Gymnastics for the eyes in combination with other techniques will not only increase the tone of the muscles of the visual apparatus, but will also help improve vision. It is only important not to forget about daily training and perform exercises correctly. Before starting gymnastics, you must visit a qualified ophthalmologist. The doctor will make a diagnosis and evaluate the quality of vision. Today, several effective methods of non-surgical vision improvement have been developed, so it is better to entrust the selection of the optimal one to a specialist.
Rules for performing gymnastics
Despite the fact that in our time there are several methods proven and used for medical purposes to restore vision with the help of gymnastics, they should be performed according to the same rules. Therefore, before choosing one or another method of recovery for yourself, read the recommendations of an ophthalmologist:
- Only regular gymnastics will bring benefits. The regime must be respected. Choose a gymnastics routine for yourself - twice a day, once in the morning or evening, once every few days. Remember that consistency and absence of omissions is the key to the effectiveness of the complex.
- Be patient when performing the exercises. You shouldn't even start doing gymnastics if you're in a rush to get somewhere. Then the opposite effect will occur. You risk not exerting yourself properly or, on the contrary, overstraining the eye muscles and thereby worsening the effect of gymnastics.
- Don't overdo it. Do not think that the more often you repeat gymnastic exercises, the faster you will feel the healing effect. This is far from the truth, and with your useless effort you will contribute to unnecessary strain on the visual apparatus.
- Maintain intervals. You should not start each new exercise as soon as you finish the previous one. Sit for about half a minute with closed eyelids and only after that start doing a new exercise.
- Relax. There is no benefit from doing gymnastics and sitting at the computer day and night at the same time. If you decide to take on the task of restoring your vision, be prepared for the fact that you have to approach this process comprehensively - both from the point of view of nutrition and from the point of view of your daily routine.
Palming according to W. G. Bates
Before you start gymnastics, you need to properly prepare for it. Just like in sports, you can't come from home to the gym and immediately put a lot of weight on your chest. There will be no effect, and you risk tearing muscles, straining your back or getting a hernia. It is the same with the visual apparatus. It must be properly prepared before moving on to a block of effective and complex exercises.
Ophthalmologists have developed a small complex that allows you to relax your eyes and properly prepare them for subsequent muscle stress during gymnastics. Palming is an essential part of any gymnastics to restore vision.
Palming is a fairly popular and simple exercise for relaxing the muscles of the visual apparatus. This exercise uses both palms. The principle of palming consists of the following steps:
- It is necessary to warm the palms. The best way to do this is to rub them together until they are slightly red and hot.
- Fold your palms so that they touch the inner ribs and are in the same plane.
- Bend your elbows, find support (for example, a table or your knees) and close your eyes with your palms so that only the fingers of one hand are above the other.
- Spend 5-7 minutes in this position. If necessary, repeat after some time.
The essence of palming is to cause the so-called "lightning" in the eyes. However, pressure should not be applied to the eyeballs.
This simple exercise can improve vision and is effective for myopia and farsightedness. During palming, the warmth of the palms affects the facial nerves, as well as the eye muscles, relaxing them and ensuring their blood flow. Regular training like this can even change the angle of the eyeball, i. e. you can count on a noticeable positive effect even with strabismus. You just need to squeeze your fingers as tightly as possible so that the light does not penetrate through them. It is important that when performing palming you must relax as much as possible, take a comfortable and relaxing position.
In the initial phase of palming, you may experience not very pleasant sensations in the area around the eyes, pain and a feeling of pressure "inside". This is a completely normal condition, and after a few exercises the discomfort will disappear.
Exercise no. 1. I am writing to you…
Despite the fact that the previous exercise released the tension from the visual apparatus, the muscles did not completely relax. That's exactly what we're going to do now. Unfortunately, many people, trying to bring their eyes back and relax them as much as possible, forget that in every exercise the neck is also involved, because it needs attention as well. From the neck area, blood flows to our eyes and thus ensures nutrition. We will try to do everything to return this process to normal, after numerous violations while working in front of the monitor. To perform gymnastics, you will need a chair or a mat, because it can be performed in two positions: sitting and lying down.
To get the right result from gymnastics you need:
- Take a comfortable position lying down or sitting down.
- Close your eyes.
- Relax.
- Imagine that there is a pen attached to the tip of your nose and you urgently need to write a letter.
- Now you can start drawing simple figures or writing whole words, but certainly with your nose, without helping yourself with your hands.
- The neck should also participate in this process.
- First try to write the whole alphabet.
- Increasing the difficulty, try to reproduce your favorite verse or at least a couple of lines from it.
Exercise no. 2. See through your fingers
Another exercise can relieve fatigue from your eyes. Its implementation is also not limited to a specific pose. You need:
- Bend your elbows.
- Open your fingers.
