As far as the eyes can see.

As far as the eyes can see, whether we’re looking out towards horizon or simply staring at our computer screens, do you ever pause and wonder how you’re actually seeing what’s in front of you? We have so many expressions about the eyes and gaze. “Don’t look at me like that.” “They couldn’t meet my eyes.” The eyes are said to be the gateway to the soul and a silent narrator of our body language, whether we like it or not. But what I’m really interested in is how we use our eyes, often without even realizing it.

When I was a little girl, there were these posters you had to stare at in order to see an image emerge out of what looked like total randomness. I loved them. I usually saw the image quickly, and it felt like winning, like I had a little competitive edge in life. What I didn’t understand at the time was that the trick wasn’t staring harder, but actually the opposite. You had to relax your eyes and let the image come forward into focus.

These images often called Magic Eye posters (technically autostereograms) work through stereoscopy. The brain interprets two slightly different 2D perspectives hidden in the pattern as a single 3D image. To see it, you have to look through the surface rather than directly at it. Very 1990s. Cereal boxes, posters, everywhere. But the experience stuck with me: seeing required letting go.

That idea feels deeply connected to movement.

In Gyrotonic®, the eyes are a cue to lead the spine and the movement. Much like in dance, the eyes give direction. “The eyes lead the spine” Julio talks about this all the time, and most of you have heard it many times too. But have you ever thought about it outside of class?

My grandma used to say, “Don’t do that with your face, or else it will stay like that.” Haha, very old-school, but there’s a grain of truth in this. When we repeat patterns in our body, through our eyes, our face, our posture they become ingrained. And when they become ingrained, they often become habitual and subconscious.

Have you ever been given a correction in class and thought, I didn’t even know I was doing that? Or seen a photo of yourself and wondered, What was I doing, Why am I standing like that?

I definitely have. Being a dancer makes you more aware, but nobody is perfect. Often when I move, I close my eyes. I like the sensation of going inward and really feeling what I’m doing. Because of that, the idea that the eyes lead the spine becomes a fun and interesting challenge for me.

What happens if we start paying attention to how we look at things not just what we see, but how we see?

You might try covering one eye and noticing the sensation and direction your eye is looking, rather than vision and what you're seeing. Or gently placing the heel of your hands into your eye sockets, pressing softly back and up, and sensing what that does to how you sense the position of your eyes, head and neck. Another example to experiment with is simply turning your head to look behind you, over one shoulder. If you drive a car, this something you did all the time, when you’re backing up, unless you have a new car with cameras doing it for you. Even more reason to try, turn your head right and left and look into the corners of your eyes. Just notice.

These small moments of awareness, outside of class, can be incredibly valuable. They make the transition to using the eyes in movement practice feel much more natural and embodied.

Interestingly, research backs this up. In Eye Movements and the Control of Actions in Everyday Life (Land, 2006), eye movements are described as an active, organizing force in how we move through the world. Vision isn’t passive. The eyes move before an action begins, gathering information just in time. They guide the body directly, often leaving an object before the action is even complete. Eyes, head, spine, and body work together as a coordinated system.

Even more fascinating is how this changes with learning. When something is new, the eyes provide feedback, checking, correcting, monitoring. As we become more skilled, the eyes become anticipatory, looking ahead and preparing the body for what comes next.

Which brings me back to relearning. Returning to foundational material, whether in Gyrotonic®, movement, or life can feel entirely new when we experience it through the body. When clarity lands physically, everything else begins to organize itself.

So maybe the invitation is simple: notice where you’re looking. How you’re looking. And what shifts when you soften your gaze, or let it lead you somewhere new.

Sometimes, seeing isn’t about effort at all it’s about allowing.

Join in me in exploring this concept and more in Group Class On Tuesday's @11am ET