In an era where vision is increasingly fixed on screens, it is important to remember the health of your eyes. Practice the following exercises to improve eyesight and discover how to strengthen your vision naturally with yoga!

Note: Remember to keep your head and spine straight throughout the exercises.

Palming –   Sit quietly with eyes closed and take some deep breaths to relax yourself completely. Rub the palms of your hands vigorously, until they become warm and place the palms gently over your eye lids. 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 the hands. Once again rub the palms and repeat the process at least three times

Blinking – Sit comfortably with your eyes open. Blink around 10 times very quickly. Close your eyes and relax for 20 seconds. Slowly take your attention to your breath. Repeat this exercise about 5 times.

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.

Observe the following breathing pattern as you perform the above exercise:

Inhale in the neutral position

Exhale while looking to the side.

Inhale and come back to the center.

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 and rest the eyes and relax completely.

Observe the following breathing pattern during this exercise: Inhale while completing the upper arc of the circle. Exhale while completing the lower arc

Near and distant viewing – Stand or sit by an open window with a clear view of the horizon. Keep the arms by your side. Focus on the tip of the nose for 5-10 seconds.

Repeat this for about 10 to 20 times.

Close and relax the eyes.

Observe the following breathing pattern during this exercise: Inhale during close viewing. Exhale during distant viewing.

Article published on www.artofliving.org