- Bring your palms to your eyes so that the back of each palm is directly under your eye.
- Now look through your fingers at all the objects in the room.
- The most important thing is not to focus on the fingers themselves; the whole point of the exercise is to see something beyond them.
You can make the exercise more difficult if you try to concentrate on moving objects in the room. Look in different directions, turn around without moving your hands away from your face. Do the exercise about thirty times, spending no more than five seconds on each attempt to see something in the distance. This exercise will seem difficult at first, but with time you will learn to concentrate on individual things without paying attention to your hands.
| Name of the exercise | leading time | Number of accesses |
|---|---|---|
| Exercise no. 1 | 30 seconds | 3 approaches |
| Exercise no. 2 | No more than 5 seconds | 3 sets of 10 times |
| Warming up | 30 seconds | 2 to 3 approaches |
Solarization: the life-giving power of light
Solarization is a set of exercises whose main active factor is bright light.
Solarization can be done by:
- Holy;
- the sun;
- candles;
- electric lamp with filament.
Solarization in sunlight is considered the most effective, but it is not always possible to use a natural light source. Therefore, candles and incandescent bulbs can find useful use.
Solarization is performed in several steps:
- Position yourself in relation to the light source so that your face is directly opposite it. The eyes should be closed.
- Without squinting, try to get used to bright light (your eyes should still be closed). If you feel pain in your eyes, you can cover them briefly with your palms, then remove them and try again.
- It is necessary to turn the head slowly, first to the right, then to the left, so that the light can work evenly.
- After finishing solarization, do palming.
Solarization is effective in restoring vision. It improves blood circulation and also promotes rapid regeneration of eye tissue, especially in the postoperative period.
Improving blood circulation with gymnastics
Often a person loses sight due to the fact that the blood circulation in a certain area is disturbed. It does not reach the necessary muscles and nerves in the necessary volume, which is why myopia develops and the retina becomes thinner. The best thing you can do without surgery is to try to improve your circulation yourself. Massage movements are the most suitable for this.
| no. | Description | leading time | Number of accesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise 1 | With massaging movements, move from the lower part of the eyelid of the right eye to the bridge of the nose, then along the superciliary part of the left eye and return to the bridge of the nose. So it's like drawing an infinity sign or glasses | Do the exercise for one minute | The exercise is performed in 2-3 approaches |
| Exercise 2 | Move your eyes left and right, as if you were moving your pupils along the horizon line. Do it at maximum speed, but so that there is no pain in the eyes when performing the exercise | Within thirty seconds | 2-3 approaches |
| Exercise 3 | Move your eyes up and down, moving the pupils in a vertical line at maximum speed | Within thirty seconds | 2-3 approaches |
| Exercise 4 | Squint quickly and immediately relax your eyes | Executed 10 times | 2-3 approaches |
| Exercise 5 | Place your index finger on the bridge of your nose. Try to close your eyes as much as possible to see him. | Keep your attention on the finger for two to three seconds. | Five approaches |
| Exercise 6 | Blink very fast | Within twenty seconds | Three approaches |
| Exercise 7 | Look out the window. Identify a specific object in the distance. Place the circle on the glass next to the object. Switch your vision from a distant object to a sticker and vice versa | Within a minute | Three approaches |
After completing such a complex, the muscles of the visual apparatus will become toned and you will not only get a therapeutic effect after the first performed exercises, but you will also prevent various eye diseases associated with poor blood circulation.
Fighting myopia with gymnastics
It has been scientifically proven that the most common eye disease is myopia, and there are a number of reasons for this. High fatigue, constant contact with technical equipment and lack of rest for the eyes take their toll. Someone loses their sight due to bad heredity, while others bring themselves to a sad result. But in the meantime, there are gymnastics that can partially restore vision, and also serve as a preventive measure against further vision loss.
To perform gymnastics, you need to take a sitting position and relax.
| no. | Description | leading time | Number of accesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise 1 | Close your eyes. Sit up straight. Try to lean back and take a deep breath. Without opening your eyes, lean forward and exhale | Perform exactly one minute | Two approaches |
| Exercise 2 | Lean on the back of the seat. Open your eyes. Lean your body forward and close your eyes sharply, then open your eyes and return to the starting position | Perform exactly one minute | Two approaches |
| Exercise 3 | While sitting, put your hands on your waist and turn your head first to one side, then to the other so that you can see your elbow | Perform exactly one minute | Two approaches |
| Exercise 4 | Start rotating your eyes clockwise and then counterclockwise | Perform thirty seconds in one direction and thirty seconds in the other direction. | Three journeys |
| Exercise 5 | Put your hands out. Look at your fingertips. Raise your hands, but keep watching your fingers. You can't move your head. When you lose sight of your fingers, drop your hands | Perform exactly one minute | Two approaches |
Movement-based gymnastics
There are several types of basic exercises, from which it is recommended to create individual gymnastic complexes:
- circular eye movements;
- describing geometric shapes with the eyes;
- focusing the gaze;
- guides (up-down, left-right);
- blinking/closing eyes.
