This week’s Slow Flow class was a little different. For much of the practice, I invited everyone to close their eyes – not as a test or to make balancing harder, and certainly not because everyone had to, it was simply an invitation. If closing your eyes didn’t feel right, then a soft gaze was absolutely fine.
The intention was to explore interoception – our ability to sense what’s happening inside our own bodies. Most of us spend our days taking in the world through our eyes. In fact, it’s estimated that around 70–80% of the sensory information our brain processes comes through vision. When we reduce that stream of information, something interesting happens. The nervous system begins to settle and our attention naturally shifts inward. Instead of asking, “What do I look like?” we begin asking, “What does this feel like?”
Slowing down enough to notice
Our standing flow was much slower than usual. Rather than moving through lots of postures, we only explored four or five standing poses, spending much longer in each one. The extra time gave us the opportunity to really inhabit each posture instead of simply passing through it.
Once we were settled, we became curious. What happened if we softened the shoulders? Could we engage the glutes and notice the difference? Were the abdominal muscles actually helping, or could they relax a little? Could we identify which muscles were holding us in the posture? Was the stretch broad and spacious, or sharp and localised? In twists, we experimented with completely emptying the breath before pausing for a moment, noticing how the body naturally softened and became a little heavier without forcing anything at all.
We also played with turning muscles on and off to experience how even the smallest adjustments completely changed the feeling of a posture. Rather than striving to make a pose look a certain way, we became interested in how it felt. Yoga became less about achieving a certain shape and more about discovering what was happening from the inside.
Even in our Sun Salutations
We also practised our Sun Salutations with our eyes closed. It might sound daunting, but many people found it easier than they expected. We do Sun Salutations all the time in class so our bodies are familiar with the flow – they develop an incredible sense of where they are in space and they know where they’re going. We don’t rely on our eyes nearly as much as we think which many people discovered.
Nobody was looking
In classes where I knew everyone was familiar with the postures, I let the class know that I would also close my eyes (not something I’d normally do as the teacher!). I wanted everyone to know that I wasn’t watching them. They didn’t have to wonder whether I had noticed them wobble, whether their Warrior II looked like everyone else’s, or whether they were “doing it right.” For that hour, I wanted each person to feel as though they were the only one in the room.
What people experienced
The feedback this week has been wonderful and, if I’m honest, confirmed exactly why I wanted to teach this class. One student said they became much more tuned into their body and stopped worrying about what they looked like. Another commented that balancing actually became easier because they were able to feel themselves making tiny corrections instead of relying on what they could see. It sounds counter-intuitive, but when we remove visual input, we often become more aware of subtle shifts through our feet and legs.
Someone else said that closing their eyes felt quite strange at first, but after a while it became easier. And my favourite comment of all was from one student who simply said,
“I felt like I’d had an hour off from my mind.”
As a yoga teacher, that’s about as lovely a compliment as you can receive 😍
A quieter ending
We carried the same theme right through to the end of class. Moving from our breathing practice into Savasana, and then back to sitting, we tried to keep our eyes closed. It was interesting to notice how differently we moved. Without visual cues, every transition became slower, quieter and more deliberate. There was less rushing, less fidgeting and far more awareness of how the body wanted to move. The room itself even felt quieter, as everyone had become more absorbed in their own experience.
Your yoga, not someone else’s
The moment you stop doing someone else’s practice and start focusing on your own is the moment your true yoga journey begins. Yoga is about paying attention, learning to notice, becoming curious and developing a relationship with your own body rather than comparing it to the person on the mat next to you.
I hope this week’s class inspires people to experiment with closing the eyes a little more. Perhaps next time you’re in a familiar posture, soften your gaze or close your eyes for a breath or two if it feels safe. You might be surprised by how much more there is to discover when you stop looking around and instead look inside.
Best wishes
Michelle x
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