Yoga for Eyes

(August 17, 2008)

Please suggest me some yoga tips as I'm fed up of wearing specs?

Good eyesight is an indication of good health. Poor eyesight is a handicap and we cannot carry out our activities efficiently. Eyesight does get deteriorated due to faulty diet, overstraining the eyes, and wrong use of the eyes. It is very necessary to take care of the eyes, have nutritious meal and have sufficient sleep so that the eyes get relaxed. Foods that are rich in vitamin A like spinach, carrots, tomatoes, milk, cream, butter are recommended for good eyesight.

Sun treatment is beneficial for soothing and relaxing the eyes. Sit comfortably with the eyes closed on a chair. Use a rocking chair so that you can move the body slowly. Sit relaxed for 8 to 10 minutes. Sun treatment can be done in morning and evening when the sun rays are mild. After the sun treatment, go to the shade and wash your face with cold water. The other eye exercise that can provide relaxing effect on the eyes is palming. Sit on the floor. Rub your palms so that your palms become warm. Place your palms on the closed eyes for a while. This exercise is used to improve the vision and it can reduce the strain of the eyes. Another method of relaxing our eyes is closing our eyes as tightly as possible. Squeeze the eyes and allow contraction of the eye muscles.

There are certain yoga exercises that can be helpful in keeping the eyes healthy.

Netra Shakti Vikasak Kriyas (Yoga for eyes):

Blink the eyes 100 times.

Form a fist with the right hand with the thumb outside the fist and place at the eye level. Bring the thumb forward and backward. Maintain the gaze on the thumb.

Take a bowl of water. Tilt the head downwards into the bowl and allow the left eye touch the water. Rotate the eye balls.

Rotate the eyeballs in clockwise and then in anticlockwise direction. Repeat this for 50 times.

Sarvangasana (Shoulder stand pose): Lie on the floor straight. Lift the feet upwards without bending the knees and bring the feet in a straight position in line with the knees, hip and the trunk. Support the back with the hands. Remain in this position for few minutes. Come back to the original position.

Submitted by R J on August 17, 2008 at 11:09