Get to know Trataka: yoga for the eyes

The eyes, known as the windows to the soul, are very important for our health. Seeing the world is something very precious. And when the vision is impaired, we feel how important it is. Nowadays with so many distractions, the eyes are affected by overexertion. Tearing and blurred vision are just a few symptoms.

How do you take care of the health of your eyes? With simple exercises, it is possible to strengthen them, improve eye health and even have more focus and concentration. Through the technique called Trataka, known as yoga for the eyes, you will get it.

Trataka is an activity that you can use in your company as a work exercise before starting the work itself. Another alternative is to practice with your children, creating a playful moment that will also favor the focus on studies.

At this time when many professionals are working from home and children and young people are attending online classes, the technique is extremely useful.

Allied to the proposed movements, a calm and slow breathing that helps to relax the body and mind. In this way, the activity will be an invigorating and relaxing tool at the same time.

In addition to the benefits already mentioned, performing the exercises helps to alleviate and dilute emotional tensions that can affect vision.

Let’s practice!

To prepare the eyes, it is important to start and end the technique by doing an exercise called Palming: rub your hands together to warm them up and place them in front of your eyes.

The palm rests over the eyes and the fingers above the forehead. The heat given off relaxes the eye area. Do it for a few seconds. To be comfortable and not force your arms, support them on a table.

For the proposed sequence of exercises, it is important to sit comfortably and with an erect spine. Mentally create an imaginary line that pulls you up. If you are doing it with children, ask them to imagine themselves as a king, queen or superhero, who has a firm and confident posture:

First blink a few times to lubricate your eyes, because during the activities you won’t be able to blink. You can do it sitting on a chair or on the floor on a mat. Start with a few repetitions and gradually increase. What you do to one side, repeat to the other with the other hand. Place your right arm straight out in front of you, hand in a fist with thumb up as a sign of okay. The eyes fix the vision on the nail of the thumb. Move the thumb of the right hand in a circle. Remember that the head does not move, only the eyes follow the thumb without blinking. Rest the arm. Blink several times. Repeat the operation with the left arm, without blinking, rotating the arm to the other side. Staring at the thumb. Rest your arm. Blink several times. I move my arm up and down horizontally with my right hand. Always look at the thumbnail. Stop. Blink several times and repeat with your left hand. I move my arm from side to side vertically. Staring at the thumb. Stop. Blink several times and repeat with the other hand. Move the arm diagonally up and down with the right hand. Look at your thumb while doing this action. Then do it to the other side with your left hand. Place your hand in front of your face. Bring your thumb a hand’s breadth from the nose. Note the sharpness a little.

Withdraw your thumb in a straight line and return to a hand’s breadth from your nose again. When approaching, try looking up as if you were trying to look between your eyebrows. Do it with one hand and if you want you can repeat it with the other.

For the next exercise you can use a candle or some object that is in the direct line of sight. Place it on a surface.

Stare for a minute or two without blinking. Then blink several times to relax your eyes. Close your eyes and see if your mind has a fixed image of the object you were just visualizing.

If you use a candle, for best effect, leave the environment dark and the object at a comfortable distance. An arm’s length, for example.

The exercises of Tractaka can be done before a meditation. As a small form of preparation for the focus of mind and breath. And also before study time or right after to relax your eyes after so much effort.

Finally, massage the eyebrows to relax your face or repeat the Impalmar.

Remember to repeat a few times, 5 to 6, on both sides every time. Between one exercise and another, close your eyes to relax and move on to the next one.

Blinking several times helps to lubricate the eyes, which is also important to do between exercises.

If you have any kind of problem raising your arms, do the exercises with just your eyes following the sequence suggested above.

To know more, check out the video by the author of this article!