Yoga For Eyes

Eye exercises help strengthen eye muscles & reduce strain on the eyes. Before beginning you can splash some water onto your eyes to remove any foreign matter. This will clear your vision. Now to begin the practice, sit in a comfortable position with head in line with the spine & arms relaxed.

Exercise 1:

Look up & down without moving your head or neck. Only the eyeballs should move. Do this 6 times. On completion look in front, close your eyes tightly, contracting the eye muscles. Hold this contraction for a few seconds and then let go quickly. Blink eyes a few times & relax.

Exercise 2:

Look side to side without moving your head or neck. Only the eyeballs should move. Do this 6 times. On completion look in front, close your eyes tightly, contracting the eye muscles. Hold this contraction for a few seconds and then let go quickly. Blink eyes a few times & relax.

Exercise 3:

Look diagonally up on the right hand side & down on the left hand side without moving your head or neck. Do this 6 times. Now, look diagonally up on the left hand side & down on the right hand side 6 times. On completion look in front, close your eyes tightly, contracting the eye muscles. Hold this contraction for a few seconds and then let go quickly. Blink eyes a few times & relax.

Exercise 4:

Eye Rotation: First look up & then towards the right, then down & finally to left without moving head or neck; only the eyeballs should move. Repeat this 6 times. Now change the direction of eye movement – look up & then towards left, then down & finally to right without moving the head or neck. Repeat 6 times. On completion look in front, close your eyes tightly, contracting the eye muscles. Hold this contraction for a few seconds and then let go quickly. Blink eyes a few times & relax.

On completion of all the above 4 eye exercises, briskly rub your palms & place them over your closed eyes. Allow the heat to go into the eyes.

You can practice these simple eye exercises at any time that you find convenient, first thing in the morning or at the end of your day to relieve the eye strain caused by watching television or from staring at the computer monitor the entire day.

A Word of Caution

For those of you who are new to Yoga & are just starting out, I suggest you follow the tips outlined below to avoid any injury:

1. Always start with a warm up. While ‘Surya Namaskar’ itself is considered as a warm up exercise, I would still recommend that you do the warm up sequence you learnt (warming up the neck, shoulders, chest, back, waist, thighs, calves, ankles) before proceeding to do the Sun Salutation
2. The key aspect of Yoga is ‘awareness’- awareness of the body & breath. As you do your practice, lock your attention in your body; focus on your breath, on the muscles being stretched. Become totally involved in what you are doing. There is a very interesting quote by Julie Martin (a yoga teacher) that says “Can I still listen to the dialogue between the breath & the body? That’s what my practice is – it’s a long conversation between my breath and my body. And if I keep my mind out of the equation, I’ll have a much better ride”. Throughout your yoga practices, attempt to fix your attention on the movements of the exercises & do not allow the mind to wander
3. Do all the movements in a slow & controlled manner. Try to move in & out of postures slowly & gracefully. Do not be in a hurry
4. Never jerk, strain or force yourself to get into a position that your body is not ready to get into. Just go as far as you comfortably can & hold in that position for a few seconds. This ‘holding’ over a period of time, will impart the flexibility you need to get into the more ‘extreme position’. So be patient & stay with your practice no matter how slow the progress
5. Listen to your body’s pain signals. In case you feel pain while doing some posture, then adjust your posture in order to minimize pain. Don’t push yourself mindlessly. Of course if you are just starting to exercise you will experience some pain in various parts of the body in the first week of your practice which will go away in subsequent weeks
6. Be regular. Try to practice at the same time & place each day. This will help you note your progress. Mornings are the best time to practice as stiffness in the morning tells us where our body needs more attention. Later in the day we lose that sensitivity as our body starts to feel more flexible  

Resolve to enjoy your practice each day, staying in the moment, and letting go of all expectations that may come in your way of having an enjoyable & relaxing experience.

