Gymnastics for the eyes in combination with other techniques will not only increase the tone of the muscles of the visual apparatus, but also help improve vision. It is only important not to forget about daily training and perform the exercises correctly. Before you begin gymnastics, you must visit a qualified ophthalmologist. The doctor will conduct 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 choice of the optimal one to a specialist.
Rules for performing gymnastics
Despite the fact that in our time there are several proven and used for medical purposes methods for restoring vision with the help of gymnastics, they should be performed using the same rules. Therefore, before choosing one or another method of recovery for yourself, read the recommendations of ophthalmologists:
- Only gymnastics that is done regularly will bring benefits. The regime must be followed. Choose a gymnastics routine for yourself - twice a day, once in the mornings or evenings, once every few days. Remember that consistency and absence of omissions is the key to the effectiveness of the complex.
- Be patient when doing the exercises. You shouldn't even start doing gymnastics if you're in a hurry to get somewhere. Then the opposite effect will occur. You risk not properly straining or, on the contrary, overstraining the eye muscles and thereby worsening the effect of gymnastics.
- Do not overdo it. Do not think that the more often you repeat gymnastics exercises, the faster you will feel the healing effect. This is far from true, and with your useless efforts you will contribute to unnecessary strain on the visual apparatus.
- Maintain intervals. You should not start each new exercise as soon as you have finished the previous one. Sit for about half a minute with your eyelids closed and only after that start doing a new exercise.
- Rest. There is no benefit in doing gymnastics and at the same time constantly sitting in front of the computer day and night. If you decide to take on the task of restoring your vision, be prepared for the fact that you need 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 yourself for this. Just like in sports, you cannot come from home to the gym and immediately take on a heavy weight on your chest. There will be zero effect, and you risk tearing your muscles, straining your back or getting a hernia. It’s 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 stress on the muscles during gymnastics. Palming is an essential part of any gymnastics to restore vision.
Palming is a fairly popular and simple exercise to relax 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 up your 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 each other with their inner ribs and are located in the same plane.
- Bend your elbows, finding a support point (for example, a table or knees) and close your eyes with your palms so that only the fingers of one hand are on top of the other.
- Spend 5-7 minutes in this position. If necessary, repeat after some time.
The essence of palming is to cause so-called "lightning" in the eyes. However, you should not put pressure on the eyeballs.
This simple exercise can improve vision and is effective for myopia and farsightedness. When palming, the heat from the palms affects the facial nerves, as well as the eye muscles, relaxing them and providing blood flow to them. Such regular training can even change the angle of the eyeball, that is, you can count on a noticeable positive effect even with strabismus. You just need to squeeze your fingers as tightly as possible so that light does not penetrate through them. It is important that when performing palming you need to relax as much as possible, take a comfortable and relaxing position.
At the initial stage of palming, you may experience not entirely pleasant sensations in the eye area, pain and a feeling of pressure "from within". This is a completely normal condition, and after a few exercises the discomfort will go away.
Exercise No. 1. I'm writing to you…
Despite the fact that the previous exercise relieved tension from the visual apparatus, the muscles did not completely relax. We'll do just that now. Unfortunately, many people, trying to restore their eyes and relax them as much as possible, forget that the neck is also involved in every exercise, as it also needs attention. It is from the neck area that blood flows to our eyes and thus nutrition is provided. We will try to do everything to bring this process back to normal, after numerous violations while working in front of the monitor. To perform gymnastics, you will need a chair or a mat, as it can be performed in two positions: sitting and lying down.
To achieve the right result from gymnastics you need:
- Take a comfortable position lying or sitting.
- Close 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 writing the entire 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 certain 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 the eye.
- Now look through your fingers at any 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.
The exercise can be made more difficult by trying to concentrate on objects in the room in motion. 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 over time you will learn to concentrate on individual things without paying attention to your hands.
| Exercise name | lead time | Number of approaches |
|---|---|---|
| Exercise No. 1 | 30 seconds | 3 approaches |
| Exercise No. 2 | No more than 5 seconds | 3 sets of 10 times |
| Warm-up | 30 seconds | 2 to 3 approaches |
Solarization: the life-giving power of light
Solarization is a set of exercises, the main active factor of which is bright light.
Solarization can be carried out using:
- Sveta;
- sun;
- candles;
- electric incandescent lamp.
Solarization in sunlight is considered to be the most effective, but it is not always possible to use a natural light source. Therefore, candles and incandescent lamps can also find useful uses.
Solarization is performed in several steps:
- Take a position relative to the light source so that your face is directly opposite it. The eyes should be closed.
- Without squinting, try to get used to the bright light (your eyes should still be closed). If you feel pain in your eyes, you can cover them with your palms for a short time, and then remove them and try again.
