There are so many things to look out. All day long our eyes are shifting from one stimulation to the next. Yoga increases our awareness of our body and provides practices that reduce eyestrain. Just visiting a shopping centre is a total invasion into our senses, mostly from the eyes and ears. When driving there are so many signs to look out for. Have you noticed over a stretch of road how often the traffic signs change from 40 to 60 to 70 to 100? These all happen within a short space of time. We live in stress with this constant eyestrain and bombardment.
Useful things to do for tired sore dry eyes.
Cucumber – the coolness and moisture from the cucumber placed on the eyes while you lie down and have a rest!
Castor oil – put some good quality castor oil into a roller and when your eyes feel dry nip it out of your bag and roll it over your eyes
Neti – practice using a neti pot to wash out your sinus
Too much for our eyes to do
Our eyes are said to be the seat of our soul. They take in a lot more than just the visuals. Ayurveda provides so many tips to living in harmony. To temper our dosha we need to be aware of what we ingest through all of our senses. This includes the eyes.
For instance a Vata person is susceptible to nervous energy and will find watching a scary movie can increase their nervous energy. Dry, scratchy and frequently blinking eyes are classic signs of a Vata dosha imbalance. Vata governs movement, dryness, and the nervous system, and when it is aggravated, it depletes the natural moisture and lubrication in the eyes. Why Vata Affects the Eyes
In Ayurveda, dry eye symptoms are often referred to as Sushkakshipaka. When Vata becomes unbalanced, it causes several eye-related issues:
- Dryness and Grittiness: Lack of lubrication causes the feeling of a scratchy, “foreign body” sensation.
- Excessive Blinking: Vata controls nervous impulses and muscle movements, leading to a tendency to twitch or blink repeatedly when the nervous system is overstimulated.
- Fatigue: Straining, prolonged screen time, or poor sleep can quickly aggravate Vata. [
Natural Ways to Restore Balance
To pacify Vata, the goal is to introduce warmth, hydration, and grounding routines:
Lifestyle Adjustments: Get regular, adequate sleep. If you spend a lot of time on digital devices, practice conscious, regular blinking and take breaks to prevent your Vata from spiking.
Dietary Changes: Incorporate healthy fats like ghee into your diet. Add internal lubrication by eating hydrating foods such as melons, cucumbers, and citrus fruits.
External Lubrication: Soothe ocular dryness using Ayurveda for Dry, Burning Eyes practices, which often include warm compresses, gentle herbal eyewashes (like Triphala), or resting the nervous system.
PITA EYES BURN
Likewise a Pita dominated person with a fiery competitive temperament, they just love a violent movie, which in turn increases their Pita. In Ayurveda tradition, burning hot eyes are a classic sign of Pitta dosha imbalance. Because Pitta governs the fire and water elements, an excess brings intense heat, inflammation, and sharpness to the body and mind.cucumber can be a soothing way to cool down the body and the mind.
Common Triggers
- Diet: Consuming too many spicy, sour, fried, or salty foods, as well as excess caffeine and alcohol.
- Lifestyle: Prolonged screen time, lack of sleep, intense stress, or overworking.
- Environment: Overexposure to direct sunlight, heat waves, or pollution.
How to Find Balance
- Cooling Therapies: Apply a cool compress or organic, plain rose water to your eyes.
- Dietary Adjustments: Incorporate naturally cooling foods like cucumbers, melons, cilantro, ghee, and coconut water.
- Screen Breaks: Give your eyes rest and avoid pushing yourself past your limits.
For more personalized advice and remedies, explore Banyan Botanicals’ Pitta Balancing Guide. If your “hot eyes” symptoms are severe, include discharge, or are accompanied by blurred vision, it is always recommended to consult a healthcare professional.
