Straining your eyes at a computer screen all day can result in more than just tension in your eyes and head. When you strain your eyes – you also strain your mind and your whole body. As your eyes struggle to work harder to focus, that tension travels to the brain via the optic nerve, increasing nerve impulses and overall bodily tension. Over time, you may feel anxious or seriously fatigued after a long day of just sitting at your desk!

 Like any muscle in the body, the eyes need a balance of exercise and relaxation to maintain their function. By following these suggested yoga-inspired visual exercises, you can help yourself fight vision loss and reduce the stress and fatigue caused by eyestrain. When practiced on a regular basis, you may even improve your eyesight.

Do these Exercises 1 – 5 times each*:

1. Up & Down: Move the eyes as far up and down as you can, while remaining centered.
   
   
2. Side-to-Side: Move the eyes as far left to right and back again, without straining too hard. Try using pencils on either side as markers and make sure you look at these two points.
   
   
3. The Corners: Choose a point in the top right and top left corners of your eyes and move your eyes from one corner to the other. Do the same in reverse.
   
   
4. Circular Motions: After you’ve mastered the above exercises, try this one. Roll the eyes slowly clockwise from the floor to the ceiling and continue to make a complete circle. Make the biggest circle possible without straining your eyes. Repeat in the county-clockwise direction.
   
   
5. Near & Far: Choose a point close to you and one from a distance and alternate focusing on either back and forth. A good method is to use your finger by placing it at the tip of your nose and then moving it away without raising it. Choose a clear point in the distance and alternate between focusing on your finger and your chosen point in the distance.
   
   
6. Close the Eyes: Close your eyes as tightly as you can, so they contract. Hold this position for 3 seconds. This exercise provides deep relaxation to the eye muscles and reduces eyestrain.
   
   
7. Palming: Rub your palms together so they create some static electricity. Sit on the floor with your head straight, knees bent and feet on the ground. Take your palms and place them over your eyes with fingers overlapping on your forehead. Keep your elbows on your knees for support. It’s recommended to end your exercises with this particular move, since it’s the most relaxing.

*Remember that you should only be moving your eyes, not your head or other parts of the body. Blink several times and close your eyes after each exercise.

Your eye muscles grow weaker and lose elasticity as you age, making it harder to focus on objects from certain distances. Vision loss occurs as a result of losing muscle tone in the eyes.

Outside of yogic exercises for your eyes, we recommend using Anti-Glare Filters for your computer screen to diffuse the light on your screen. This effectually makes it easier to see in challenging or changing indoor lighting conditions, as well as reduce reflections cause by bright indoor lights. Or, you can control the light distribution in your office with an ergonomic Wave Light that provides optimal light for focusing your eyes for long periods of time. This light eliminates multiple shadows and has patented refractive lens technology to deliver quality illumination.