Yoga for Eyes

We eat and drink so much processed foods and beverages (and love it) everyday, that exercising (ugh) is essential to keep fit and maintain a healthy body.

We eat and drink so much processed foods and beverages (and love it) every day, that exercising (ugh) is essential to keep fit and maintain a healthy body. Just like processed food is to the body, excessive screen time on laptops, televisions, and phones (which we love) is to your eyes (oh damn!). It is just as important to exercise your eyes, as it is to exercise your body!

Here are 5 simple yoga eye exercises to improve vision (and you won’t even have to do the Surya-Namaskar!) that you can do at your workplace, at home, or whenever your eyes feel stressed. Your eyes will thank you for this!

WARM-UP:

Rub your palms together for several seconds and place your palms on your eyes for about thirty seconds to a minute. You will instantly feel a little fresh after this. (This is like when your yoga instructor asks you to take deep breaths before you start doing a class.) Now let’s jump right into the different eye exercises to improve eyesight.

ASANA 1: FLEXING

This asana stretches your ocular muscles. It also prevents you from staring at your computer all day, which most people do.

Procedure:

• Face straight ahead, and then look up as far as you can without moving your head.
• Then look down. Up, down, up, down slowly.
• Now look at your top right – go as far to the edge of your vision as you can see.
• Then bottom left, and alternate the two again.
• Finally, look top left and alternate with bottom right a few times.

You will feel a slight strain but that’s okay. This is because you haven’t stretched your eyes much before, just like when you stretch your body after a long time and feel a slight pull. This yoga exercise will help you maintain your eye health and keep your vision sharp.

ASANA 2: PALMING

This asana will be a little easier on your eyes as it is a relaxation exercise.

Procedure:

• Cup your hands over your eyes horizontally
• Create a gentle pressure around your orbital bone – or the bone around the eye socket with your pinky finger.
• With your eyes closed, stare into the blackness as if you are staring into space. S
• See how far you can focus on the distance.
• Allow all the residual colors to fade to black.

This helps “reset” your vision, allowing your eyes to relax fully and lubricate again. You can do this for as long as you like. This simple eye exercise will ensure that your eyesight is sharp and your eyes are healthy.

ASANA 3: BLINKING

This asana is simple: just blink, kind of like breathing in yoga! Excessive television or computer use leads to dry eyes, which can cause blurry vision, red eyes, headaches, and eyestrain. This is because the average blink rate drops from 16-20 blinks per minute to 6-8 blinks per minute while absorbed in the screen. Therefore, to prevent strain and dryness on the eyes while using the screen, simply blink more and be more conscious of when you’ve stopped blinking. This will lubricate the eye and refresh your brain ready to receive new visual data. This is, perhaps, the easiest exercise to get rid of eye strain.

ASANA 4: FOCUSING

If you have glasses, take them off while doing this exercise.

Procedure:

• Place your thumb close to your face and focus on it.
• After a few seconds, place your other thumb at arm’s length and focus on that.
• After a few seconds, focus on something across the room, and a few seconds later, something outside the window.
• All four points should be along the same line so you can subtly change your focus.
• Do this again starting from your thumb, which is close to you and continue on a couple of times.

This exercise is great for vision improvement and eye focus, much like balancing in yoga. This vision therapy helps you get rid of eye strain as well.

ASANA 5: ZOOMING

This exercise is great if you have far-sightedness or an aging vision.

Procedure:

• Hold your thumb out at arm’s length and focus on it.
• Now draw it in until it’s three inches in front of your eyes, maintaining focus all the while. Then move your thumb out again.
• Do this for a few minutes and you will strengthen your focusing skills (also known as accommodation).

This is like stretching for your eyes, much like doing the final stretches after a workout or a yoga session.

After you do these exercises, rub your palm for several seconds and place them on your eyes again or simply just close your eyes and focus on your breathing. This will allow your eyes to cool and rest, much like Savassan!

For better eye-care, you can do these exercises about 3 times a week. You will see vision improvement, and feel less eye-fatigue!

For those who wish to improve their eye health quicker and feel that they don’t have time for such simple exercises, or who tend to forget to spare some time for exercise, can opt for health supplements. There are several supplements available in the market today that provide eye support and help in improving eye health. Setu also offers a few of such eye-health supplements.

1. EYE MAX: Setu Eye Max works as a natural nutritional filter protecting your eyes from the damage caused by exposure to harmful blue light from digital screens and devices. Our formula is packed with naturally sourced Lutein (known as ‘the eye vitamin’) which is clinically studied with proven benefits such as protection from blue light and improving visual memory and cognitive function. Setu Eye Max contains clinically validated Lutemax2020® extracted from marigold flowers, along with bilberry and beetroot extracts, which are known to relieve eye strain, help moisturise dry eyes and reduce eye fatigue while enhancing visual acuity and night vision.
2. LUTEIN GUMMIES: Setu Lutein gummies build a natural nutritional filter against harmful blue light from digital devices – protecting you from long-term damage and its symptoms. This yummy gummy in a grape flavour contains clinically validated Lutemax 2020, a natural extract from marigold flowers, that absorbs harmful blue light and improves visual performance.
3. LUTEIN & ZEAXANTHIN: Setu Lutein & Zeaxanthin give your eyes regular respite from heavy blue light exposure from digital devices. It is power-packed with Lutein and Zeaxanthin, known as ‘eye vitamins’ that help protect your eyes against harmful blue light, chronic age-related macular degeneration and stress. Made using clinically validated Lutemax2020®, a natural extract from marigold flowers, that absorbs harmful blue light and improves visual performance.