Yoga For Your Eyes
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Yoga for Your Eyes: How Can You exercise 'Eye Yoga'?
What is Yoga for the eyes? If it is your first time hearing this concept, you may ask yourself this question and many others.
Don’t worry. In this article, we want to clarify the concept and let you in on a few tips that can be very useful whenever you feel your eyes are tired or you notice some heaviness in your eyelids after a stressful day.
Introduction to ´Yoga For Your Eyes´
- What is Eyestrain?
- What are the causes and symptoms?
- How to Prevent eyestrain
- Exercises to alleviate eyestrain, aka Yoga For Your Eyes – With PDF
We will first address the concept of knowing tiredness in our eyes. How do we know if we suffer from eyestrain? To do that, we’ll start by identifying the causes and symptoms of eyestrain.
Subsequently, we will discuss how to prevent eyestrain and include some visual exercises that happy to share with you as a downloadable PDF.
Just to be clear, these tips are not intended as a substitute for your medical visits with your eye specialist. We simply want to encourage everyone to actively participate in their eye care and promote their overall wellness by practicing healthy habits.
Just as we try to eat healthily, exercise regularly, relax, and avoid stress, we should also pay attention to taking care of one of our most precious organs, our eyes.
Have our eyes evolved?
As we all know, human beings have evolved rapidly over the years and completely changed their way of life.
But, although evolutionary speaking, only a few years have passed, human activities have changed drastically, and we have yet to adapt biologically to this new environment of 24/7 digital screens.
We have gone from living outdoors and in open spaces to living in closed and, in most cases, artificial places, and the biology of our body has not been able to adapt so quickly to our current way of life.
An example is our eyes: Our eyes were, and still are, designed for vision in large open spaces, always alert and in constant movement. Our eyes are not adapted to focus on the same point for hours at a short distance, yet most of us use our eyes this way daily!
And this translates into a continuous effort on the part of our eyes.
The eyes are not only light receptors, but they also play a leading role in our relationship with our environment. Our eyes are in charge of emitting and receiving most of the information about anything around us.
So, we should care for our eyes and remind ourselves occasionally not to overburden this essential organ!
For example: Let’s try not to keep the vision focused at a short distance for too long and take short breaks to perform some simple yoga exercises for the eyes.
Tired Eyes - Asthenopia
Why are we talking about the tiredness of our eyes? We have all observed that when we have tired eyes, people might ask us if we are doing ok…
The fact is that our eyes speak for themselves, and it is usually people around us who can best observe our general mood. The eyes are not just a window into our soul in the profound sense of this expression. Our eyes are indeed an excellent indicator of our state of well-being.
Let’s find out if we can prevent eyestrain!
This kind of visual fatigue is clinically known as Asthenopia. So What Is Visual Fatigue?
Asthenopia, as described in Wikipedia, comes from the Greek “ἀσθένεια” [aszeneia] ‘weakness’ and “ὤψ” [op] ‘sight’) and refers to visual strain, which presents itself from symptoms such as fatigue, headache or pain in or around the eyes, blurred vision, etc.
We have all felt our eyes tired at some time. Just as constant physical effort fatigues our muscles, a continuous visual effort also causes eye fatigue. We may feel tired eyes from studying, for example, after spending many hours behind the computer or with a book.
Others may describe tired eyes as ‘feeling their eyes are heavy’- Usually accompanied by dark circles under the eyes.
In any case, we are describing a sensation of our ocular discomfort. And as we will see below, several general symptoms or characteristics relate to eyestrain.
It is important not to confuse eyestrain with presbyopia.
Presbyopia refers to the loss of sharpness in near vision and usually appears after the age of 40 due to the loss of elasticity of the crystalline lens, which hinders the ability of accommodation to see up close.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Tired Eyes?
We usually realize that we are exhausted when it’s too late. Yet people around us will tend to notice it first… How can we check up on ourselves better? Do you know when you are tired and start to develop eyestrain?
How do I know if I have eyestrain? What kind of sensations do I notice when suffering from heavy and tired eyes?
Tired eyes are characterized by: a stinging or itchy feeling in the eyes without rubbing them. You might even notice swelling or redness in them and detect heaviness in the eyelids and general heaviness in the eyes.
Your eyes can feel dry or, on the contrary, watery.
On some occasions, heaviness in the eyes can result in a sensation of being unable to keep the eyes open.
We may also notice the sensation of having gritty eyes.