- It is necessary to slowly turn your head, first to the right, then to the left, so that the light can exert its influence evenly.
- Upon completion of 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 vision due to the fact that blood circulation in a certain area is disrupted. It does not reach the necessary muscles and nerves in the required 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 best suited for this.
| No. | Description | lead time | Number of approaches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise 1 | Using massage 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. Thus, it is as if you are 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 moving your pupils along the horizon line. Do this at maximum speed, but so that when performing the exercise there is no pain in the eyes | Within thirty seconds | 2-3 approaches |
| Exercise 3 | Move your eyes up and down, moving your pupils in a vertical line at maximum speed | Within thirty seconds | 2-3 approaches |
| Exercise 4 | Squint your eyes 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 bring your eyes together as much as possible to see him. | Hold your attention on your finger for two to three seconds. | Five approaches |
| Exercise 6 | Blink very quickly | Within twenty seconds | Three approaches |
| Exercise 7 | Look out the window. Designate a specific object in the distance for yourself. Place a circle on the glass next to the object. Shift your vision from a distant object to a sticker and vice versa | Within one minute | Three approaches |
After completing such a complex, the muscles of the visual apparatus will become toned and you will not only receive a therapeutic effect after the first exercises performed, but 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 as a result of bad heredity, while others bring themselves to a sad result on their own. But meanwhile, there are gymnastics that can partially restore vision, and also serve as a preventive measure against further loss of vision.
To perform gymnastics, you need to take a sitting position and relax.
| No. | Description | lead time | Number of approaches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 for 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 for exactly one minute | Two approaches |
| Exercise 3 | While sitting, place your hands on your waist and turn your head first to one side and then to the other so that you can see your elbow | Perform for exactly one minute | Two approaches |
| Exercise 4 | Start rotating your eyes clockwise, then counterclockwise | Perform thirty seconds in one direction and thirty seconds in the other direction. | Three trips |
| Exercise 5 | Stretch your arms out. Look at your fingertips. Raise your hands, but keep watching your fingers. You can't move your head. Once you lose sight of your fingers, drop your hands | Perform for exactly one minute | Two approaches |
Movement based gymnastics
There are several types of basic exercises, from which it is recommended to create individual gymnastics complexes:
- circular movements of the eyes;
- describing geometric shapes with the eyes;
- focusing the gaze;
- guide lines (up-down, left-right);
- blinking/squeezing your eyes shut.
Exercises that can be used to prevent and treat myopia include:
| No. | Exercise | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Focusing | You should look away into the distance and direct it to the farthest point within sight. Slowly move your gaze to the tip of your nose |
| 2 | Circular movements | Describe a circle with your eyes. Repeat 10 times. Next, do the exercise in the opposite direction. |
| 3 | blinking | Blink quickly for a couple of minutes |
| 4 | Squeezing your eyes while sitting | Close your eyes for a few seconds, repeat several times |
| 5 | Eyelid massage | Close your eyes and massage your eyelids in a circular motion with light pressure. |
| 6 | Eye contact | Direct your gaze to the place where the eyebrows grow together, 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. Next, turn your head in a different 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 your finger.
- Reading "between the lines. "Pick up a book, read a few paragraphs of text, then focus on the white space between the lines.
- Head turns. Turn your head to the left, then to the right, while looking forward all the time.
- Observation of moving objects.
After each set of exercises, you need to give your eyes a rest. You can relax the eye muscles with a light massage or compresses.
Preventive gymnastics
To ensure that visual acuity does not decrease, it is necessary to carry out the following exercises from time to time:
- "Drawing letters. "You need to use your eyeballs to describe any number of letters from 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, then open your eyes wide. Try to open your mouth and eyes simultaneously.
- Blinking/squeezing your eyes shut. It is necessary to alternate frequent blinking with 3-5 second squinting.
- Massage the upper eyelids with light circular movements.
- Moving your gaze up and down.
- Moving your gaze diagonally.
- Pressure. You should close your eyelids and not press too hard on them.
- Look through your fingers. Covering your eyes with your palms, spread your fingers a short distance, look through them for a couple of 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 sides. You need to feel a slight tension in the muscles.
- Tilt your head down, relaxing your neck muscles and placing your chin on your sternum. Direct your gaze to the floor. Then slowly tilt your head back, looking up.
Do not underestimate preventive eye exercises. After all, it is the eyes that are constantly exposed to the most harmful factors. Stress, bad habits, lack of vitamins, frequent illnesses and an unfavorable environment often become the causes of sudden and rapid loss of vision.
