Closed eyes

Have you ever tried standing in Mountain Pose, but with your eyes closed? How about tree pose? Tonight, I spent a lot of time in tree. I varied the arms, focused on breathing, and eventually worked my way towards tree with closed eyes. It is so amazing how much harder it can be to hold a balance pose with out having a 'focus point'. This is yet another thing I want to work on - my inner sense of balance, and my ability to rely on it, without reference to the outside world. Maybe it's an unrealistic correlation, but I feel like mastering that would help me stay calm when everything around me is in chaos. Inward balance - physically and mentally - that's what yoga is all about, right?

Namaste