A Typical Day's Practice for the 'Extremely Busy'

If you are extremely busy & do not have much time to devote to exercise or if you have missed your day’s regular workout, then you can follow this simple schedule outlined below:

a. Sit in a comfortable cross legged position; Chant Om 3 times; then say a short prayer such as the following before beginning your practice:

Om Saha Navavatu

Saha Nau Bhunaktu

Saha Viryam Karavavahai

Tejasvina Vadhitamastu

Ma Vidvisavahai

Om Shantih Shantih Shantih

Meaning: Om, May God protect us both (the Teacher and the Student),
May God nourish us both,
May we work together with energy and vigour,
May our study be enlightening, not giving rise to hostility,
Om, Peace, Peace, Peace.

b. Now do 7-10 rounds of the 'Single nostril breathing' that you learnt in post 4

c. Follow this up with a gentle warm up sequence and 3-6 rounds of Surya Namaskar

On completion just lie down on your back & relax for a few minutes becoming aware of your body, mind & breath.

This will take you just about 20 minutes, ensuring good health & keeping you energetic throughout the day.  

Sun Salutation / Surya Namaskar

A series of 12 flowing movements, the Surya Namaskar is an excellent way to start your day.

It gives a varied range of movement to the spine, helping you attain flexibility, while regulating the breath & focusing the mind. It is one of the best all in one sequence that works on almost all parts of the body.

I suggest, you learn the various movements first, and then, when thoroughly comfortable with the positions, tune them to the breathing. Till then just breathe normally while doing the movements.

Starting Position

Stand straight, with your head, neck & spine in line. Feet together & arms relaxed by the side of your body. Inhale deeply & begin.

Position 1

Exhale & bring your hands together in a prayer position in front of your chest.

Position 2

Inhale & stretch your arms up over your head, arms along the sides of the ears & the hips facing forward; knees & elbows are straight; look up at your thumb.

Position 3

As you exhale, bend forward from the hips bringing the palms flat on the floor next to your feet; fingers & toes are in a straight line and the head is pointed towards the knee; knees are straight. Hands are as flat on the floor as possible.

Variation

If you can’t put the hands down on the floor with straight knees then bend the knees.

Position 4

Inhale & stretch the right leg back as far as possible; drop the right knee to the floor; look up. Hands remain flat on the floor next to the feet as in position 3. Make sure your front knee is behind the toes.

Position 5

Retain the breath while bringing the other leg back in a push up position. Body is in a straight line from head to heels.

Position 6

Exhale & drop the knees, chest & then forehead to the ground; hips remain up.  

Position 7

Inhale stretching up & back; legs & hips remain on the ground. Elbows are slightly bent with no tension in the shoulders.

Position 8

Exhale & lift the hips up as high as possible into an inverted V without moving the hands or feet; push the heel towards the floor; hands are flat on the ground; with the head between the arms; look at your feet.

Position 9

Inhale and bring the right foot forward between the hands such that the fingers & toes are in one straight line; drop the left knee to the floor & look up. This position is the same as position 4. 

Variation

To move from position 8 to 9, first drop the left foot to ground & then bring the right foot forward between the hands. Take the help of your hands to bring the foot between the hands, in case of any difficulty.

Position 10

Without changing the position of the hands, exhale as you bring the left foot forward next to the right foot. Fingers & toes are in line; forehead is pointed towards the knee. Keep the hips as high as possible. This position is same as position 3.

Position 11

As you inhale, stretch up & back; hips pointing forward. This position is same as position 2.

Position 12

Exhale as you bring your arms down along the side of your body, returning to the starting position.

Relax, take a deep breath, & begin again. This time in position 4, take the left leg back & in position 9, bring the left leg forward. This sequence of 12 moves, once on the right & then on the left completes one round.

You can do about 6 rounds of Surya Namaskar everyday.

For those finding the above 12 sequence of movements difficult to practice, here are a couple of variations -the 'Standing version with chair' & 'The seated chair version'. These are particularly useful for older people. This is from “The Healing path of Yoga” by Nischala Joy Devi. 