Or, be overly sensitive to light and feel a headache due to the accommodative effort that our eyes are making, potentially causing blurred or double vision.
For common eye strain, the first remedy is taking a break, and performing, for example, some yoga exercises for the eyes to relax them and alleviate the exhaustion a little.
Let’s summarize the characteristics of tired eyes are:
- Stinging or itching of the eyes
- Swelling or redness
- Heaviness in the eyes or
- heaviness in the eyelids.
- Dark circles under the eyes
- Dry eyes or watery eyes
- Eye pain or stinging
- A sensation of having grit in the eye
- Headache due to accommodative strain
- Blurred or double vision, which disappears when you rest your eyes.
- A sensation of not being able to keep the eyes open
- Increased sensitivity to light
Keep this in mind! Although these symptoms may indicate eye strain, they could also indicate other types of problems and, in some cases, much more severe issues.
For example, a potential reason you feel your eyes are burning could also be related to an allergy, infection, irritation, etc.
The swelling of the eyes may also be due to multiple other causes, apart from visual fatigue, such as excessive accumulation of liquids or suffering from a problem in the tear duct.
Blurred or double vision may be caused by tired eyes or by some disease, eye defect, or refractive problem.
For this reason, if you have any doubt, you should always seek to consult professional advice, Have a check-up, and rule out possible pathologies.
Why do my eyes and head hurt?
Headaches are a common ailment in our society. Although they can also be a symptom of a severe health problem. The same analogy can be made to vision-related undiagnosed symptoms.
For example, suppose we suffer from a refractive problem that has yet to be detected or treated or, on the contrary, has been wrongly corrected. In that case, we can suffer from headaches and eye pain, potentially leading to visual fatigue or Asthenopia.
But What Are The Causes Of Eye Fatigue?
After assessing some of the symptoms we may have when suffering from tired eyes, we will investigate the common causes of our eye fatigue.
And the fact is that, although we may not realize it, many situations can be responsible for this eyestrain. So it’s time to sit down and ask ourselves: Why Do My Eyes Feel Tired?
Why Do My Eyes Feel Tired?
If we read for long periods, hours on end, our eyes may feel heavy. The fact is that when we are reading an exciting book, we may forget to blink enough, which could cause dry eyes.
Suppose we work on the computer and have our eyes fixed on the screen for several hours; we may forget to take breaks to rest our eyes or practice some yoga exercises for the eyes. In that case, we can also suffer from it in our tired eyes.
If we combine this with insufficient natural light coming through the window. Or if we are overexposed to bright light or glare. Or, on the contrary, if we are working with a dim light…Any of these situations will make us strain our eyesight.
Driving for long hours and long distances can cause heavy eyes and sleepiness. Therefore, it is important to stop every two hours to give them a rest.
It’s not just arms and legs that get tense when spending so much time in the same position! We have to consider giving our eyes the rest they deserve after putting them under strain.
Whenever performing activities requiring greater concentration, we tend to strain our eyes, which leads to heaviness in the eyes and, on some occasions, also eye pain, irritation, or redness.
We can also suffer from tired eyes due to stress. The fact of being stressed or tired or not having slept enough the night before can cause Asthenopia.
When a fan is nearby, or we are exposed to dry air from an air conditioner or heater, it can affect our eyes, causing discomfort, such as dryness.
Last but not least, we can suffer from visual fatigue when suffering from some refractive defect (such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, or presbyopia)
Let’s summarize the causes of eyestrain:
- Reading for long periods
- Staring at a screen for long hours without a break
- Exposure to bright light or its glare
- Straining the eyes when viewing in dim light
- Driving long distances
- Doing any activity that requires increased concentration
- Lack of sleep
- Stress and fatigue
- Exposure to dry air from a fan, air conditioner, or heater.
- Having an undetected (or uncorrected) refractive error.
How To Relieve Tired Eyes - What Is Good For Tired Eyes?
Tired Eyes Treatment & Prevention
If we want to avoid tired eyes, we can prevent it by allowing them to rest. Just like anything health-related, it is a good idea to enjoy a balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals, avoid alcohol and tobacco, sleep enough hours a day, and do physical exercise.
If possible, try to read and work in rooms with natural light, take breaks occasionally, and place the computer screen about 50 centimeters away from the eyes.
Integrating eye exercises can be one of our best allies when preventing visual problems later.
