In 2009, Sir Paul McCartney announced that he practiced eye yoga. Suddenly this relaxing activity got a boost again. However, eye yoga has been around for centuries. Eye yoga originated in Hinduism more than four thousand years ago. The American ophthalmologist Dr. In the early twentieth century, William Bates devised a number of eye exercises to improve vision. He achieved good results and was the pioneer of current Western eye yoga. For several decades, little was done with the exercises, but in the 1960s and 1970s eye yoga regained popularity. Now the trend with relaxation techniques for the eyes is also conquering Belgium and the Netherlands.
- Use of eyes at a distance
- Tension of the eye muscles
- Eye disorders
- Benefits of eye exercises
- Disadvantages of eye yoga
- Some eye yoga exercises
Use of eyes at a distance
Eye yoga is wellness and fitness for the eyes and brings your visual system back into balance. These are eye exercises that improve your vision naturally. The exercises allow you to use your eyes fully, which is not always possible in today’s world. For example, our ancestors used to see blue sky and had unlimited peripheral vision. Now there are tall buildings and offices everywhere, and we live in small spaces where people stare at small computer screens or smartphones. As a result, you no longer use your distance vision properly, and the Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) arises.
Tension of the eye muscles
When you stare at a screen, you only blink every six to seven seconds. Blinking is a reflex and is normally done every two to three seconds. You often blink far too little, causing your eyes to dry out and the eye muscles to weaken (muscle fatigue). In the eye muscles, the ability of the eye lens to focus at different distances decreases. Chronic mental and emotional exertion results in tired eyes or dry eyes. Headache is another feature that accompanies eye strain. The eye yoga exercises make and keep the weakened eye muscles elastic again.
Eye disorders
Eye yoga contains a series of exercises that increase the functioning of the eyes and help with various eye problems, such as nearsightedness (the medical term for this is “myopia”), farsightedness (hyperopia), age-related farsightedness (presbyopia), astigmatism and various eye-related eye disorders. For most of these conditions, an ophthalmologist prescribes glasses, but glasses do not address the cause. Dr. Bates claimed that eye problems actually worsen with glasses. That is why his advice was to only wear glasses if there is absolutely no other option.
Benefits of eye exercises
Thanks to eye exercises, you return to nature and learn to bring and keep your eyes in optimal health. If you continue with the exercises for just five to fifteen minutes a day for a few months, improvements can already be seen in the functioning of the eyes. You can therefore alleviate or even solve your eye problems through eye yoga. Your eyes learn to see at a distance again, make the eye muscles elastic again and therefore solve or reduce eye-related problems. Eye yoga is also simple and can be done anytime and anywhere, even at your desk or in front of the television. Performing the exercises independently is problem-free.
Disadvantages of eye yoga
The exercises do not work for a congenital eye condition or eye disease, but they are useful if you have tired eyes due to screen work or if your vision has deteriorated due to age. Many are (still) skeptical about eye yoga, although there are ophthalmologists who prescribe the exercises.
Some eye yoga exercises
The exercises can be performed independently, but Marian Maleszka of Oogyoga also offers eye yoga workshops in Belgium to private individuals and companies. It is best to do the exercises without glasses or contact lenses so that you see results immediately.
Palmeren/Palming
First warm your hands by rubbing them together. Then cover your eyes with the palms of your hands without letting the hands touch the eyes. It’s dark and you can’t see anything, but that’s good because it relaxes your eyes and reduces eye irritation and dry eyes. You can also let yourself go completely; yawning is therefore good.
On the horizon
You should hold your hand about ten centimeters from your face and look at it. Then you look at something else one meter away. Then look at an object on the horizon, something further away. Repeat this five times.
Eye rolling exercises
Keeping the six eye muscles elastic is one of the goals of eye yoga. You can achieve this by, for example, unforcedly forming a question mark with your eyes. Other horizontal and vertical exercises are also useful.
Other tips
Periodically look outside for a few seconds; this keeps your eyes fresh and alert. Blinking more ensures blood flow to the muscles and do your best every two to three seconds. You should also regularly remove your contact lenses and remove your make-up before going to sleep. You can learn more about eye yoga through the book Learning to see without glasses/The Art of Seeing by Aldous Huxley, ISBN 9060302273. Aldous Huxley has regained his sight thanks to the Bates method; He was almost completely blind for a while due to punctate keratitis, an infection of the cornea.
read more
- Tired eyes (eye strain): Symptoms and treatment
- Asthenopia: Tired eye muscles with pain and eye problems
- Eye exercises for presbyopia