Standing Version with Chair:

Stand straight facing the seat of a straight-backed chair. Make sure that the chair is placed, with its back against the wall for steadiness.

Position 1

Stand straight with feet together but not touching. Bring the palms together in the prayer position in front of chest.

Position 2

Lock the thumbs; stretch the arms out; follow the hands as you slowly raise the arms up beside the head; stretch up all the way from the feet to the tips of the fingers; look up at the hands.

Position 3

Slowly bend forward from the hips, keeping the knees slightly bent. Place both hands on the seat of the chair & allow the head to relax.

Position 4

Stretch the left foot back, placing it on the floor a few feet back. Keep the left leg straight & the right knee bent. Look up. 

Position 5

Keeping both hands on the chair & the right knee bent, lower the left knee to the floor. Arch back & look up.

Position 6

Bring the right leg back to meet the left. Feet are together with both knees on the floor.

Pushing with the hands, straighten the legs. Stretch the heels towards the floor & look at your feet.

Position 7

Arch back & look up keeping the arms & legs in place.

Position 8

Now, bring the left foot forward. Left knee is bent while the right leg remains stretched back with the foot on the floor. Look up.

Position 9

Lower the right knee to the floor. Arch back & look up.

Position 10

Keep the hands on the chair; straighten both legs as the right leg comes forward to meet the left.

Position 11

Lock the thumbs; raise the arms up towards the ceiling as you straighten the knees and come to a standing position; look up

Position 12

Slowly lower the arms down with palms folded in a prayer position in front of the chest. Relax.

Stand quietly for a moment and become conscious of your heart rate & breathing. When the breathing returns to normal, relax arms, sit down in the chair & relax.

You can repeat this up to 3 times daily.

Seated Chair Version:

Sit straight in a chair with the feet flat on the floor.

Position 1

Sit straight with feet together; bring the palms in front of the chest in a prayer position.

Position 2

Lock the thumbs; raise the arms up overhead while looking at the hands.

Position 3

Bend

forward from the hips; allow the head to relax towards the legs and the arms to relax towards the floor.

Position 4

With both hands grasp the right knee & lift it up towards the chest; bring your abdomen towards the thighs.

Position 5

While continuing to hold the leg, arch back, shoulders are pulled back & down; look up.

Position 6

Bring the head back to center & release the leg; slowly bend forward from the hips, allowing the abdomen to come towards the thighs, relax the head & arms towards the floor.

Position 7

Raise the body up & place the palms on the thighs, fingers pointing forward & elbows bent. Arch back, expand the chest, extend the neck, & allow the head to tip back slightly; look up.

Position 8

Bring the head back to center; grasp the left knee with both hands & raise it up towards the chest; bring the abdomen towards the thigh.

Position 9

Lift the head; arch back; bring the shoulders back & look up.

Position 10

Bring the head back to center and release the leg. Now, slowly bend forward from the hips; allowing the abdomen to come towards the thighs, relax the head & the arms.

Position 11

Lock the thumbs; stretch the arms out; continue to raise the arms towards the ceiling; look up.

Position 12

Slowly lower the arms down bringing them in front of the chest in prayer position.

Relax the arms and be still for a moment, feeling the benefits of the Sun Salutation. You can repeat this up to 3 times daily.

For a video on how to do the Suryanamaskar, visit the following link:

https://youtu.be/SOkkbW9NLV4

Joint Movements to Loosen Stiff Joints

If you haven't been exercising in a long time, then you are most likely to find your joints stiff. The following sequence of movements, starting from the head to the toes can help relieve that stiffness. This can also serve as a warm-up sequence that can be done before beginning any intense workout.

Note :
a. In any movement that involves squatting /bending knees; make sure that your knees are behind your toes
b. In case you are uncomfortable / feel pain while carrying out any move; then do not do it
c. Neck exercises, especially the neck rotation is to be done slowly. Do not jerk. All movements should be slow & controlled

Relaxation

Today, we are going to talk about ‘Relaxation as a way of life’.

