BodyKnowledge™ Eye Exercises

BodyKnowledgetm Eye Exercises by Denise Cavassa, CMA ©1994

Many of us are actively caring for our bodies with exercise programs, taking care to work all of our major muscle groups and get our cardiovascular requirements. But there is one very important group of muscles, our eye muscles, that we overlook — no pun intended. Due to the many hours a day we spend affected by artificial light, looking at television, working on computers, reading while commuting, and rushing through our lives, our eyes take quite a beating. Eye strain can lead to impaired vision and a wide variety of discomforts including headaches and migraines, neck tension, and wrinkles! Here are a few exercises to strengthen your eye muscles and relieve tension.

Begin looking straight ahead and imagine that your eyes are moving towards numbers on the face of a clock. Look as far over to the points in space as you can without straining, BREATHE naturally, and take your time.

1. Look three times each from:   < BodyKnowledge™ Eye Exercise Clock ~ 12 to 6 ~ 9 to 3 ~ 1 to 7 ~ 11 to 5 2. Then close your eyes for a few seconds, relax, and open your eyes. Begin at 12 and circle around to 3, 6, 9, and back to 12 three times. Reverse directions, then close your eyes and relax. 3. To release tension in your face around your eyes, close them tightly and gently squeeze, allowing your facial muscles to draw up. Hold for 2 seconds, relax your face and open your eyes, then open your mouth wide while raising your eyebrows. Repeat three times. 4. Then, cup your hands over your eyes and count to 10 with them closed, and open them for another 10 count, looking into the darkness of your palms.  Then gently close your eyes, remove your hands, and slowly open your eyes.

In just a few moments a day you will strengthen your eye muscles, which can prevent the process of vision degeneration and a host of other ills. People who spend large amounts of time at computers should do these exercises at least twice a day.

May you always see beauty — especially when you look in the mirror!

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