The table below presents three groups of exercises that provide a set of preventive measures.
| Exercise group | Initial position | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Exercises to strengthen the eye muscles | When sitting, the head is motionless | Looking away to the right, then to the left, without changing the position of the head |
| Exercises to stimulate circulation and blood flow | Sitting | Alternately closing the eyes |
| Exercises for accommodation | 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 seems that your finger is double, you need to smoothly move it back to its original distance |
For those people who spend a lot of time at the computer, working with papers and small print, preventative gymnastics is simply necessary.
Morning exercises for the eyes
Exercising in the morning allows the body to quickly wake up, tones the muscles and gives a good mood for the whole day. What about morning exercises for the eyes? The sensations from it are no less pleasant.
Morning exercises can be done in several steps:
- Remaining in a horizontal position, stretch, relaxing the neck muscles.
- Several times, synchronously, open your mouth and eyes wide.
- Perform several squints, lasting 3-5 seconds.
- Then blink frequently, but not very quickly.
- Close your eyelids and use your nose to describe any figure in the air. You can "write" words, letters or "draw" in this way. The duration of this exercise is on average 2-3 minutes. The images that arise during such an exercise make the brain "wake up" faster and get back to work.
- Raise and lower your eyebrows several times. Sometimes frowning, sometimes surprised.
- Lying on your back, do palming.
- Turn your head from side to side for 2-3 minutes. This relieves tension from the upper spine, which is especially important if you had to sleep in an uncomfortable position.
In total, eye exercises in the morning will not take much time, but will produce a noticeable positive effect: after 1-2 weeks, visual acuity will noticeably improve, the number of headaches will decrease, and there will be no signs of fatigue on the face.
Evening exercises for the eyes
In the evening, gymnastics is necessary primarily in order to relax the muscles of the visual apparatus from daytime tension. Therefore, here palming 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 your eyes, rotate your pupils clockwise and counterclockwise.
- Alternately open your left and right eyes.
- Look at an object located 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. Every evening, look at the letters, studying the outlines. Remember how much you saw initially, how much a week later, and so on.
- Finally, use your fingertips to pull the eyelids, moving the skin away from the eye. Do this at the bottom, top and sides for one minute.
Get into the habit of sleeping with a special medical eye patch. It allows you to get a healthy sleep, and your eyes will not react painfully to the morning sunlight sneaking into your room.
Tibetan gymnastics
There are many techniques that include various sets of eye exercises aimed at correcting vision, preventing cataracts and treating many diseases associated with the eyes. Tibetan gymnastics is one of the most common and effective. It includes the following exercises:
- Peripheral vision training. With your arms extended in front of you, place your two index fingers in front of your eyes at a distance of 35-40 cm, joining them together. Without changing your gaze, slowly spread your arms with your fingers outstretched to the sides. 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 your 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.
- Blinking frequently for about a minute.
- Light eyelid massage. Close your eyelids and, with light massaging movements, move from the inner corner of the eye to the outer along the upper eyelid, then along the lower.
Each exercise in Tibetan gymnastics should be performed for at least one minute or at least 10-15 repetitions.
Yoga for your eyes
Many people have found yoga to be a treasure trove of health benefits. There are more and more fans of this, more of a lifestyle than a sport, from year to year, and this is justified. But not many people know that yoga exists not only for the body, but also for the eyes. Such exercises will help keep your vision 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 well. Relax and think about something pleasant. Start a set of exercises with a light warm-up, trying to direct your gaze from side to side, while trying not to move your neck and head.
Now that you have moved a little, you can begin the exercises themselves.
- Exercise No. 1
Achieve even and smooth breathing. Try to direct your gaze to the space between the eyebrows, thereby practically connecting the pupils in the area of the bridge of the nose. Of course, you won’t succeed the first time, but with systematic repetition of the exercise you will achieve success. You need to hold your 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 your eyes a few seconds to rest.
- Exercise No. 2
Give your pupils a short break after the first exercise, blink, close your eyelids for a while and open them smoothly. As soon as you feel that the tension has subsided, get ready 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 downward, unlike the previous exercise. Repeat ten times, giving your eyes a little 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 further you move your pupils away, 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 in a clockwise direction. Once you reach the place where you started the exercise, start moving counterclockwise. 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 your pupils slowly, while trying to see as much as possible on 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 your breathing evenly, rest for a couple of 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 the therapeutic effect.
Based on the practice of doctors, daily yoga classes in the morning and evening help strengthen muscles, relieve stress and generally improve the health of the retina. This means that you can try to recover lost units without the help of surgeons.
It is not necessary to follow one set of classes, because creating a gymnastics program for yourself is not so difficult. It can include exercises, massages and exercises that relieve fatigue.