Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 2: Training the eyes
• Method 2 of 2: Relax your eyes
• Tips
• Warnings

Yoga exercises have been around for centuries and can help keep your eye muscles sharp and relax the eyes. These exercises are for people with generally healthy eyes, but who suffer from tired or strained eyes, often as a result of prolonged computer use. Individuals with an eye condition, such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, an eye disease, or any other condition, should consult a doctor before doing these exercises.

To step

Method 1 of 2: Training the eyes

1. Strengthen your eyelids. The muscles around your eyes can be strengthened just like the other muscles of the body. First of all, you partially close your eyes; the eyelids should be closed only halfway. You will notice that your upper eyelids will start to twitch from the effort. Try to stop this vibrating.
   • Hint: Stopping eyelid twitching will become easier if you focus your gaze on more distant objects.
   • After holding this for 10 to 15 seconds, close your eyes very slowly. Take a few deep breaths to increase the oxygen level in the blood. As you inhale through your nose, imagine the fresh, oxygen-rich air flowing through the nose into the eyes. Then exhale through your mouth. Continue to do this breathing exercise for a few minutes.
2. Do focus exercises. By focusing on objects at different distances, you practice focusing the eyes at distances that are far away and close, and refresh your tired eyes. There are two types of focusing exercises you can try:
   • 1) Hold a pen at arm's length away from you. Focus your gaze on the tip of the pen. Bring the pen closer to your nose at a slow and steady pace. Repeat this exercise 5-10 times.
   • 2) Concentrate your field of vision on the tip of your nose. Then shift your gaze to an object further away, either at arm's length or 6 meters away. Then go back to the tip of your nose with your eyes. Repeat this exercise 10 times.
   • Be inventive and challenge yourself. Choose objects at various different distances to focus your eyes on.
3. Do horizontal and vertical eye stretches. These exercises stretch and strengthen the specific eye muscles, which move the eyes from side to side. For example: Searching to the right will use the lateral rectus of your right eye as well as the medial rectus of your left eye. When looking to the left, you are using the lateral rectus of your left eye and the medial rectus of your right eye.
   • Sit in a relaxed but upright position. To start, look at the leftmost position (without moving your head) and hold to stretch your eye muscles. Hold this for 5 counts. Blink your eyes and look straight ahead again. Then look at the rightmost position and hold it for a count of 5. Repeat this 3 times, blinking between each held position.
   • Then repeat this viewing exercise from top to bottom. Don't forget to blink.
4. Do diagonal stretches. As with the previous exercise, the diagonal stretch requires looking at a fixed position for a few seconds. This does put extra muscles to work. For example, if you are looking to the left, you are using the superior oblique of your left eye and the inferior oblique of the right eye.
   • Sit in a relaxed but upright position. Look up and to the right for 5 seconds. Then look forward again. Look up to the left for 5 seconds. Then look forward again. Look down and to the right for 5 seconds. Then look forward again. Look down and to the left for 5 seconds. Repeat this 3 times.
5. Draw an infinity symbol with your eyes. Imagine an infinity sign or horizontal eight. Follow the eight slowly using only your eyes and about ten times without moving your head. Blink between reps.
6. Draw circles with your eyes. A handy way to do this is to pretend you're looking at the number 12 on a clock. Then follow the numbers of the clock with your eyes. Then move counterclockwise through the numbers.

Method 2 of 2: Relax your eyes

1. Massage your eyes. Massage is a well-known treatment for tension and stress relief because it stimulates blood flow to those areas. Gently massage your upper lids for 10 seconds. Then gently massage the lower eyelids.
   • If you wear contact lenses, take them off before doing this exercise.
   • Apply light pressure while massaging and use the first three fingers of your hand. Make gentle circular movements.
   • The gentle pressure on the lacrimal glands, which produce most of your tears, helps stimulate (tear) fluid in the eyes. This, in turn, provides soothing and very important hydration for tired eyes.
   • While massaging the lower eyelids, make sure to massage over the lacrimal bone, located on the inside of the eye (near the nose).
2. Blink more often. Blinking the eyes provides much-needed breaks and moments of relaxation for our eyes. However, it is often something that most people ignore, as it is such an automatic activity that requires little thought. Blinking more often, however, can reduce eye fatigue.
   • Blinks help lubricate and moisturize your eyes. Not only does blinking remove toxins from the eyes along with tears, but it also works to spread a thin layer of tear fluid evenly over your eyes. Thus, blinking can help reduce dry eyes.
   • Try to blink once every four seconds to keep your eyes from drying out.
3. Take breaks. Give your eyes more breaks during periods of intense focus or concentration, especially on a computer screen, to reduce eye strain.
   • Try the 6/20/20 method: every 20 minutes, look away from the screen at an object 6 meters away, and hold it for 20 seconds.
   • If you have a hard time reminding yourself that you need a break, set an alarm as a reminder to rest and recover your eyes.
   • You can also try opening and closing your eyes completely from time to time. Research suggests this action can prevent the symptoms of eye strain, eye strain, and dry eyes.
4. Use your palms to relax your eyes. Relaxation with your palms is very easy. Just cover your eyes with your palms for a few minutes.
   • Sit comfortably in a chair with a straight back. Place your elbows on a table, on top of a pillow or blanket, for extra comfort. Before starting, rub your palms together to produce some heat - this increases the relaxation of this technique. Bowl with each hand and close your eyes. Place one hand over each eye. Breathe normally and rest in this position for 5-10 minutes. You can set an alarm to keep track of the time.
   • If you feel refreshed after the alarm goes off, this is the right amount of time you should spend on the exercises. If you don't feel refreshed, add another five minutes and see what the difference is afterwards.

Tips

• When you first start with these exercises and relaxation techniques, you should practice them every day. Aim for 30 minutes daily for the eye exercises. If you notice that your vision is improving, you can start expanding the exercises.
• Make sure your hands are clean when you touch your eyes. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water to avoid eye contamination. In addition, make sure your nails are trimmed to avoid scratching or stinging your eyes.

Warnings

• If you experience pain, changes in vision, dizziness, or any other symptom, stop the exercises immediately. If these complaints persist, consult your doctor.
• Continue to take normal care of your eyes, be it using medication or wearing your glasses and contact lenses.
• Note that while eye exercises may delay the need for glasses or contact lenses for some people, it can also be accomplished by taking breaks when doing work that puts a lot of strain on your eyes (such as looking at a computer screen a lot). Exercising the eye muscles will not reverse the most common eye problems, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia (age-related lens stiffening), which require corrective lenses. Eye exercises also have absolutely no help with glaucoma and macular degeneration.Ultimately, research suggests that non-medical eye exercises cannot stop you from needing glasses at some point, nor can they change the course of an eye condition or disease.