Most of us do not know how to relax. We think we can finish our work or household chores & set aside some time to relax. But even when we think we are relaxing, there are a million things running in our heads making it difficult for us to truly relax.

Do a quick scan of your body at this very moment. You will find that there are several muscles in your body that are unnecessarily tense. Muscles that are not contributing to the action you are performing at the moment. To release this tension you need to focus on this tensed muscle & mentally send it a message ‘to let go & relax’. These muscles will then automatically de-contract & relax. 

When you practice this ‘letting go’ while engaged in your everyday activities, you will have renewed energy & the ability to achieve more.

In yoga, the relaxation pose is called ’Shavasan’ or the corpse pose. While it looks very easy, it is actually very difficult to practice. In this pose, the yogi aims to achieve relaxation at 3 levels; starting from physical, moving to mental & finally spiritual. Shavasan relaxes the body, calms the brain, lowers blood pressure & rebalances the entire system. It is especially beneficial to those suffering from insomnia & other stress related ailments.

Practicing Shavasan for deep relaxation:

Achieving Physical Relaxation:

• Lie down on your back; feet about 2 ft apart; toes relaxed & falling out to the side; hands are relaxed with palms facing upwards; fingers slightly curled; eyes closed
• Breathing is abdominal; inhale, abdomen goes up; exhale, abdomen goes down
• Now start sending mental messages to your body to relax (essentially, telling each part of your body one after the other “to relax”)
• Mentally visualize a wave of relaxation slowly moving up your body starting from the toes. Send a message to each of your toes to relax, and then move on to the feet. Relax them completely
• Feel the relaxation moving up the legs, relaxing the calves, the knees, and the thighs. Feel the relaxation coming up into the hips and the abdominal region
• Mentally send out a message to all your internal organs to relax
• Relax the buttocks
• Feel the tension slowly releasing from every part of your back, relaxing all the back muscles
• As your body relaxes; feel as though you are sinking into the ground
• Feel the relaxation coming into the chest, relaxing the entire torso
• Bring your attention to the fingers, relaxing each one in turn. Then relax the hands. Feel the relaxation moving up the arms, relaxing the wrists & forearms, and then the upper arms
• Allow the shoulders to relax. Feel the wave of relaxation moving up the neck into the head
• Relax the face, chin, cheeks, then the eyes and the eyebrow. Relax the forehead, and the scalp
• Finally, relax the brain

Achieving Mental Relaxation:

Breathe slowly & rhythmically (duration of Inhalation equal to that of exhalation) for a few minutes. This will make the mind calm. You can practice this rhythmic breathing pattern whenever you are experiencing mental tension to calm your mind down.

Achieving Spiritual Relaxation:

Do not feel any identification with the body or mind. The source of all power, peace, & strength is in the Self, not in the body. Tune into this by asserting to yourself that “I am that pure consciousness or self". This identification with the Self completes the relaxation process.

Remain in this state for 5 minutes.     

You can practice this deep relaxation technique whenever you are feeling tired or fatigued to rejuvenate yourself. It is believed that 15 minutes of Shavasan can yield rest equivalent to 2-3 hours of deep sleep.

In addition to the yogic relaxation technique that you just learnt, you can also carry the philosophy of ‘letting –go’ into your daily life to stay calm & composed. A lot of times we have the tendency to control - events, people & situations that are really not in our control. We feel helpless & get stressed. At times like this, if we were to practice ‘letting-go’, we will realize that we can look at the issue facing us objectively & in a far more relaxed manner, giving us renewed energy to deal with whatever that is troubling us.

Om Chanting

'Om' or 'Aum' is the universal sound that vibrates in the universe. Chanting this sound helps bring peace and calm to the body & if repeated regularly, has innumerable positive effects both physical & mental.

To chant Om:

Sit in a meditative posture keeping head, neck & back in line. Take a few deep breaths. On the last round of deep breathing, exhale chanting ‘Aaaauuuu '. When you have almost come to the end of your exhalation, close your mouth and hum the 'mmm' of Om until the sound fades away with your breath. About 80% of exhaling time should be for 'Aaaauuuu' and 20% should be for 'mmm'.

