‘Eyes Right’ With Yoga

The great pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, once said, “Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears.” Indeed, eyes are a vital part of our body. Good eyesight is very important for our daily activities like reading, watching television, internet surfing, writing notes and so much more. Yoga can immensely help improve your eye-sight by keeping the eye muscles sharp and relaxing them. Eyesight is one of the most precious gifts we possess. The following eye exercises are of great help to those who generally have healthy eyes but suffer from overstraining / overly tired eyes, due to heavy usage of computers and cell phones.

Vital Eye Exercises:

• Blink your eyes often. Lesser than adequate blinking causes an irritated or dry eye.
• Rotate your eyes – left, right, up and down; clock wise and then anti-clock wise.
• Splash cold water regularly onto your eyes.
• Rub your hand till the palms are warm and cover your eyes with them.
• Try to catch the sunrise – seeing the rising sun is therapeutic to the eyes.
• Practice ‘Jala Neti’ – an ancient Indian yoga technique, meaning ‘Water Cleansing’. Jala Neti is usually performed first thing in the morning or sometimes at the end of the day, if you work or live in a dusty/polluted environment.
• Follow the ‘20-20-20 rule’ for resting your eyes – that is, looking away twenty feet, for twenty seconds, every twenty minutes. Set an alarm to help you remember.

Try fully opening and closing your eyes, every once in a while. Try the ‘Trataka’ yoga asana – a method that involves staring at a single point, such as a small object – a black dot or candle flame. It brings energy to the ‘third eye’ and promotes psychic abilities.Some essential foods for boosting eyesight include carrots, cabbage, garlic, eggs, fish and lettuce. Spinach protects eyes from diseases. Broccoli helps prevent cataract. Fruits full of vitamin C like oranges, lemon and amla are good too. In today’s high-tech world, people are constantly hooked on to computers and gadgets. The practice of yoga is a must for proper eye care. Also ‘Drishti Sanchalan’ which is the marching of your eye-balls must be done regularly. Drishti Sanchalan makes your eye muscles and your eye-balls flexible.

Massage your eyes as it relieves tension or stress by stimulating blood flow to the targeted areas. Begin by massaging your upper eye lids for ten seconds and then massage your lower eyelids. While massaging the lower lids, ensure to massage across the lacrimal bone, located near the inner eye.
And finally, express your gratitude by thanking God for the beautiful gift of sight he blessed us with!