Eyes speak volumes about the status of health of an individual. They are the windows of your soul, and one of God’s greatest blessings, apart from the five other senses. Yet, people tend to ignore the necessity of taking care of eyes. Healthy sparkling eyes look naturally beautiful. There are several ancient practices which could be followed to keep your eyes healthy.Yogic eye exercises when done on a regular basis are a gentle, effective way to prevent development of vision problems. The simple yoga exercises described here can, no-doubt, prove useful in maintaining healthy eyesight.
- Sit in Vajrasana by folding knees behind and sit on your legs. For those who find this pose difficult, you could choose another comfortable position, but your back should remain straight.
- Light a lamp/candle at a distance of two feet at the eye level. Stare at the bluish centre of the flame with a steady gaze. Continue staring, even if the eyes start watering. You can do this for about 10 minutes to begin with, and slowly increase the duration until the time you feel comfortable.
- Then slowly get up and fill your mouth with water. Keeping this water in your mouth, wash eyes with tap water. Then spit the water out. This water will be warm as heat gets released from the body. This has to be done twice or until the water temperature gets normal. This is a must after this particular kriya.
On doing the said practice daily, it not only improves eyesight, but makes your eyes more attractive. The practice opens up etheric channels called ‘nadis’ in the subtle body, and generates intuitive abilities in the practitioner.
Another yoga exercise detailed below is recommended for strengthening eye muscles and releasing stress.
- Sit in Sukhasana (easy pose), with legs comfortably crossed and spine, neck and head in straight line. Look directly to the front at eye-level and breathe normally.
- Move eyes upward to the ceiling and stay for two seconds, look downwards and stay for two seconds. Close your eyes for two seconds.
- Look towards the right, as far as your eye can reach, for two seconds. Look to the left for two seconds and then look at the front.
- Close your eyes for 6-8 seconds.
Palming exercise for release of stress from the eyes:
- Rub both palms together quickly for 10 seconds. This friction creates mild heat.
- Close the eyes and gently place the left palm over the left eye and right palm over the right eye. Do not apply pressure with the palms, but just left them gently rest. Breathe in and out slowly to release stress. Repeat this 2-3 times.
Other yoga poses that strengthen eyes include Bhujangasana, Shavasana and Surya Namaskara.
Few more tips:-
Dampen wads of cottonwool with pure Organic Rose Water and place over closed eyes. Relax for 10 minutes that way. The cooling effect of organic rose water helps cool tired eyes.
Splash your face and eyes 10-15 times in the morning using warm water. Avoid abrupt temperature changes.
Focus on particular diet to strengthen your vision, such as stewed apple, raw carrot, cabbage, and sprouted chick-peas. Winter Cherry (Ashwagandha) also helps strengthen vision.
You could also consider drinking a cup of warm milk with a mix of half a teaspoon of ground almonds, raw sugar, anise seeds and add half a teaspoon a day.
Drink plenty of water through the day, as constipation or internal dryness can have adverse effect on the eye. Stay away from caffeinated drinks.
In case you have access to Triphala, put a teaspoonful of Triphala powder in a glass of water and let it stay overnight. Strain the water and wash the eyes with it.
These remedies can help you keeping your eyes healthy and beautiful, and can be used by everyone, in general.
