Yoga is an ancient practice that has been around since the late 18th century. With yoga classes popping up everywhere and more people than ever training to become instructors, yoga practice has gained huge popularity in recent times. Now we're starting to see variations of yoga for other parts of the body, these include face yoga and eye yoga.
According to its loyal practitioners, eye yoga exercises can condition and strengthen the eye area. Although there is no scientific evidence or research to suggest eye yoga can help with eye problems such as dry eye, glaucoma and cataracts, there is some evidence to show it has benefits for eye strain. Eye yoga might be something worth considering if you spend your days staring at a computer screen for long periods of time. You can find out more about the effects of computer vision syndrome and how to reduce eye strain on our blog.
Make sure you remove your glasses and contact lenses before beginning.
Eye rolling
- With your eyes staring straight ahead, rotate your eyes up toward the ceiling
- Roll your eyes to the far right
- Roll your eyes to the floor
- Roll your eyes to the far left
- Roll your eyes back to the ceiling, then move your eyes straight ahead
- Repeat 2-4 times, changing direction each time
Blinking
- Blink 10 times in quick succession
- Close your eyes, concentrate on breathing calmly for 30 seconds
- Repeat 3 – 5 times
Sideways glance
- Look straight ahead and hold your left arm outstretched in front of you, with your thumb pointing straight up
- Move your thumb to the far left and back in front of you, following your thumb with your eyes as you do so
- Repeat this exercise on the opposite side, using your right thumb
Palming
- Sit in a comfortable position in a dark room
- Rub your palms together quickly until you start to feel the heat between them
- Cup your palms over your eyes, without pressing against the closed eyes
- Concentrate on the warmth and the darkness, this is a good exercise to incorporate in meditation practice
Cross-eyed gaze
- Hold one of your arms out straight with your thumb point upwards
- Following your thumb with your eyes as you bring the thumb up to your nose
- Hold this position for a few moments, focusing on the thumb, before outstretching your arm again
- Repeat this exercise 5 times, then close your eyes and rest
These eye exercises can be done anywhere as part of your eye care routine, to help ease your eye muscles after too much screen time. These eye exercises could be particularly helpful to soothe your tired eyes during a workday.
Blue light blocking prescription glasses are also available at Feel Good Contacts. To complete your eye care, you can relax with the Thera-Pearl Eye Mask to relieve overworked eyes. You can also re-hydrate strained eyes with our comfi drops. If you have any eye conditions or eye pain, consult your optician before trying eye yoga exercises.
