Archive for the ‘Exercises’ Category
Eye Relaxation Exercises
The eyes hold more tension than many people realise. This tension can lead to headaches as well as impaired vision. However by using eye relaxation exercises you can reduce this tension and slow down the deterioration of your eyes, and in some cases people have even reported an improvement in their vision! I myself am prescribed glasses yet I rarely wear them because they are weak lenses and I keep my eyes in good condition by frequently performing these eye relaxation exercises.
Don’t worry if you don’t have time to do all these eye relaxation exercises everyday but try to do at least one or two so that you see a real long-term benefit.
Peripheral Sunning
Eye relaxation exercises can improve your eyesight.
We all spend too much time in front of a screen of one kind or another. Whether it’s the TV, a computer monitor or a cell phone. This results in poor peripheral vision as we are constantly staring at a fixed point straight ahead. Peripheral sunning can help you undo this damage.
To do this eye relaxation exercise you need to be outdoors on a day where the sun is out. Look into the sky, not directly at the sun (as this causes damage) but just underneath it. Now slowly move your head to the left while keeping your eyes looking just underneath the sun, then move your head to the right slowly. Repeat this motion for a couple of minutes. This allows the sunlight to reach every part of your eyes which improves the strength of your peripheral vision. It also helps improve the circulation of blood around your neck which increases the speed of repair.
Distance Focus
For this eye relaxation exercise you will need a picture or poster on a wall, with ten feet of room to move back from. Alternatively you can use a plant or tree outdoors to focus on. First stand about a foot away from the object and focus on it for 10 seconds. Then take step back a foot and focus on the object again for ten seconds. Repeat this process until you are stood ten feet away. As the name suggests this exercise helps improves your focusing abilities.
Ocular Development
Ocular development helps to improve the strength of muscles which control the vertical and horizontal movement of your eyes. It’s a fancy name for a really simple exercise. To start move your eyes up and down ten times. Once you have completed this then do the same thing, only this time from left to right. If you want to be really thorough you can also go this diagonally from top-left to bottom-right, then from top-right to bottom-left. You can also vary the speed each day you use this exercise. One day you can move your eyes very slowly, and then very quickly the next day. Each speed develops the muscles in a different way.
The ocular development exercise only takes a couple of minutes and you can do it anywhere so it’s a great eye relaxation exercise to do while the commercials are on TV or you’re waiting for something to load on your computer.
Follow The 10-10-10 Rule
This final eye relaxation exercise is very easy to remember and do and will save your eyes from deteriorating due to focusing too much on nearby objects (books, TVs, monitors, etc). The 10-10-10 rule says that when you are focusing on a nearby object, every 10 minutes stop and look at an object 10 feet away for 10 seconds. 10-10-10. Focusing on a object close to you for too long can cause serious long-term damage to the ciliary muscles. By following the 10-10-10 rule you are giving your ciliary muscles a chance to relax and “cool off” for a short period of time before they go back to work looking at the nearby object.
- Every 10 minutes…
- Look at an object 10 feet away…
- For 10 seconds.
Three simple points that can save your eyes a great deal of wear and tear.
The four exercises above are the ones that have had the most success for me personally. There are a lot more eye relaxation exercises that can help to improve your vision naturally but I will save them for another day. So please start to implement these eye exercises into your daily routine and let me know how you’re getting on with them.
Are you seeing an improvement? Please leave a comment and share your experience.
How To Relax Tense Muscles
If you’re like me you will occasionally notice that your muscles feels tense and knotted. The usual answer for this is to get a massage or have a long soak in a hot bath. However there’s times when those options simply aren’t available, such as when you’re at work in the middle of the day. Well today I have a quick tip that will allow you to relax those tense muscles no matter where you are, in fact you could be talking to someone and they probably wouldn’t even notice.
The key to relaxing those tense muscles is to tense them. No, that isn’t a typo or mistake – if you want to relax tense muscles you should tense them as hard as you can. Let me explain. When you tense or flex a muscle you cause it to expand and tighten. That means when you release the tension it will loosen, making it feel nice and relaxed.
You can try it right now by following these simple instructions.
1. Get yourself in a position where the tense, tight muscle can be flexed. Most of the time the best way to do this is to be stood up.
2. Breathe in deeply through your nose and slowly tense the offending muscle until it is as “hard” as you can get it. Hold the muscle right there for a couple of seconds.
3. Now breathe out through your nose and gradually loosen the flexed muscle until it returns to it’s normal state.
4. Repeat this exercise until the muscle feels completely relaxed and free of tension. Typically this takes five repetitions.
That is how to relax tense muscles.
An added bonus of this exercise is that it will also improve the density and flexibility of your muscles. I often relax my muscles in this way in the early afternoon and it keeps me feeling loose and relaxed for the rest of the day.
An Overview of Yoga
Evidence of the practice of yoga goes as far back as 3000 BC. Archaeologists have found seals of the Indus Valley Civilization depicting people as well as godlike entities in various forms of meditative and yogic poses. The word “yoga” comes from the Sanskrit yuj, which means to unionize. This is in reference to the way yoga unionizes the mind and the body.
The Purpose and Goals of Yoga
A young woman in a yoga stretch.
The original purpose of yoga was a spiritual one. While spirituality has almost disappeared from Western society we have still managed to find a place for yoga in our lives. A poll taken in 2006 revealed that over fifteen million Americans practice yoga on at least a semi-regular basis. Now people tend to treat yoga as another form of exercise, a way to improve flexibility and overall fitness, however without even realising many of these people will feel the mental benefits yoga provides. Through a combination of physical poses, breathing techniques and meditation yoga you will feel much more centred, calm and relaxed after you have practiced yoga.
The goals of yoga depend on the individual. Some practice yoga to loosen their muscles, others to find enlightenment, while others still do it to reduce their stress levels and relax after a busy day. Whatever your goal yoga can probably help you to achieve it. And the great thing about yoga is it can be tailored to anyone of any age, size or level of fitness.
Getting Started
It’s hard to describe many yoga positions or exercises textually which is why I posted a video earlier which contains a great beginners guide to yoga. You might like to try these exercises for a few weeks before purchasing a DVD full of yoga exercises or alternatively many leisure/rec centres and gyms hold regular yoga classes with fully qualified instructors.
Useful Yoga Resources
Here are a number of sites, articles and videos that you might to like to visit to find out a little more about yoga and its many positive effects.
Disabled Vet Walks Again Thanks to Yoga *MUST SEE*