Most of the jobs today involve a continuous task on a computer or laptop. Moreover, we now live in colonies that consist of high rise buildings, which obstruct our distance vision. These all things create near-point stress and make your eyes prone to various problems.

Our hectic and unhealthy way of living life devoid of any time for eye care has given rise to numerous eye problems. These eye problems have engulfed children, teenagers, and adults as well. Yoga, which has been practised since ages, emerges as a real saviour from such eye problems. Yoga has proved to be effective against the factors that cause problems such as vision loss, or other eye complications. In this post, we have shared some very easy and effective yoga exercises for Eyes (1).

8 Effective Yoga Exercises for Eyes

The following yoga exercises for eyes restore your eye health and keep them in a natural state protected against the eye diseases (2).

1. Blinking

Normally, a human eye is supposed to be blinked on an average 25 times in a minute. But that is not what happens in a job that requires focusing on a computer.

Benefits of Blinking

Blinking exercise allows your eyes to nourish themselves. Moreover, it helps your eye muscles to relax and also prevents the problem of dry eyes.

How to do?

1. Open your eyes as much wide as you can.
2. Now, start blinking your eyes quickly for 10 seconds.
3. Stop and close your eyes and let them relax them for 20 seconds.
4. Repeat four more times.

Blinking Eyes

2. Deep Blink

Deep blink improves the focusing abilities of your eyes and increases the sharpness of your distance vision.

How to do Deep Blink

1. Cut out some large letters, possibly from cardboard container or newspaper headline.
2. Stick those letters on a blank wall.
3. Now move back slowly until those letters start to blur. Place your chair at that point and sit.
4. Close your eyes, and breathe in deeply then release it slowly. Do this till you are relaxed.
5. Now, breathe in deeply, and hold it. By clenching your fists, engage all of your body muscles to tighten them from head to toe. Stay in this pose for 5 seconds.
6. Exhale from your mouth and release the tension. Open your eyes wide. Look at those large letters- they should appear clear for a few seconds.
7. Keep gazing the letters while breathing slowly in a relaxed manner until they get blurred again.
8. Re-clench your fists and repeat the process for 3-4 times.

3. Palming

Your eyes are being continuously used, be it for your job or those multiplayer games on a smartphone or daily tasks. This creates eye stress and causes your photoreceptors to break more than they are reconstructed. Therefore, your eyes require being recovered from the stress of light.

Benefits of Palming

1. Keeping your eyes closed for some time allows them to restore their full efficiency.
2. Palming provides relaxation to your eyes, which they usually don’t get.
3. It is best to perform this yoga exercise after you are done with your other eye exercises.

How to do?

1. Rub both of your hands against each other to generate warmth in your palms.
2. Now, close your eyes and gently cover your eyes with your palms. Do not apply pressure; just the gentle contact is good.
3. While holding this pose, feel the warmth of your palms getting absorbed into your eyes and relieving them of their stress.
4. Stay this way until your palms are no longer warm.
5. Start rubbing your palms again and repeat the process for 3-5 times.
   

   Palming

4. Eye Rotations

Benefit

1. Eye rotations is an excellent eye exercise that engages the eye muscles through various eye movements.
2. You should feel your eyes to more active by the end of this activity.

How to do?

1. Start with your legs stretched in front of your body.
2. Keep your head fixed and move your eyes around in a circle.

If that feels difficult, you can try it this way

1. Place your left hand on the left knee.
2. Outstretch your right arm with its thumb pointing upwards.
3. With your head still, focus on your thumb.
4. Move your arm in a circle while keeping your elbow straight and follow the thumb with your eyes.
5. Inhale while making the upper arc of the circle and exhale during the lower arc.
6. Do it in a clockwise direction and then in an anti-clockwise direction for 5 times each.
7. Repeat the exercise with your left thumb.
8. Finally, close your eyes and let them relax completely.

Eye Rotations

Here is an informative video from NDTV Good Times

5. Bhastrika

Benefits

1. Bhastrika promotes oxygenation to your brain and eyes.
2. It energizes your head and body and relaxes it.
3. Bhastrika also strengthens your immunity, which helps you deal with eye problems effectively.

How to do?