Exercises that can be used to prevent and treat myopia include:
| no. | Practice | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Focusing | You should turn your gaze into the distance and focus it on the farthest point in sight. Slowly move your gaze to the tip of your nose |
| 2 | Circular movements | Describe the circle with your eyes. Repeat 10 times. Then perform the exercise in the opposite direction. |
| 3 | blinking | Blink rapidly for a few minutes |
| 4 | Squeezing of the eyes while sitting | Close your eyes for a few seconds, repeat several times |
| 5 | Eyelid massage | Close your eyes and massage the eyelids in circular motions with light pressure. |
| 6 | Eye contact | Focus your gaze on the place where the eyebrows meet, hold it for 2-3 seconds, then return to the starting position and repeat |
| 7 | Head rotation with gaze shift | You should slowly turn your head to the side, moving your gaze in the same direction. Then turn your head in the other direction. |
Effective gymnastics for farsightedness:
- Focusing on a distant object. Place your finger at a distance of 30-40 cm from your face. Look into the distance, then focus on the finger.
- Reading "between the lines". Pick up a book, read a few paragraphs of text, then focus on the white space between the lines.
- The head turns. Turn your head to the left, then to the right, all the while looking ahead.
- Observation of moving objects.
After each set of exercises, you need to rest your eyes. You can relax the eye muscles with a light massage or compresses.
Preventive gymnastics
In order for visual acuity not to decrease, it is necessary to perform the following exercises from time to time:
- "Drawing letters. "You must use your eyeballs to trace any number of letters in the alphabet. The exercise can be considered completely completed if you managed to describe all 33 letters.
- Open your mouth - close your eyes. At the same time, open your mouth and then open your eyes wide. Try to open your mouth and eyes at the same time.
- Blinking / squinting. Alternate frequent blinking with squinting for 3-5 seconds.
- Massage the upper eyelids with light circular movements.
- Glance up and down.
- Move the view diagonally.
- Pressure. You should close your eyelids and not press them too hard.
- Look through your fingers. Covering your eyes with your palms, spread your fingers for a short while, look through them for a few seconds and squeeze them tightly again.
- Narrowing. You need to close your eyes, touch the outer corner with your middle fingers and pull to the side. You should feel a slight tension in your muscles.
- Tilt your head down, relaxing your neck muscles and place your chin on your sternum. Focus your gaze on the floor. Then slowly tilt your head back, looking up.
Do not underestimate preventive eye exercises. After all, the eyes are constantly exposed to the most harmful factors. Stress, bad habits, lack of vitamins, frequent diseases and unfavorable environment often become the causes of sudden and rapid vision loss.
The table below shows three groups of exercises that provide a set of preventive measures.
| Exercise group | Starting position | An example |
|---|---|---|
| Exercises to strengthen the eye muscles | When sitting, the head is motionless | Look to the right, then to the left, without changing the position of the head |
| Exercises to stimulate circulation and blood flow | Sit down | Alternate closing of the eyes |
| Accommodation exercises | standing | Fix your hand with an outstretched finger at a distance of 30 cm from your face, focus your gaze on it. Without changing focus, slowly move your finger towards your face. When it feels like your finger is double, you need to smoothly bring it back to its original distance |
For those people who spend a lot of time at the computer, working with papers and small letters, preventive gymnastics is simply necessary.
Morning eye exercises
Exercising in the morning allows the body to wake up quickly, tones the muscles and gives a good mood for the whole day. What about morning eye exercises? The feelings are no less pleasant than that.
Morning exercises can be done in several steps:
- Remaining in a horizontal position, stretch, relaxing the neck muscles.
- Open your mouth and eyes wide several times, synchronously.
- Perform several squints lasting 3-5 seconds.
- Then blink often, but not very quickly.
- Close your eyelids and describe any figure in the air with your nose. In this way you can "write" words, letters or "draw". The duration of this exercise is on average 2-3 minutes. The images created during such an exercise make the brain "wake up" faster and return to work.
- Raise and lower your eyebrows a few times. Sometimes frowning, sometimes surprised.
- Lying on your back, do the palms.
- Turn your head from side to side for 2-3 minutes. This relieves tension in the upper part of the spine, which is especially important if you had to sleep in an uncomfortable position.
Overall, morning exercises for the eyes will not take much time, but will produce a noticeable positive effect: after 1-2 weeks, visual acuity will visibly improve, the number of headaches will decrease and there will be no signs of fatigue. face.
