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Eye Exercises to Improve Vision
Computer and device screens seem to torture your eyes causing them to become tired and dry in no time at all. Poor lighting, glare, dry air, and constantly staring at the monitor all contribute to eye strain. 
Chances are good that it’s hard to recognize how exhausted your eyes are until they feel tired and dry or your head aches. Here are a few preliminary steps you can take to avoid such strains:
- If possible, adjust the screen colors so they aren’t too hard on your eyes; try soft colors for a nice change.
- Avoid glare by choosing a place for your computer that doesn’t reflect windows or lights. Remember to wipe your screen off regularly.
- Remember to look away from your screen every fifteen minutes or so. It’s too hard on your eyes to do such close work without a break. Do it now!
Eye Movements
After a while, eye muscles tire out and it becomes harder to focus. To prevent this from happening, you can practice these eye movements. They will strengthen your eye muscles and eyesight and stimulate the brain. Visual, auditory, and sensory perception can increase. Do them sitting up, standing, or lying down.
Here’s How
- Start doing the eye movements slowly and pick up the pace after you can do it smoothly without jerks.
- Switch off by first paying more attention to the eye movements than to the visual effects. Next, take a moment to focus on both ends of they eye stretch.
- Remember to keep your head still as you do the eye movements. Let your facial muscles relax as well.
First Variation: Up and Down
- With your head and neck evenly aligned and movement-free, look up as far as you can and try to see up and over your head. Then look down as if you would like to see under your chin. Keep doing this for about 15-20 times in a row.
- Follow this by bringing your eyes back to center and blink them a couple of times.
- Afterward, rest with your eyes closed and take several deep breaths.
- Smile
Second Variation: Side to Side
- This time look quickly to the right and try to see behind your ear, then rapidly look to the left and try to see behind your left ear. Keep looking back and forth for 15-20 times.
- When finished, bring your eyes back to center.
- Blink a few times and rest them with your eyes closed.
- Smile
Third Variation: Eye Circles
- Keep your head still and look up. Circle your eyes in a clockwise direction three times.
- When finished, bring your eyes back to center and rest with closed eyes for a few breaths.
- Circle your eyes in a counterclockwise direction three times.
- Blink a few times and rest them with your eyes closed.
- Smile
Palming will rest and relax your eyes, calm your nerves, and quiet your mind. Your respiration will increase as long as you remember to breathe deeply and fully.
- Rub your hands rapidly together with your palms and fingers touching. Keep rubbing until you feel the generation of some heat and energy.
- Next, rest your elbows on your desk.
- Cup your hands and gently place them over your closed eyes (no glasses). Let the warmth and darkness soothe your eyes.
- Take several long and easy breaths as you imagine the tiredness being released with your out-breath, and energy and vitality returning with your in-breath.
- Smile
Chidakasha: Quieting the Mind by Stilling the Eyes Using the sense of sight is a very effective centering technique. Doing so can have a beneficial effect on the brain as well. Have you ever noticed that you can still see even with your eyes closed? All that is needed is to try. You might see it as darkness, designs, colors, spots, or a combination. It does not matter. What matters is passively focusing your attention on what is being seen and watching it as it changes. Have fun watching whatever appears as it comes and goes on the inside screen of your closed eyelids. This brings you into the moment and quickly settles down mental restlessness. Yogis refer to watching this inner space of consciousness as Chidakasha. ( Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation & Stress Relief, page 115)
Note: If somebody catches you doing this, be prepared to say something clever like, “Can’t a person even pray around here?” Your other option is to tell them what you’re doing and have them join in.
- Notice the benefits and smile.
This one of the many exercises you can do while at your keyboard, in your car, or whenever you want to feel better.
Julie Lusk, MEd, E-RYT 500, has more than 35 years of expertise in stress relief, yoga, relaxation training, guided imagery, and meditation as an international author, recording artist, and workshop leader. Julie is the author of Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, Yoga Meditations, two volumes of 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing, and Desktop Yoga®. Her audio downloads and CDs include Wholesome Relaxation, Power of Presence, Yoga Nidra Essentials, Blue Moon Rising, and many others. Learn more at WholesomeResources.comChakra Chart
Chakras: Subtle Energy Centers
→ Page Includes Complete Chakra Chart with helpful instructions
Each of us has has seven primary subtle energy centers called chakras. Chakras are considered as one of the most important 
indicators of a person’s health and well-being.
Traditionally, the seven primary chakras are described as spinning wheels of subtle energy that span from the base of the spine to the crown of the head.
Chakras guide the developmental stages of our body, mind, and emotions, and awaken our potential as spiritual beings. The chakras are referenced in the yogic wisdom books dating back five thousand years. Many medical, mental health, spiritual and mind-body professionals now seek to understand and apply the ancient knowledge of the chakras within their field of expertise.
Each of the seven chakras is associated with and has an influence on physical locations in the body as well as on adjacent muscles, organs, glands, and nerves. Yogis believe they house the guiding intelligence of prana, the universal energy of life.
Furthermore, each is related to stages of psychological growth and human development and has lessons to guide us through life that are integral to our soul’s journey.
Because they are energetic rather than physical structures, they are not considered to part of our physical anatomy. They can be described as psycho-energetic or psycho-spiritual centers located in the subtle body. Like magnetism existing within an iron magnet, they exist within the body without having a physical presence.