You can chant this mantra for a few minutes every day and experience its positive effects.

This mantra is usually chanted at the beginning of a yoga class as it helps in keeping the mind focused.

Breathing Exercise 1 : Single Nostril Breathing

Sit in any one of the meditative poses that you are comfortable with, keeping the head, neck & spine in line. Tuck in the index & middle finger of your right hand into the palm & close the right nostril with your right thumb. You are now ready to practice the breathing exercise:

• Inhale through the left nostril for 5 seconds while mentally counting Om 5 times. Exhale through the same nostril for 10 seconds while mentally counting Om 10 times. Exhalation is thus twice the duration of the inhalation (1:2 ratio). Repeat this exercise up to 20 rounds through the left nostril.
• Now close the left nostril with your right ring finger and the little finger, & inhale for 5 seconds through the right nostril while mentally counting Om 5 times. Now, exhale through the same nostril for 10 seconds while mentally counting Om 10 times. Repeat for 20 rounds.

Practice this exercise for 15 days & then slowly increase the proportion to 6 seconds inhalation & 12 seconds exhalation. Practice this for at least 20 days before proceeding to other breathing exercises.

According to Swami Vishnu-devananda, "If the foundation is strong then you can build a strong building. So also if you practice the basic lessons in breathing for a long time, it will be easy to take up advanced exercises".

Meditative Poses

There are various meditative postures. I am outlining about five of them here. Select any posture that you are comfortable with & sit in that posture for a few minutes. You can choose to sit on a cushion or a folded blanket if the mat is not very comfortable. 

Once you have chosen the meditative pose that you are most comfortable with, you can use it for practicing all your breathing exercises & for meditation.

1. Sitting on a chair

The most easy seated meditation posture is sitting upright on a chair. Keep your neck in line with your spine. Make sure your lower back is not overly arched. Place your hands on your knees with palms facing up in chin mudra (In chin mudra, the nail of the index finger is placed into the first joint of the thumb creating a circuit that prevents the Prana from dissipating into the environment. The last three fingers face down towards the earth).

2. Sukhasan (easy pose)

 

This is a simple cross legged position. Make sure your head, neck & back are in one straight line.

3. Siddhasan (adept’s pose) or Arda Padmasan (The Half lotus)

Sit & stretch the legs forward. Bend the left knee & place the sole of the left foot against the right thigh. Now, fold the right knee & place the right foot on left thigh or in the fold of left leg (whichever is more comfortable). Sit with back straight & head erect. Place the hands on the knee in chin mudra.

4. Padmasan (The Lotus Pose)

closer view of leg position 

Sit on a folded blanket or a cushion. This is to enable knees to be closer to the floor. Place the right foot on the left thigh. Similarly place the left foot on the right thigh. Sit erect with hands on knees in chin mudra. Attempt the Padmasan with legs reversed (left foot on right thigh).

5. Vajrasan



Front view

Back view

Kneel down with back straight. Keep the knees together. Now, let the big toes touch each other  & the heels be apart. Sit on the space formed between the parted heels. Place palms on the knees.

Using the Breath to Self-energize

When we breathe in, we take in 'Prana /vital energy' from the air. Prana is not the air itself but the subtle life-giving element present in the air we breathe. This vital energy (Prana) is present in all living things. We absorb Prana through the food we eat, through the water we drink, through sunlight & all forms of nourishment. And it is most accessible to us in the air. The more the Prana within us, the more the vitality we experience.

Did you know that most of us use only a fraction of our potential lung capacity when breathing? Not using the diaphragm (the dome shaped muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen) properly, we end up breathing with only the top or middle of the lung.

