Introduction to Eye Yoga Exercises
Refractive errors and binocular disorders are the major global issues in this digital era. Data reveals that globally around 153 million people over 5 years of age are visually impaired as a consequence of uncorrected or inadequately corrected refractive errors, of whom 8 million are blind.
Among these errors of refraction, myopia is the leading cause of refractive error which affects around 145 million or 35% of the world’s population in 2018. In particular age groups in some Asian countries, the prevalence of myopia is over 80%. (Source)
Eye Yoga Exercises: Do they replace spectacles?
To date, the only scientific methods of correcting refractive errors are a spectacle, contact lenses, or refractive surgery. Although no scientific evidence has proved the effectiveness of eye yoga exercises, some gurus have been claiming to treat refractive errors through certain yogic poses (asana) for centuries. Nobody can rely on the claim without evidence to prove it effectively.
But at the same time, nobody can deny the effectiveness of these asanas for alleviating symptoms of tired, strained eyes due to heavy computer use or excessive near work and for relaxing eye muscles. Individuals who have previously diagnosed eye disorders like cataracts, glaucoma, refractive errors, retinal, corneal diseases, or any other infections should consult an eye doctor (optometrist/ophthalmologist) before starting eye yoga exercises.
A study done on Indian office workers indicated that regular yoga practice can significantly reduce eye ache and even dryness goes down. In the study, two groups of participants were involved: one group with participants doing yoga one hour per day, five days a week while the other group consists of office workers who did normal daily work without yoga.
The eye yoga exercise included 15 minutes of yoga poses, 10 minutes of controlled breathing, 10 minutes of joint exercises, 10 minutes of eye exercises, and 15 minutes of relaxation. Office workers of the yoga group experienced less eye strain after a few weeks while the control group reported more eye ache and strain than at the beginning.
What is therapeutic eye yoga exercise?
Therapeutic eye yoga exercise is the specific exercise that engages all extraocular muscles to involve is eye movements. These are the exercises designed to improve flexibility in ocular muscles and help to improve focus.
Preparing your eyes for practicing eye yoga
Some points to consider before diving into the details are:
- The first and important step is to splash your eyes with cold water.
- Keep your spine and head perfectly erect to have a straight posture.
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Eye Yoga Exercises-Improve eye health naturally
There are 8 therapeutic exercises in the eye yoga program to improve eyesight and to maintain eye health.
- Palming
- Blinking
- Changing gaze from side to side
- Changing gaze forward and sideways
- Eye rolling
- Viewing upward and downward simultaneously
- 7.Looking at the tip of the nose
- Viewing at near and distance
Palming
It is a simple but effective way of relaxing the eyes
Steps
- Sit straight and close your eyes. Let your body relax and muscles loosen.
- Rub your palms for about 10-15 seconds in order to make them warm, and place them over closed eyelids.
- Feel that the warmth of the palms is transmitting to the eyelids. This helps muscles to relax
- Hold the position until your eyes completely absorb all the heat of the palms.
- Now, keep your eyes closed and lower your hands.
- During the entire process, breathe deeply.
For achieving the best results, repeat the process three times in a single sitting.
Blinking
It is helpful to calm the body and help you fall asleep easily.
Steps
- Sitting in a meditative pose keep your eyes open.
- Quickly blink your eyes 10-15 times.
- Now close your eyes for about 15-20 seconds. This time, concentrate on breathing.
- Repeat this process at least five times to achieve the best results.
- Throughout this entire process, breathe normally while blinking. And breathe deeply while concentrating on breathing.
Changing gaze from side to side
Steps
- Keep your spine straight and your legs stretched.
- Lifting your both arms up, close your fist, and point upward your thumb.
- Now, shift your eyes gaze from right thumb to left thumb alternately without moving your head.
- Repeat this process 15-20 times.
- And then shift your focus to breathing.
- Inhale air while looking straight ahead and exhale during a sideways gaze.
Changing gaze forward and sideways
Steps
- Keep your spine straight and your legs stretched.
- Close the left fist. Rest it on the left knee and point the thumb upward.
- Look straight at a point directly in front of you.
- Now, shift your gaze from left thumb to right thumb alternately without moving your head.
- Repeat this process 15-20 times.
- And then shift your focus to breathing.
- Inhale air while looking straight ahead and exhale while looking down at your left thumb.
Eye rolling
- Keep your spine straight and your legs stretched (Dandasana).
- Rest the left palm on the left knee.
- Holding your right fist above the knee point your thumb upward. Don’t forget to make your elbow straight.
- Set your gaze on the thumb keeping your head still. Focus.
- Then, rotate your thumb as you keep your elbows straight.
- Follow and fixate your moving thumb with your eyes.
- Repeat this process 5-5 times clockwise and anticlockwise.
- You should inhale when you complete the upper arc of the circle and exhale while moving your eyes in a lower arc of the circle.
- Repeat the same steps with your left thumb.
- In the end, close your eyes and relax.
Viewing upward and downward simultaneously
- Keep your spine straight and your legs stretched (Dandasana).
- Place the closed fists of both hands on the respective knees. Then point the thumbs upwards.
- Make your elbow straight and raise the right fist above the right knee.
- While doing this, follow the motion of the thumb with your eyes and inhale air.
- After reaching the highest point, bring down the thumb and follow this movement with your eyes and exhale.
- Keep your head still and repeat this process with your left thumb.
- Practice the exercise about five times with each thumb.
- In the end, close your eyes and relax.
Looking at the tip of your nose
It is an exercise to help you concentrate.
Steps
- Sit down in leg crossed position.
- Bring your right arm in front of the nose.
- Close the right fist and point your right thumb upward.
- Maintain focus at the tip of the thumb.
- Gradually bring the thumb closer to the tip of the nose bending your arm.
- Follow this movement with your eyes.
- After looking for sometimes at the thump close to the nose, take the thumb back to a farther distance and repeat the process. Repeat this exercise five times.
- Inhale air while bringing the thumb closer and exhale while moving the thumb away from the nose.
Viewing at near and distance
This exercise is important if you have to spend a long time looking at the computer.
Steps
- Stand by the window so that you can see a clear view of the horizon. Look at the horizon for 5-10 seconds.
- Now, look at the tip of your nose for about 5-10 seconds.
- Practice this process 5-10 times.
- Inhale while looking at far and exhale while looking at near.
Once you complete all these steps, lie down for about 10 minutes, relax and breathe slowly and deeply. Practice these eye yoga exercises regularly to get the benefits of yoga for eye health.
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