Eye Yoga Exercises: See things with New Eyes!

If you spend your days staring at a screen, be it on a computer or a game system eye yoga exercises are what very geek, gamer, and programmer needs to know about. Just five minutes a day of eye yoga exercises will help you leaving refreshed and ready to view the world with new eyes. The exercises help relax the eyes, reduce eye strain, and may even help improve vision by strengthening the eye muscles. 

If you’re new to yoga or it isn’t exactly your cup of tea, not to fret. There’s no chanting involved, you don’t need a mat, and there aren’t any difficult Sanskrit names to remember. You can do these at your desk or even in front of the TV while your video game is paused. (how’s THAT for easy?) Many eye yoga exercises can be done sitting up or lying down, whichever you prefer.

1. Close your eyes as much as you can, without putting pressure on them. (If you’re doing it correctly it should feel like you’re scrunching your face together.) Hold the pose for a few seconds and quickly open your eyes. Blink and repeat five times. The close and release helps relax the eyes.
2. Ideally, you want to be lying on your back when doing this next one, however sitting comfortably at your desk is also fine. Close your eyes and breathe deeply for about a minute. Open your eyes and focus on one object. Close your eyes again, breathing deeply, but visualize the object in your head. This exercise helps relax the eyes and improve concentration.
3. To strengthen eye muscles, close your eyes and roll your eyeballs around for one minute. (sounds funny, but it DOES work!)
4. Another exercise in the eye yoga exercises series is to keep your eyes open, sit comfortably and look up as far as you can using only your eyes. Don’t move your head. Hold this pose for a few seconds, and then move your eyes downward as if you are looking at the tip of your nose, holding for a few seconds. Blink a few times, and then repeat the series five times.
5. The final exercise in this eye yoga exercises series is to rub your palms together until warm. With the fingers of your right hand positioned over your left, gently cup your palms around the eyes. If you can, sit on the floor with your knees raised to your chest. While your palms are over your eyes, rest your elbows on your knees and breathe deeply. This not only gives your eyes some relaxation, it’s like a gentle massage for your face!

Try these eye yoga exercises whenever your eyes feel tired or stressed. They will help you refocus and soon you’ll be ready for an all night gaming session!