Not a super flexy slender Yoga chick talks "the Power of Your Eyes”

Can you imagine not being able to see? Missing all the colors, the beauty of nature, the warm smiles on the people and the unexpected beauty hiding in everyday moments? I truly would not enjoy that. Life would go on and we would adapt, of course, but it would take a huge shift to navigate it all without the sense we rely on the most.

Many of us are surprisingly disciplined when it comes to caring for the body, whether it’’s fitness or beauty related. We buy organic kale with the determination of someone preparing for a nutritional apocalypse. Apply coconut oil masks on face and hair with that extra hint of mint essential oil. We sign up for gym memberships (and actually visit the gym), show up for Yoga classes, sip green juices, and occasionally even meditate. Yet, we do little to nothing for the eyes unless they act up in some way. 

Lately, I hear more and more people talk about eye problems, and it makes perfect sense. We spend entire days staring at screens. Computer, phone, tablet, TV, take your pick. All of them trap the eyes in short-distance mode. After a while the eyes get tired, dry, irritable, and eventually start staging a rebellion with headaches or blurry vision. That is basically your body tapping you on the shoulder saying, “Dear human, I am not a robot. Please stop.”

Here is the hopeful part. Your eyes are not frozen glass lenses. They are living, adaptable, trainable parts of your body. In Yoga philosophy, the eyes are considered gateways to energy and awareness. You have heard the phrase “the eyes are the window to the soul”? That is not just poetic fluff. Your eyes reveal your presence, your fatigue, your inner state. Taking care of them is not only about avoiding glasses. It is about protecting the way you literally and energetically perceive your life.

So how can you care for your eyes? A warm palm over closed eyes in the morning feels like a spa appointment with your own nervous system. Letting your gaze soften toward the horizon is physiotherapy for the eyes after hours of screen time, almost like letting the eyes stretch out. Gentle rotations and directional holds wake up the eye muscles you did not know existed. And if you want a little challenge, try moving your head one way while your eyes look the other. Your brain will act surprised at first, then delighted, as if you just unlocked Eye Coordination Level 2.

So ask yourself whether this is really too much effort. Or have we simply forgotten how valuable our eyes are? Once you consider the alternatives, glasses and contacts and surgery, giving your eyes five minutes of attention suddenly feels like the obvious route.

Maybe it is time to treat your eyes like the sacred instruments they are by giving them breaks, movements and gratitude.

P.S. I am not a doctor, but if you spend hours a day staring at a screen, blue light glasses are not the worst idea. My eyes instantly feel less like sandpaper when I use them.

P.P.S. How wide is your vision when you turn the head left and the eyes go right?