Keeping an eye on eye health, experts explain how

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 20

Yogic eye exercises, also called eye yoga, are movements that strengthen and condition the muscles in your eyes. It has become all the more important amid the pandemic when people, including kids and elders, are studying/working from home and spending maximum time before screen. Extending working hours, online classes and binge watching is adding strain to the eyes due to prolonged exposure to harmful rays. On World Yoga Day (June 21), everyone should keep an eye on their eye health and practice eye yoga for keeping the eyes healthy.

Swastika Sobti, a yoga enthusiast from the city, said, “Eye yoga benefits with better vision, increased concentration and spiritual insight. Yoga postures for the eyes will help protect your vision from the stresses of light, tension, and other environmental conditions, keeping them refreshed and bright. Since we are passing through pandemic with increased screen time, practicing eye yoga will help in keeping the eyes healthy and also increased vision”.

FICCI FLO held a workshop on Eye Yoga which was conducted by Siddhi Shah, an eye yoga Specialist and Nuritionist. Siddhi has worked with people of all ages and helped them repair and restore their vision.

“Due to the pandemic everything is virtual now a days and screen time has increased manifolds which is really tiring for the eyes of kids, elders and everyone. Eye yoga workshop is the need of the hour and the members were delighted to learn simple exercises and techniques for the eyes,” said Shah.

“Both kids and parents are spending lot of time before the screen due to work from home set up. Increased strain time has led to prolonged exposure to harmful rays and as a result significant increase in eye related problems has come forward during the last one and a half year. People should give break and let their eyes relax,” said the city-based ophthalmologist.

Simple exercises

• Sit quietly with your eyes closed, take a few deep breaths to relax.
• Rub your palms till they feel warm and then place them on your eyes and hold the position till your palms feel warm.
• After every 20 minutes of using a gadget take a 29 minute break and then look at an object 20 feet away.
• Focus your eyes on thumb and move arm slowly to right.
• Open your eyes wide and then quickly blink about 10 times. Now, close your eyes for about 20 seconds and repeat this exercise four more times.
• Look at the extreme corners of the vision, left-right-up and down for 5-10 counts.

6 tips for better vision

• Palming
• Focus shifting
• Eye Rolling
• Distance Gazing
• Rotational viewing
• Side-ways viewing