Eye Yoga

You've spent a long day hunched over your computer, phone and/or other electronic devices. Your eyes are simply weary. Plain, old, tired. Maybe you are over 40 and now find you need reading glasses, but would rather strain to read without glasses. We put so much strain on our eyes in this modern era.

While not a cure for eye diseases, some research indicates that strengthening the eye muscles can make the eyes less tired at the end of the day. Read on.

Sir Paul Introduces Me to Eye Yoga

I read a recent interview with Sir Paul McCartney where he mentioned that he has never needed reading glasses. Sir Paul is now 80. When visiting India early in this century, a yoga teacher showed him how to do eye yoga which he has been doing ever since. Paul does not claim that eye yoga is the reason for not needing those glasses, but it is something to think about. This story inspired my deeper dive into eye yoga as a practice and share that information here with you (Bee, 2022).

The first we learn about the eyes in yoga is the gaze (drusthi in Sanskrit).

The Gaze (Drusthi)

Eye yoga is not something we think much about during an ordinary yoga practice. Usually, we focus on the drusthi, the gaze, during the practice. You may have heard your yoga teacher say "gaze is at the back wall" when doing a standing or seated twist. This means, you are moving your eyes toward the back wall and the body will follow the gaze as you deepen the pose. You are not shifting your body. Rather the body is follows the direction of the eyes. That is how we integrate the eye muscles into the regular asana practice.

In regular practice, it is the gaze that helps your balance as well as alignment of the pose. Another really good example of using the eyes in a yoga pose is tree pose. In tree, we are shifting our weight from two legs to one leg and finding alignment and balance in the body and mind. With tree, you want your eyes open and focused on one point in front of you. For some that point is straight ahead. For others it can be a few feet ahead but at the floor. The point is, you are looking for balance and alignment, by using your drusthi. The body will follow the gaze.

Eye Yoga Sequence

Drusthi is focused on body alignment of a particular pose. A sequence specifically dedicated to the eyes, helps to strengthen the six muscles in each eye. The eyes have six muscles a piece (Ludwig, Aslam, and Cyz, 2022). So that is a lot to work with.

Current research on the efficacy of eye yoga is spotty at best. Yet, there is some evidence that it may help with eye strain and improve focus (Watson, 2020). My belief is that a yoga sequence specific to the eyes can have some hugely positive implications for anyone who wants to restore and rest their eyes after a long day on electronic devices or helping eyesight as we age to help avoid eye muscle atrophy.

Remember to never undertake any type of physical yogic practice without first getting clearance from your. medical professional.

I was about to make my own video for you of an eye yoga sequence, but then I came across this YouTube video from the eye yoga practitioner and musical genius himself. The video is blurry and from 2010, but he does an excellent job of teaching how to do it.

Full disclosure, Paul McCartney has been my teen idol since I was age 10, so his thoughts do carry some extra weight with me. You can read more about eye yoga with these other resources.

Resources and Readings

Bee, P. (June 28, 2022). The Times of London. How to look as fit as Paul McCartney at 80

Cummins, C. (2022). Four eye exercises to ease eye strain. Yoga International

Ludwig PE, Aslam S, Czyz CN. Anatomy, Head and Neck, Eye Muscles. [Updated 2021 Aug 11]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-.

Watson, C. (2020). Everything you want to know about eye yoga.

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Yoga nidra classes continue 7:30 ET Monday nights online. If you would like to participate in a yoga nidra class, but can't make it on Monday nights, please contact me to let me know what day/time works best for you. I am happy to form a class based on your own schedules. Contact me by using the form at the bottom of every page of my website.

Meditation & Yoga for Organizations

Using yoga and meditation techniques, I am available to support an organization's institutional mission and values tailored to the needs of employees. Meditation and yogic exercise have been shown to promote wellness that boosts employee morale, effectiveness, and productivity (Sheelu, Garg, & Rastogi, 2022). If you know someone who may be interested in setting up a meditation or yoga class for a retreat or as a regular amenity or employee benefit in their organization please forward this link to them.

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