1. Sit in a meditational pose, preferably on the Padmasana (lotus pose).
2. Close your eyes. Breath in deeply to fill your lungs with air.
3. Now release it gently by breathing out.
4. Keep in mind that both inhalation and exhalation should take an equal amount of time- 2.5 seconds each.
5. While inhaling, you have to assume that the positive energy is being filled with your body. You are getting energized by it. Each of your organs- eyes, arms, stomach, legs are receiving that flow of energy.
6. While exhaling, imagine the dark negative energy, toxins, and tensions leaving your body along with the air.
7. This may feel daunting at first, and you can get distracted multiple times, but regularly practising Bhastrika helps you get better day by day.

6. Kapalbhati

Benefit

1. Kapalbhati is excellent detoxifying exercise.
2. With the help of a different breathing pattern, Kapalbhati increases the blood circulation into your brain and eye areas.
3. The increased blood flow ensures your eyes get a good supply of oxygenated blood and the toxins are flushed away efficiently.

How to do?

1. Sit with your spine erect. Place your hand on your knees with your palms open to the sky. Take a deep breath.
2. Now force your breath out. While exhaling explosively, pull your stomach by contracting your abdominal muscles, so that your navel gets back towards the spine.
3. Doing 20 repetitions of such breaths completes one round of Kapal Bhati.
4. Start with 1-2 rounds of Kapal Bhati and increase as you feel comfortable.
5. Focus more on breathing out. You can practice Kapal Bhati on an empty stomach for more effect.

Kapalbhati

7. Suryanamaskar

Benefit

Suryanamaskar works out your cardiovascular health and normalizes the supply of the blood to various organs of your body including the eyes. You can read about How to do Suryanamaskar in detail below.

How to do?

1. Suryanamaskar is performed in two sets with each set composed of 12 different Yoga poses.
2. It is best to do Suryanamaskar on an empty stomach early in the morning.
3. Stand on a mat with your feet placed together. Now, breath in and simultaneously raises your arms, and while breathing out, bring your palms together close to your chest in a prayer position.
4. Breathing in, lift your arms up straight and take them back such that your biceps are close to your ears. Stretch your entire body.
5. Breathing out, bend forward while keeping your spine erect. Bring your hands beside your feet on the ground.
6. Bring your right knee to the ground and push it back as much possible. Then, breathe out.
7. Move your left leg back as well and create a straight line with your body raised with the help of hands.
8. Now, bring your both knees to the ground and breathe out. Slightly raise your hips while the remaining body in contact with the ground.
9. Breathing in, lower your hips and raise your chest with the help of your hands to make a cobra posture.
10. Breathing out, lift your hips to make an inverted ‘V’.
11. Move your right foot forward to bring it in between your hands. Lower your hips and look upwards.
12. Now, move your left foot forward as well with your hands beside your feet.
13. Breathing in, stand and raise your arms up and take them back to stretch your body.
14. Breathing out, bring your hands back to your sides and return to the normal standing pose.

Suryanamaskar

8. Sarvangasana

Benefit

Sarvagansa reverses the blood flow and increases blood supply to your eyes, head, and neck.

How to do?

1. Lie down straight with your hands beside your body and feet together.
2. Fold your knees and bring them close to your chest.
3. Lift your lower body and place your hands on your back.
4. With the support of your hands, lift your entire lower body and make a straight line.
5. Hold this pose for 10 seconds. Keep your breath normal.
6. Now return in the same way to the starting pose.

Sarvangasana

Tips to Do Eye Exercises

1. Wash your eyes before starting the eye exercises. This keeps them fresh and makes them ready for various eye movements.
2. Perform the exercise in the morning to reap maximum benefits.
3. You can also do palming whenever you are feeling fatigued.
4. Relax your mood by doing some deep breaths in the beginning.
5. Consume Vitamin A rich foods regularly.
6. An 8-hour sleep along with these eye exercises will help you regain your eye health.

These eye exercises work effectively and promote your overall eye health. You definitely can not expect the results to be visible from day 1 nor it is possible. However, regular sessions of them will bring about remarkable improvements. Countless people have benefited from these yoga exercises worldwide. So, just get started right away without breaking the streak to realize their actual efficacy.

Good Luck!