In my yoga class this morning, the exercise we did with the candle in the previous class was replaced with a pair of another human eyes. We were to turn around and face the other person and instead of the candle or that empty space, to look into this person’s eyes. Concentrate, see through the mind and this other soul staring you right back in the eye. So I faced the person but it took me a while to concentrate. Luckily she said close your eyes, compose your posture and when ready open your eyes. I opened my eyes, this other person opened her eyes and we started the exercise. There was a brief second I felt like we both were going to let it go but we hung there. I realized I had to choose an eye as I couldn’t stare both the eyes at the same time. A little bit of blinking went on. It was one of the hardest physical exercise I’ve ever done let along mental. I’ve been in a sky high emotional mood in the last few weeks and today as well. I thought this person was seeing it all. I felt the layers on my body and especially on my soul were peeling away one at a time. I felt revealed. I felt naked. I felt I was being seen. Adding all these things up, I felt light. I felt I was letting it go. I felt it was OK to be seen and be revealed. I felt like I’ve shared some of my burden with this person and she was happy to take it away.

Once the exercise was over, the person that I revealed my soul to, said she was worried I was seeing her wrinkles. I did not see her wrinkles. She had beautiful eyes, so alive that they were communicating in that silence. She said she could concentrate onto my both eyes and she felt like she was seeing me through. We don’t know each other. This was our second yoga class together, that’s all. We talked about eye contact. What you can read in the eyes. I realized although I analyze other people’s eyes a lot, I keep mine kinda wondering and not looking into eyes long enough. The longest eye contact I have, happens when I tell my children off so that they know I’m really pissed off this time, no joke.

I was reminded again this morning, by this most wonderful yoga teacher, how majestic, how ecstatic, how tender and rewarding eye contact can be, especially the ones go a little longer. I’m going to propose to my husband and my daughter so that we practice this once a week. I, with each of them, once a week. Reconnect with the present through the eyes.