Drishti Sanchalan for Healthy Eyes

Your eyes are the doorway to your soul. 

Worldwide, the number of people of all ages visually impaired is estimated to be about 285 million, the majority of them attributed to uncorrected refractive errors (43 percent) and cataracts (33 percent). A report published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology predicted that about 49.8 percent of the world’s population would have myopia by the year 2050.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness".

You want to keep them bright and clear. Proper care and maintaining the hygiene of the eyes becomes imperative for every seeker of a healthy lifespan. Yoga proposes a number of techniques which describe ways of keeping the eyes healthy for as long as one lives. Practice the below-described techniques or eye exercises, whatever moniker we may give them, consistently for a few months for availing the ensuing advantages from the same.

You can also perform Tratak meditation to improve your eyesight. Tratak meditation is a yogic technique that can be done to eliminate the need for spectacles. Sit still in Sukhasna or any comfortable pose. Focus on the flame of a lamp, Sun, Moon or even any object or image.

Vital Eye Exercises:

• Blink your eyes often – Lesser than adequate blinking causes an irritated or dry eye.
• Rotate your eyes – left, right, up and down; clock wise and then anti-clock wise.
• Splash cold water regularly onto your eyes.
• Rub your hand till the palms are warm and cover your eyes with them.
• Try to catch the sunrise – seeing the rising sun is therapeutic to the eyes.
• Practice ‘Jala Neti’ – an ancient Indian yoga technique, meaning ‘Water Cleansing’. Jala Neti is usually performed first thing in the morning or sometimes at the end of the day, if you work or live in a dusty/polluted environment.
• Follow the ‘20-20-20 rule’ for resting your eyes – that is, looking away twenty feet, for twenty seconds, every twenty minutes. Set an alarm to help you remember.

Massage your eyes as it relieves tension or stress by stimulating blood flow to the targeted areas. Begin by massaging your upper eye lids for ten seconds and then massage your lower eyelids. While massaging the lower lids, ensure to massage across the lacrimal bone, located near the inner eye.
And finally, express your gratitude by thanking God for the beautiful gift of sight he blessed us with!

TRY THESE 9 DRISHTIS

Wondering where to gaze when you’re practicing Drishti? The Ashtanga Yoga system identifies nine directions or focal points.

1. Nasagram drishti—tip of the nose

2. Ajna chakra or bhrumadhya drishti—between the eyebrows

3. Nabhi chakra drishti—navel

4. Hastagram drishti—hand

5. Padayoragram drishti—toes

6. Parshva drishti—far to the right

7. Parshva drishti—far to the left

8. Angushthamadhyam drishti—thumbs

9. Urdhva or Antara drishti—up to the sky

Wherever the hand goes, the eyes follow
Wherever the eyes go, the mind follows
When the mind is engaged, expression results
Where there is expression, there is beauty.