reclaim confidence, break through unhelpful patterns and manifest the relationships and life you desire. Now let's get started. Hey friends, welcome back to the podcast. This week's podcast episode is about honing the power of our focus. We are living in an attention economy. Everyone wants your attention. And if you're a woman in midlife, you have noticed probably your attention or your ability to focus is becoming more and more challenging. At least I noticed that for myself. Today I'm sharing about how to regain your attention purposefully so that you can co-create more of what you want in your life. some of you know I teach yoga, and each week in my yoga classes, I like to have a theme. for the classes that the class is designed around. And this week it's the dristi. Drishti in Sanskrit means gaze or translates as the point of focus. And the purpose of drishti or focused gaze is to create a mind body Connection. The practice is built on the idea that where the eyes go, the mind attention follows. For instance, when you're balancing in tree pose, your gaze or Drishti should be on the floor in front of you a few feet at a stationary point. To help you create balance in your body and hold the posture. Versus if you were looking around every which way, you would have a very hard time maintaining your balance. This is what's happening to us in our everyday life. Distractions are constantly being thrown at us. And we're looking every which way and not being focused on what we truly desire in our lives. Now, there are two main types of drishti: internal and external. The external is used during the physical asanas or the poses like tree pose, the example I just gave. Internal Drishti is used during meditation and contemplation. And the way that I've often been guided is to focus in between the eyebrows at the third eye, with the eyes closed, internally gazing at this point. When I've used this focus point. In meditation, sometimes I experience a bright light, almost like it's a circle that becomes an expansive tunnel, and it creates a very calming effect in my meditation. What I've noticed in a lot of my yoga students, and what I've experienced myself, is sometimes an Overly forceful, strained gaze when we're in our poses, in our balance poses, trying to focus. The eyes kind of become a little bit larger and become more forceful looking. And this is often interpreted by the nervous system as danger. if you think about in the past in the in ancient times when we were looking out on the prairie and looking for predators or we were in fear of being preyed upon our eyes would be wider our eyes would open up so that we could see all around us and notice if there is anybody lurking in the bushes. That is definitely A nervous system response that has us responding to danger, which again in our physical body and our mind and nervous system is interpreting the situation as we need to control and There's a tendency of feeling like you're overly controlling or you're trying to force an outcome. So you might hear a teacher say, soften your gaze or relax the muscles behind your eyes in an attempt to bring awareness to this excessive efforting and create more balance with ease. One of the reasons I wanted to share this with you today is because where we focus our attention matters. Countless sages and wise teachers have shared with us over time, what we focus on expands. There is a universal principle called the law of correspondence. As above, so below. Which basically suggests the concept that your outer world mirrors your thoughts and beliefs. If you want something to change in your life, maybe it's a job or a relationship, are your thoughts that you're focused on supporting this goal, or are they working against you? Our power lies in our attention. And living in today's society, we are constantly bombarded with more and more information. People fighting for our attention at home, at work, on social media, everywhere that you turn. And because of this, we are more distracted than ever before. Therefore, it's imperative to strengthen your ability to focus your attention on what you truly desire and what aligns with your goals. Your focus is a muscle. The more you practice deliberately focusing, the stronger your focal muscle will be. One of the things I always share with my yoga students is how balanced postures like tree pose can truly help you get out of an anxious, overwhelmed mind and into the body. Practicing balanced postures invites you to reset your attention into the present moment. They require you to focus your gaze, your drishti, so that you can be steady and balanced. So next time your mind feels overwhelmed, jumping from task to task, take a mental break and try tree pose, balancing on one leg, focusing your gaze on one stationary point in front of you, and taking five slow breaths in and out. This will help you regulate your nervous system and calm your mind. In addition, strengthening that focal muscle so that you may have more autonomy over what you are giving your attention to. Now if this resonates and you live in Rancho Cucamonga area, come take a yoga class with me. And if you're having a difficult time focusing your attention in ways that support your personal growth and what you want to create in your life, I'd love to help you create more positive momentum towards what you desire. I have two openings for new coaching clients. If you're interested, check out the show notes to schedule a consultation. Thank you so much for spending time with me this week. Remember, you are enough and you are always evolving. Take care. If you're listening to this and you're recognizing yourself in these patterns, this is exactly the work I do inside my coaching. This isn't something you have to figure out alone. If you're ready to feel more confident, grounded, and self-trusting, I'd love to support you. Check out the show notes to book a consultation coaching call today.