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Don't be blind to eyecare
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Long hours in front of the computer? Do you feel your eyesight is getting poor? Try yoga for the eyes
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EYES RIGHT! We depend on them for everything we do Photo: AFP
Smoking is injurious to health... ya, we know. Alcohol and drugs are bad for the body... ya, ya we know. Stealing is a vice... ya, ya, ya, yawn, we know that, man! Abusing your eyes is a bigger sin than all of these... Uh, what did you say?
Most people are blind to the fact that not everyone has the gift of sight, and that those who have it must safeguard it. So, when my still-not-so-abused eyes spotted a tiny news snippet announcing a "Yoga for Eyes" course, I sharpened my pencil, picked up my notepad and called up Sankalpa Yoga Research Centre for some tips on healthy eyes.
"Please do attend the course first, Madam," coaxed the soft voice of Lokesh Hutchappa. It was only much later that I found out that this unassuming young man was actually a much travelled yoga instructor, very much in demand. A national co-ordinator of the Stress Management Programme and Distance Education of Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation, Lokesh has a Masters degree in Yoga from the Hindu University of America, Orlando, which has an extension centre at Vivekananda Yoga Research Centre in Bangalore. He has conducted yoga workshops in several countries.
The road to Sankalpa is not smooth. I keep my eyes peeled for puddles, pitfalls and high-tension passers-by. The venue, however, is cool, clean, and calm. "The practice of yoga can reduce tension, improve memory and concentration and improve eyesight too," says Lokesh. "When we are dependent on our eyes so much, the least we can do is to take care of them," he adds.
Our first exercise is to sit on our mats, peacefully, without fidgeting. That's difficult enough. Next is to close our eyes and empty our minds of all unwanted thoughts. Immediately, the mind moves into top gear trying to sift the `wanted' from the `unwanted'. But our instructor's calm voice successfully gets us in a state of calm. And then start the eye exercises.
My course mates include a six-year-old and her eight-year old sibling. The little girls want to be dancers and are therefore keen that they never require glasses. There is a retired gentleman who finally has the time to take care of his already weakened eyes. And there is Vikas Jain, an engineering student who travels 20 kilometres by bus to attend this course.
"I studied day and night to get good grades in the PUC exams as well as a good rank in CET so that I could get an engineering seat. I've got the seat, but my eyes have become so weak that our family physician suggested that only yoga could be of any help to me," explains Vikas.
Lokesh and his associates at Sankalpa Centre have been researching the effect of yoga on eyesight and concentration. Though the results are still to be tabulated, Lokesh feels strongly that it is in our best interests to spend time on our own well-being. With the pressures on young people mounting, more and more students study for longer hours, without much thought to good posture or lighting, more students are glued to computers and the time to start taking care of their eyes is NOW.
Here are some simple exercises to start with. Yoga is best learnt under a sincere, trained instructor.
Sit comfortably on a mat, in a clean, calm room.
Move your eyes upwards as far as you can, and then downwards as far as you can. Repeat four more times. Blink quickly a few times to relax the eye muscles. Close your eyes, and breathe smoothly.
Do the same using points to your right and to your left, at eye level.
Repeat with points as far away on left top horizon and bottom right corner. Repeat with points on right upper corner and left bottom corner. Make sure you never strain your eyes.
In a darkened room, look steadily at a lighted candle kept some distance away. Blink your eyes several times.
Other methods like `palming' and Suryanamaskara must be done with the help of an instructor.
Sankalpa Yoga and Natural Health Centre is at 322, 7th cross, Bhuvaneshwarinagar, BSK III stage, Bangalore. For more details, call Lokesh on 9845338877. If he doesn't answer immediately, he is probably meditating, and we suggest you do too instead of getting worked up for not being able to connect.
MALA KUMAR
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