Obviously, if any visual irregularity appears, we should always go to our trusted ophthalmologist so that they can diagnose and treat the issue properly.
As we know, in our hasty work-life environment, it can sometimes be challenging to dedicate ourselves to what our body needs at all times.
However, we can, at least, carry out some of these quick and straightforward visual exercises at some point when we feel that our eyes are getting overloaded:
Example of a Visual exercise:
- Look up -from- what we are doing every so often and focus our vision on some object that is far away.
- Observe that object and then blink.
- Focus our eyes on certain details of that object, then blink again and carry on with our work.
- If you are in a room with a view, look at the sky with your eyes on infinity.
- Cover your eyes with the palm of your hands without pressing them.
- Slowly and for several minutes, we move our eyes in all directions.
- Before uncovering them, we leave our eyes at rest for a few moments without moving.
- Finally, we blink our eyes a few times.
Consider your work environment:
The same goes for when we consider eye care for our children when they do their homework at home or in the office while working. When we are prone to have an intense workload for our eyes, it would be appropriate, in turn, to take into account some of these tips:
- The room where you study or work must be well-ventilated and have a pleasant temperature.
- The study or work table should ideally be located next to a window so that you can look out of the window at the sky, thus giving your eyes a break from time to time and changing the focusing distance of your eyes.
- Your room should always be light and preferably have natural light illuminating the study or work area.
- Posture is also important, your back must be straight and both feet resting on the floor to avoid getting too close to the book, computer, or whatever you are working on.
- Rest for a few minutes every half an hour or every hour to not lose concentration and to change the focus distance of the eyes.
Here’s a small joint observation we can do with our family members.
The idea is to count the hours our eyes spend in front of the screen, whether a computer, tablet, television, or cell phone.
This number may shock us!
So, for the sake of our eyes and family, it is a worthwhile data point for us to evaluate and decide as a family whether to spend less time in front of the screen and enjoy more direct contact with each other.
Yoga For Your Eyes To Relieve Tired Eyes
So far, we have discussed why our eyes may be tired, the potential causes of feeling tiredness in our eyes, and their related symptoms. We’ve also covered the need to consult an eye doctor if you notice worrying symptoms to make a correct diagnosis.
However, sometimes we know the immediate cause of our discomfort. We might not have slept well for a few nights, or something happened during the day that affected us more emotionally. Or we worked too many hours on our computer without pause, and we want to actively try to do something to alleviate our discomfort of having tired eyes.
Remember: The eyes mirror the soul and show others how we feel inside.
Whenever we find ourselves in this situation of fatigue or tiredness, we do not usually take a step back and observe ourselves. We are usually stuck in the spinning hamster wheel of our daily routine and are so focused on the next thing on our list that we forget to take a breather.
So why not stop for a moment and analyze how we feel and, thus, have the ability to alleviate some of the symptoms we suffer before they become worse.
Let’s consider taking a break from any activities that produce eye strain and at least perform periodic exercises to help us alleviate eye strain in general and boost the overall health of our eyes.
Download our ‘Yoga for your eyes’ exercises here!
As a reminder: Symptoms are a way for our body to tell us something is wrong. So let us note any discomfort we feel, and let’s not wait for someone else to tell us they notice something’s off.
Why Do Visual Exercises - Yoga For Your Eyes?
Yoga for your eyes can help! In general, a yoga or relaxation session during the day benefits our bodies. Still, it does not mean that daily Yoga or meditation will cure us of all our diseases or disorders, and it doesn’t.
However, practicing self-awareness through Yoga, meditation, or simply by taking a small introspective break to check up on our body’s signals will help us detect issues earlier and help us prevent any further damage. The same goes when we consider our visual health. We can do some visual yoga to help us maintain a healthy eyesight.
Like other physical exercises, it allows us to clear our minds and notice the signals our bodies send.
In other words, while surrounded (and absorbed) by technology and digital screens and seemingly unable to disconnect from this fast and continuous world, we should reconsider how we approach our eyesight health.
A few minutes can change our mood, make us rest, and why not bring a little smile to our faces. So if you are keen to find out more about our ‘Yoga For Your Eyes’ visual relief exercises. Don’t hesitate to download our PDF. Yoga For Your Eyes
Here’s a PDF with some of the exercises we liked the most. So if you’d like a little inspiration when it comes to relaxing exercises for your eyes, the practices in the PDF can serve as a guide when following your little yoga routine for the eyes and thus give them the care they deserve.
