See Better: What Yoga (and King Lear) Taught Us About Clarity

There’s this moment in King Lear — full Shakespeare meltdown mode — where Lear flips out after being challenged. He’s raging, full of ego, and basically tells his friend Kent to jog on for speaking the truth.

Kent’s response?
“See better.”

Not “try harder” or “squint.”
But see.
With clarity. With heart. With less ego, more awareness.

Honestly? That’s one of the best yoga (and life) tips we’ve ever heard.

Upekṣa: The Sanskrit for “Seeing Clearly”

In Sanskrit, there’s a word for this kind of seeing: upekṣa.

It means to go near and look. Not just observing from a safe distance — but getting close enough to actually feel the thing.
The pose.
The breath.
Yourself.
Other people.

It’s the opposite of being on autopilot.
It’s the opposite of scrolling your way through life.
It’s the opposite of zoning out in Warrior II wondering what your left leg is even doing.

Foggy Lenses: We All Have Them

The truth is, most of us (yep, us too) are walking around with blind spots — bits of ourselves and the world we can’t fully see.
Things get fogged up by pride, fear, ego, jealousy, comparison — all the usual suspects.

In yoga, this fog is called avidyā — a kind of deep-rooted wrong-seeing.
Not just ignorance, but a skewed view that cuts us off from reality.

The poses? The breath? They’re not about achieving anything fancy.
They’re tools.
Mirrors.
Ways of clearing the fog and learning to see better.

Dṛṣṭi: Where the Eyes Go, the Mind Follows

Ever heard of dṛṣṭi?
It’s a Sanskrit word meaning “gaze.” In yoga, there are nine points you can focus your eyes during practice. A seemingly small thing — but a powerful one.

Because where your eyes go, your mind tends to follow.
Dṛṣṭi trains your focus. It helps you stay with what’s here, instead of what’s spiraling in your head.

But the real magic?
The more you practice seeing through the body, the breath, the bones — the more you start seeing with your heart.

Not just on the mat.
Everywhere.

What We’ve Seen in the Studio

We’ve seen people walk into this studio and, without even trying, break open old stories.
Old fears.
Old “us vs them” patterns they didn’t even know they were holding.

All just by being in a room with other humans, breathing, sweating, feeling something real for the first time in ages.

That’s the yoga.
It’s not in the pose. It’s in the presence.

Iyengar Said It Best

There’s this quote from B.K.S. Iyengar that gives us goosebumps every time:

“Every pore of the skin has to become an eye.”

Not to perfect the shape.
But to feel.
To be here.
To see — with love, with honesty, with the whole of your being.

Come Practice

So yeah, come stretch your hamstrings — but also stretch your patience.
Stretch your awareness.
Stretch the parts of you that want to check out, numb out, shut down.

Let your sight soften. Let your heart widen.
Let your whole self start to see better.

We’ll be right here fumbling through it with you.
No crowns, no thrones — just a bunch of beautiful misfits trying to land in truth.

No mirrors, just clarity.
No gurus, just humans.
No perfection, just presence.

See you on the mat.