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