You will find that people tend to breathe in 3 possible ways:

     a. Clavicular/ high breathing: This is the most shallow & worst possible type. The shoulders & collarbone are raised while the abdomen is contracted during inhalation. Maximum effort is made but minimum amount of air is obtained.

    b. Intercostal breathing: This is the 2nd incomplete breathing which is done with the rib muscles expanding the rib cage.

    c. Deep Abdominal breathing/ low breathing: This brings air into the lowest & largest part of the lungs and is a much better form of breathing as compared to the above two methods. Here, the breathing is deep & proper use is made of the diaphragm. The best way to learn this is from a new born baby. Watch how the baby breathes with its abdomen expanding as it breathes in & contracting as it breathes out.

      Let’s try & practice this ‘deep abdominal breathing’ as it is very essential for us to master this, before proceeding further:

Sit in a comfortable position & place your right hand on the abdomen & the left on the chest. Now as you inhale, notice your right hand go up while the left stays the same or moves very little.

If you are unable to get a feel of this, try repeating the exercise, this time lying on your back. Feel the right hand placed on the abdomen go up as you inhale & go down (contracting the abdomen) as you exhale.

Try to get a feeling of this motion. You can also try this by placing a pile of books on your abdomen & watch it rise as you inhale & fall as you exhale.

As you practice this deep abdominal breathing, become aware of your breath. Notice how slow & deep, it is. Make sure you learn this kind of breathing well before proceeding further.

Now that you have gotten a hang of what a deep abdominal breathing or Low breathing is, we are ready to learn the ‘Full Yogic Breath’ which combines all the 3 types of breathing & is by far the 'Best type' as it allows the lungs to be filled up completely with air allowing maximum absorption of Prana. 

To experience a ‘full yogic breath’:

Sit up and place one hand on the abdomen & the other above it on the rib cage. Breathe in slowly; expand the abdomen & then the rib cage, and finally the upper portion of the lungs. Then, breathe out in the same manner, letting the abdomen go in as you exhale & then the rib cage. So here, you are inhaling as much as possible & then exhaling all the way down to the extent possible.  

With the yogic full breath, every part of the lung is exercised increasing the lungs vital capacity, the quality of blood is improved due to its proper oxygenation in the lungs, the complexion gets better & so does general health. Practice taking a few complete breaths whenever possible during the day.

Breathing techniques for daily life

2: 1 breathing:

This breathing technique helps to slow down the heart rate, reduce blood pressure & produces a calming effect. To practice this:

Sit comfortably in an upright position; breathe in gently and steadily to the count of four. Pause a second & then breathe out to the count of eight. Next time, breathe in to the count of 5 & out to the count of 10.

You will notice here, that the time taken for exhalation is longer than that for inhalation. This long exhalation allows the heart rate to slow down aiding in relaxation.

Real breath control is controlling the way we exhale & not the way we inhale. Energy is best renewed by the slow expulsion of air from the lungs.

This sort of controlled breathing is what we call 'Pranayama' (Prana, meaning the vital energy & ayama, meaning to control).

By manipulating our breathing we can easily achieve that which we considered impossible.

Try this while climbing stairs or a steep hill:

As you climb the first two steps, keeping the shoulder blades in position, breathe in for 2 seconds. On the next two steps, breathe out for 2 seconds. With a rhythm of two in, two out, you can easily climb up a flight of stairs without gasping for breath.

By quickening the breath rhythmically as we climb, we expel a greater amount of carbon dioxide & take in a greater supply of oxygen.

You can follow the same technique while climbing up the hill.

Getting under a cold shower: 
 

When you step into a cold shower, the tendency is to gasp & tense the muscles. This only increases the torture. Instead, if you try breathing out in a steady breath, you will be amazed at how little the temperature of the water affects you. Exhaling helps the body to accommodate itself to change. 

For now, let’s make breathing a conscious practice thereby increasing our bodily awareness & not just inhale / exhale because we can’t help it. In my subsequent post, I will introduce you to the 'First Breathing Exercise' which we will do for at least 15 - 20 days for building a strong foundation in "Proper Breathing".

Till then continue to practice 'The Full Yogic Breath', as often as possible during the day.