Most people are familiar with some form of gym-style exercises. Those exercises may be with or without weights or machines, either way the eyes and the eye-body connections are of utmost importance.
On Wednesday I was in a 40-minute class with a workout focusing on abdominals and back muscles that I have taken for 40-50 times, but this time applying the Eyebody principles. For me this meant doing the exercises from the upper visual cortex and keeping my peripheral vision wide, which although not technically an Eyebody principle, but a big issue for me.
It is amazing how many people close their eyes or make faces while exercises. In dance a lot of attention is paid to the expression of the face and the eyes even while doing something physically strenuous, and this is so for artistic reasons. In yoga this is not considered so central, yet self-awareness and calm mind are considered important, so a good teacher would sometimes bring it up with a student who has a desperate facial expression while doing asanas.
A yoga teacher may advise you to not "struggle with the struggle", that is, when you are in the middle of a difficult asana, do not make it even more difficult by reflecting on how difficult it is and how much pain you are experiencing in the morning, and by hoping that this torture is going to end soon. This sounds like a great idea, but it may not be so clear, how to accomplish it. Lastly, if you are lifting weights in the gym, you may never be told that closing your eyes, making faces or making sounds like a wounded bear may not be very productive. I am claiming this with considerable confidence even though I have very little experience actually lifting weights.
Just like Peter says, the key is letting the intensity rise to the upper visual cortex and staying with the intensity. The tendency is to under- or over- focus to avoid staying with the intensity, regardless of what kind of intensity it is, not necessarily physical. When people ask me what yoga is good for, I explain that they will be able to stay calm when they miss their plane or someone hits their car. In essence, yoga can teach you to stay with the intensity.
The magic of the Eyebody method, however, is that it is so simple. There is no mystical ingredient to look for. There is magic, of course, but the method works even without it. Act from your upper visual cortex, keep your eyes open and making contact with the environment. Let the sound waves come in, let the light waves come in, yet without attachment. It works. It is not that you suddenly become all-powerful and feel no pain and no fatigue. However, you don't feel emotional pain from how tired or frustrated you are. Because of that, you are not changing your breathing and not tensing or unnecessarily relaxing different parts of the body in an attempt to under- or over- focus.
Certain things, such as exercises for your abdominal muscles, are just not as difficult as you think. The Eyebody method can help you eliminate 95% of difficulties that you are creating for yourself, leaving only 5% of the difficulties that are essential for the activity.
Fundamentally, every exercise, and every communication, and every activity is a whole body experience, including eyes. If there is anything in your life that does not feel like a whole body experience, you are probably under- or over- focusing.
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