Each chakra is associated with color, crystals, sounds, goddess archetypes, yoga postures, healing and balancing colors, an element, and sounds.
Establishing and maintaining balance throughout all the chakras is optimal since one chakra is not particularly better than the others. Chakra energy currents move both vertically and horizontally. When the chakras are unbalanced with either excessive or deficient energy, the result is physical, mental, emotional or spiritual difficulties. Fortunately, a wide range of techniques exists to open, align, and activate the chakras.
The chakra chart provides information to further your understanding and growth. It was originally published in Yoga Meditations: Timeless Mind-Body Practices in 2005 and is continually updated to include more information.
Chakra Chart
This Chakra Chart (C) is for personal use only and not duplication. It is reprinted with permission from Julie’s Yoga Meditation book. Order your own beautiful 8.5 x 14″ full-color laminated chart below. Volume orders are welcome. Contact us.
How to use the Chakra Chart for healing and balancing yourself
Begin by familiarizing yourself with the names, locations, and characteristics of each chakra. Here are some ideas for getting started.
- Balanced Chakra Energy: Maintain balance with continued healthy attitudes, behaviors, emotions and appropriate yoga postures, breathing practices and activities.
- Unbalanced Chakra Energy: Examine the chakras’ lessons, rights, responsibilities and challenges to determine what areas need improvement and make suitable changes. Practice the breathing practices, yoga postures and other healing activities and healthy behaviors. Set an intention and enhance it with the musical notes, instruments and crystals. Practice self-care and get competent help from others as needed. In addition:
- Excessive Chakra Energy: Use the chakras’ balancing color. Chant or sing the vowel sounds to send and release excess energy. “Too much of a good thing” is harmful so decrease behaviors that are excessive.
- Deficient Chakra Energy: Use the chakras’ emanating color. Chant or sing the Bija mantra sounds to increase and attract energy.
Don’t be mistaken by seeing this information boxed into columns and rows. The lines are there to help clarify the information. Think of it as an intermingling or as a gradual blending. It’s somewhat like how the colors in a rainbow gradually transform from one shade to another and at the same time a color can stand on its own.
Ultimately, there is no separation. We are in a unified field of oneness that is as directionless and timeless as it is spacious. http://JulieLusk.com
Yoga Meditations features the full chakra chart, guided meditations for each chakra, a full description and picture of a yoga posture for each chakra as well as all the other information described below.
Awaken joy, peace and inspiration with this yoga meditations book.
Yoga Meditations contains a wide variety of mind-body practices, such as:
* Guided relaxation exercises
* Breathing practices
* Yoga Nidra
* Meditations and guided imagery
* Affirmations
* Yoga postures and meditations for each chakra
* Yoga wisdom for contemplation
Get a FREE Wholesome Energizers CD in every book!
CLICK the blue title link above to find out more...
Finally! A complete Chakra Chart with all the chakra names, locations, colors, sounds, yoga postures, breathing techniques, psychological & energetic influences and more. There's handy tips for using the chart on the reverse side. It's 8 1/2 by 14" and laminated. CLICK on the blue title link above to find out more...
Chakra-Based Guided Meditations
Real Relaxation Yoga Nidra takes you into a deeply relaxing and powerful restful state of being fully aware while being in the state of deep yogic sleep. It helps with balancing chakra energy, and can improve immunity, heart health, relieve stress and give you inner peace and balance.
Get it from Amazon, iTunes, Spotify & other online
stores.
Handy Links
- Learn about chakras and their influences | Get your Complete Chakra Chart
- Chakra Balancing with Sound Healing. Use the Elemental Chakra Tone Chart to balance your chakra energy by either increasing or decreasing their energy with sound, color, and special mantras. The Vedic (Yoga) and Tibetan notes and tones are given. It’s fun.
- How to balance chakra energy with toning and hand & finger movements called mudras.
- Get info related to chakra elements, directions, sounds, senses, and other attributes
- Chakra Energy Flow Meditation
- Understanding OM | AUM
- Book a Musical Sound Bath session
Holiday Helper #5 Make positive contact with others.
Make positive contact with others. At parties, make sure you have a good conversation with several people. If parties aren’t your bag, make contact in some other situation (a neglected neighbor? with a religious group?)
If your friend or family list is too short, look around for others in the same boat. Try volunteering at Meals on Wheels or the crisis shelter. Someone in your community needs your love. Reach out to others – for both of your sakes.
How are you reaching out during the holidays? What’s your style? Please comment below.
To Hiss or Not to Hiss
There was a saint who asked a snake not to bite but to love everyone.
The snake agreed.
But then many people threw things at the snake.
The next time the saint saw the snake, he noticed that the snake was all battered up. So, the saint asked “What in the world happened to you?”
The snake replied, “You asked me to love everybody and not to bite, and this is what happened.”
“I didn’t say not to hiss.”
Doesn’t Ramakrishna’s story have a lot to consider? How many times have we tried to “be good” but it came back to bite us. Setting boundaries can be quite helpful.
I remember telling this story while teaching a yoga class while we were doing the cobra pose. It seemed quite natural to hiss during the yoga posture so we did. Hissssssss!
The next week, one person said that she tried hissing at work and asked “Do you want to know what happened?” Of course I did. She said that she spoke up about something that had been bugging her and it lead to her getting a promotion!” Obviously, she hissed quite skillfully.
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