KAPHA watery eyes
The laid back sentimental Kapha benefits from watching a stimulating show as their temperament can be sedentary and like increases like – so get moving. Running, watery, or puffy eyes can be a sign of a Kapha imbalance in Ayurveda. Because Kapha governs lubrication, structure, and the water element in the body, an excess of it often leads to fluid retention, mucus buildup, and excessive tearing.
Signs of Kapha Imbalance
If your wet eyes are caused by a systemic Kapha imbalance, you are likely experiencing other symptoms of excess fluid and stagnation, including:
- Congestion, a runny nose, or excess mucus
- A thick white coating on your tongue
- Feeling sluggish, lethargic, or having a “foggy” mind
- Water retention, which can cause swelling in the face, hands, or legs
Common Triggers
Because Kapha is naturally cool, heavy, and moist, a Kapha imbalance can easily be aggravated by the damp, cool conditions of the spring season or by consuming heavy, sweet, or cold foods.
Sounds too simple to be true doesn’t it?
I know this all sounds too simple to be true, but why not. Here we discuss two Yoga practices to reduce eyestrain.
At the same time you will connect to your senses.
Have you thought one of the best things you can do for yourself is to simply take a conscious breath? How simple is that? Breathing is hard to market and sell on its own. Likewise it is challenging for many people because the exhalation makes us feel vulnerable.
A Yoga practice reduces eyestrain and benefits the pineal gland
Most work today is online which entails gazing at a screen for hours at a time. Likewise the muscles in our eyes are fixed into a narrow square range. My father used to warn us if we watched too much TV we would get square eyes!
Eye strain tenses the shoulders and the neck. The forehead wrinkles into a frown and headaches or migraines start. The bright light from a screen negatively effects the pineal gland, the seat of the soul. This stimulation makes it difficult to slow the mind to experience sound nights sleep.
Try Yoga Nidra to reduce eyestrain and stress
Yoga Nidra is a called a psychic sleep and is a nourishing Yoga practice that will benefit your eyesight, mind and body. At the end of any exercise it is beneficial to keep your body still and relax totally. During the stillness scan through your body noticing any niggling sensations. In this way you will keep connected and notice any health challenges that may arise.
Trataka Yoga practice reduces eyestrain
Yoga in Daily life shares a Yoga practices to reduce eyestrain. There are several exercises to counteract the effects of screen time overuse on eyesight. Below is an easy practice that any one can follow.
Technique to counter the effects of technology on your eyesight
- Sit in a comfortable position in front of a candle. Place the candle about an arm’s length away from you, with the wick of the candle at the same height as your chest. If the candle is placed too high, it can create tension at the eyebrow centre, or produce a burning sensation in the eyes. The flame should be still and not moving in a draft. Close your eyes.
- Open the eyes and look at the flame without blinking. The flame has three zones of colour. At the base of the wick is a reddish colour, in the middle it is bright white and at the tip it is slightly smoky. Concentrate on the upper part of the flame where it is brightest.
- Close the eyes again. If the image of the flame appears within your middle eye region, gently concentrate on that image without creating any tension. Try not to pursue or hold onto the image, otherwise it will fade and disappear.
- Repeat the practice 3 times.
- The practice time should gradually build. In the initial stages, look at the flame only for about 10-15 seconds. Slowly increase this time, so that after about one year you can look at the flame for 1 minute and then concentrate on the inner image with closed eyes for about 4 minutes. Under no circumstances should this recommended length of time be exceeded.
Note:
You may also practice Trataka by looking at a white point on black paper, or at a black point on white paper. By concentrating on a white point, there shows a black image when the eyes are closed and vice versa with a black point.
Benefits of Yoga on eyesight
A regular Yoga practice purifies the eyes, strengthens the eye muscles and improves vision and memory. As well as helping with sleep disturbances and bedwetting. Concentrate is strengthened and is therefore recommended for school children. Also intuition with the ability to visualise and use willpower is increased.
Caution:
This exercise is not suitable for people with psychic problems. Those who have a tendency towards Schizophrenia or hallucinations should not practice Trataka.
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