Hakalau - A Short Hawaiian Meditation

Hakalau is a Hawaiian meditation meaning eyes open and yes you've guessed it, this is an eyes-open meditation! A very short taster into this very effective practice. Ensure you keep the focus on the peripheral vision rather than the frontal focus; this is what helps relax and calm the nervous system. An excellent practice for pre-exams or interviews, quick and effective.

Transcript

Hakalau is a Hawaiian meditation which is excellent for bringing a sense of calmness. This is because when we look through our peripheral vision, It relaxes the nervous system. The word Hakalau means eyes wide open and obviously means that this practice is done with eyes open. It's a very simple meditation so we will move straight into it. Sit upright but not too rigid and with your eyes open, Find a spot straight ahead of you and look at it. Now allow the gaze to soften so that you can see out of the corners of your eyes, Your peripheral vision. It will feel as if you are going cross-eyed. Allow the muscles around the corners of the eyes to fully relax whilst still keeping this very soft view. Blinking whenever you need to and allow the mind to just let go of all thoughts if possible. Pay more attention to the peripheral vision rather than your point of focus. Let's just remain here for a while. So what did you think of this Hakalau meditation? Did it feel strange having your eyes open? Did it bring a sense of calmness to you? Or not? Did you find this distracting? Let me know your thoughts. Thank you.

Reviews

This was quite interesting. I normally have difficulty meditating with eyes open but this technique felt much different. I think I can build on this. 🙏😊

It felt uncomfortable in the moment to have the sensation of loss of focus, but now that I have moved out of the practice, an unfamiliar ease is settling over me. I realize so much of my daily life is about focusing and doing... it's habitual exhaustion. Thank you for helping me truly unwind.

Very interesting! I doubt I will give up on eyes closed meditation altogether but this truly did work. A few minutes at the end of my lunch break was enough to make me calm again. Love to hear regional accent

Hi
I felt relaxed and almost wanted to fall asleep. My first time doing this but would try it again
Thanks