Evening eye exercises
In the evening, gymnastics is necessary primarily to relax the muscles of the visual apparatus from the tension of the day. Therefore, palming here will be combined to a greater extent with exercises aimed at combating myopia and retinal diseases:
- Lie down for a while with your eyes closed.
- Without opening the eyes, rotate the pupils clockwise and counterclockwise.
- Open your left and right eye alternately.
- Look at the object that is two or three meters away from you. Shift your gaze to a more distant object. Then again to the close one.
- If possible, hang a table with letters, like in an ophthalmologist's office. Look at the letters every night, studying the outlines. Remember how much you saw at the beginning, how much a week later, etc.
- Finally, pull the eyelids with your fingertips, pulling the skin away from the eye. Do this on the bottom, top and sides for one minute.
Get into the habit of sleeping with a special medical eye patch. It allows you to sleep soundly, and your eyes will not react painfully to the morning sunlight that sneaks into your room.
Tibetan gymnastics
There are many techniques that include different sets of eye exercises aimed at correcting vision, preventing cataracts, and treating many eye-related diseases. Tibetan gymnastics is one of the most common and effective. Includes the following exercises:
- Training for peripheral vision. With your arms outstretched in front of you, place two index fingers in front of your eyes at a distance of 35-40 cm, joining them. Without changing your gaze, slowly spread your arms out to the side with your fingers extended. The goal is to look straight ahead but see the fingers in your peripheral vision. Then bring your fingers together again in front of you.
- Pressure. Lightly and quickly press your fingers on the closed eyeballs, then open your eyes and try not to blink for about 5-6 seconds.
- Square. Describe the square with your eyes: look down - left - up - right. Then repeat in the opposite direction: look up - right - down - left.
- It flashes frequently for about a minute.
- Light massage of the eyelids. Close the eyelids and with light massage movements, move from the inner corner of the eye to the outer along the upper eyelid, and then along the lower one.
Each Tibetan gymnastics exercise should be performed for at least one minute or at least 10-15 repetitions.
Yoga for your eyes
Many people find yoga to be a treasure trove of health benefits. The number of fans of this, more of a lifestyle than a sport, is increasing year by year and it is justified. But few people know that yoga exists not only for the body, but also for the eyes. Such exercises will help you maintain your eyesight in excellent condition if performed systematically until old age.
All you need to do is take a comfortable position while sitting on the floor and straighten your back. Relax and think about something pleasant. Start a set of exercises with a light warm-up, trying to direct your gaze from one side to the other, while trying not to move your neck and head.
Now that you've moved a bit, you can start the exercises themselves.
- Exercise no. 1
Achieve even and smooth breathing. Try to direct your gaze to the space between the eyebrows, which practically connects the pupils in the area of the bridge of the nose. Of course, you will not succeed the first time, but by systematically repeating the exercise, you will achieve success. You should hold the pupils in place for at least two seconds, gradually increasing the delay time over and over again. This exercise should be done ten times, after each approach giving the eyes a few seconds to rest.
- Exercise no. 2
Give the pupils a short break after the first exercise, blink, close the eyelids for a while and open them slightly. As soon as you feel that the tension has eased, prepare for a new exercise. Your position remains the same. Eyes should be wide open and breathing should be even. Place your finger on the tip of your nose and try to see it with both eyes. Thus, the pupils will meet again at the bridge of the nose, but the gaze will already be directed downwards, unlike the previous exercise. Repeat ten times, giving your eyes some rest in between.
- Exercise no. 3
Now try to look to the right with both eyes, trying to look as far as possible, but without turning your body and head. Then look to the left. Now we repeat the same thing looking up and down. The exercise should not be easy for you, the more you move your pupils, looking in one direction, the faster you will achieve the desired effect from the complex.
- Exercise #4
Still maintaining an even posture and observing smooth breathing, proceed to the next stage. Look down without lowering your head. Then start moving one pupil clockwise. When you reach the place where you started the exercise, start moving in a counter-clockwise direction. Then start making a circle from above. Do the exercise in twenty approaches, ten each for the position of the eyes above and below. Try to make a circle with the pupils slowly, trying to see as much as possible from each side.
- Exercise #5
Now you need to relax the eye muscles again so that they stop being tense and feel a surge of strength. To do this, close your eyes, think about something good and, watching the steady breathing, rest for a few minutes.
This completes the yoga complex. Many ophthalmologists advise their patients to perform such exercises not only to maintain eye health, but also to experience a therapeutic effect.
Based on medical practice, daily morning and evening yoga classes help strengthen muscles, relieve stress, and generally improve retinal health. This means that you can try to recover the lost units without the help of a surgeon.
It is not necessary to follow one set of classes, because creating a gymnastics program for yourself is not that difficult. It can include exercises, massages and exercises that relieve fatigue.