New Delhi: Regular practice of these eye exercises helps to relax eyesight and facilitate the normal functioning of our eyes. Yoga also happens to have a series of exercises that can improve the functioning of our eyes. These exercises can help overcome various eye-related problems such as short-sightedness and long-sightedness.
1.Palming
- Sit quietly with eyes closed and take a few deep breaths to relax yourself
- Rub the palms of your hands vigorously until they become warm and place the palms gently over your eyelids
- Feel the warmth of the palms being transferred onto the eyes and the eye muscles relaxing. Your eyes are being bathed in soothing darkness
- Stay in this position until the heat from the hands has been completely absorbed by the eyes
- Keeping the eyes closed, lower your hands
- Once again rub the palms and repeat the process at least three times
2. Blinking
- Sit comfortably with your eyes open
- Blink around 10 times very quickly
- Close your eyes and relax for 20 seconds while taking your attention to your breath
- Repeat this exercise about five times
3. Sideways viewing
- Sit with legs straight in front of the body
- Now lift the arms keeping your fist closed and your thumbs pointing upward
- Look at a point straight in front of you in level with your eyes
- Keep the head in this fixed position, focus on the following one after the other, by shifting your vision to the:
- Space between the eyebrows
- Left thumb
- Space between the eyebrows
- Right thumb
- Space between the eyebrows
- Left thumb
- Repeat this exercise 10 to 20 times
- After completing this exercise, close your eyes and rest
4. Front and sideways viewing
- Sit with legs straight in front of the body
- Now, close the left fist and place it on the left knee ensuring that the thumb points upwards
- Look at a point straight in front of you and in level with your eyes
- Keep the head fixed in this position
- Breathing out, focus your eyes on the left thumb
- Breathing in, focus your eyes at a point in front of you and in level with your eyes
- Repeat the same process with the right thumb
- Close your eyes and rest
5. Rotational viewing
- Sit with legs straight in front of your body
- Place the left hand on the left knee
- Hold the right fist above the right knee, with the thumb pointing upwards. Keep the elbow straight
- Now keeping the head still, focus your eyes on the thumb
- Make a circle with the thumb, keeping the elbow straight
- Repeat this exercise five times each in clockwise and anti-clockwise direction
- Repeat the process with the left thumb
- Close your eyes and rest
6. Up and down viewing
- Sit with legs straight in front of your body
- With both the thumbs pointing upwards, place both the fists on the knees
- Slowly raise the right thumb keeping the arms straight. Follow the motion of the thumb upwards with the eyes
- When the thumb is raised to the maximum, gradually bring it down to the starting position. Continue to keep the eyes focused on the thumb while keeping the head still throughout
- Repeat the same process with the left thumb
- Practice these five times with each thumb
- The head and the spine should be kept straight throughout
- Close the eyes and relax
