One of our main problems in these modern times is the overuse of our senses. What do I mean by this? Well, we spend a lot of hours in front of our computer, smartphone, tablet and TV screens. On the other hand, we are stimulated by different impulses throughout the day, be it through our hearing, vision, our taste buds or our skin. Too many impulses lead to imbalance through the excess of one of the three doshas. Specifically, vision problems are related to Pitta dosha being affected, which is our topic for today.
Many of us wear glasses to compensate our eyesight from a distance, while other use glasses for reading. It’s a fact that our lifestyle has changed over the past decades, as we spend more time indoors than we do outdoors, due to several reasons like office jobs, or maybe because of weather conditions, habits, diet, and activities. These factors play a huge role when it comes to looking at objects, hence, we tend to look at objects close to us. I have already mentioned the use of electronic devices; besides this, we are used to focussing on what’s near. Before crossing the street we look at the traffic light on the other side of the road, but we hardly ever look at what is happening on the corner of the next block, nor do we follow a bird flying into the heights. Our grandparents and great-grandparents used to look at objects on a larger distance, especially if they lived in the countryside. They would also have a more sensitive hearing, as they did not receive so many impulses from different sources as we do today.
All these modern habits, so to say, lead to the deterioration of our vision and our eyes in general, together with their respective tissues, manifesting symptoms of a Pitta imbalance. We go to the gym and look for parks and beaches to run and train our bodies, however, we forget to train our senses.
As you know, there is a variety of eye problems like near-sightedness, far-sightedness, cataracts, dry-eye syndrome, conjunctivitis, and many other ailments that manifest differently according to each person’s state of health and due to specific causes and tendencies.
It is important to train the eyes to keep them healthy and prevent eye diseases where possible. If you are following any treatments or if you are suffering eye problems currently, it is critical to take extra care of your eyes to strengthen them and support the healing process, as this will reduce the chance on possible relapses in the future.
Today I would like to propose a series of short and simple exercises to take care of your eyes and your vision. You can do these exercises at any time of the day and it takes no longer than 5 minutes to complete them:
Take off your glasses or contact lenses if you wear any, to ensure your eyes are relaxed.
- Keep your head straight without moving:
- Look up towards your eyebrows and down towards the chest, as far as you can. Repeat 10 times.
- Look to your extreme right and then to your extreme left, as far as you can. Repeat 10 times.
- Circle the eyes as if you were rolling them, at a slow pace. Repeat 10 times towards the right, and then 10 times towards the left.
- Sit in a comfortable area, either outside or in front of a window if at home or at the office and look at an object 1 meter away from you. Now, look for an object 5 meters away, followed by another object at 10 meters, increased to 20 meters, and looking for a different object each at a distance of another 20 meters, until you find an object at 100 meters, if possible and according to your capacity and vision. From there, you start to do the opposite, looking at objects that are increasingly closer to you.
- While outside, direct your gaze towards the sun (even if it is a bit cloudy), without wearing sunglasses. You can maintain this position 20, 30 or 40 seconds to 1 minute, according to your capacity. Repeat this exercise daily.
- Spend at least 20 minutes a day outdoors, be it for a short walk or going from place to another by foot or by bicycle.
Would you like to learn how to maintain your balance with Ayurveda? Click here to check out the pricing list and packages!
