Meir Schneider - Vision for Life

Figure 2.7. (a) Move your head from side to side, rotating it from shoulder to shoulder. (b) As you face the sun, the sphincter pupillae constrict the pupils even with the eyes closed. (c) Move your opposite shoulder slightly forward if your neck does not move as freely as this yoga student.

The movements should not be fast, but they should not be slow, either. Just relax, breathe deeply and slowly, and visualize that the sun, with its energy and light, is penetrating your face and nurturing your eyes as well as your mind. Your eyelids should be closed softly; don’t squeeze your eyelids shut. You want the eyelids to close as gently as if you were about to go to sleep. The less you squeeze your eyelids, the more relaxed your eyes will become.

When I was in high school, I had been doing this sunning exercise on a camping trip. Seeing me rotate my head back and forth, a girl asked, “Why do you keep saying no? Can’t you say yes?” So I moved my head up and down as if to nod “yes,” and I had a revelation. I noticed that this movement led to a greater variability in the angles at which light reached my eyes, thus awakening more parts of them. This additional exercise allowed for greater stimulation and an increased sensation of lightness and darkness. I would recommend that this additional exercise be included during sunning.

Whenever you experience that difference between extremes of dark and light, your pupils become stronger. The pupils of most modern people are very weak because they wear sunglasses when they’re outside, which weakens the pupils. Automatic activities, like those of the eye’s iris muscles that affect the pupils, are influenced by function and use. The more you constrict and expand your pupils, the stronger the iris muscles become. Your retina also benefits from more concentrated light, and blood flows much better to the eye as a result of the pupils contracting and expanding.

The sunning exercise is mandatory for people who want to improve their vision. Like any exercise, it doesn’t create drastic change for everyone. But quite a few of my clients have experienced huge vision improvement and have reduced the strength of their eyeglass prescriptions when they have diligently practiced sunning. When you have a break at work or school, I recommend sunning instead of smoking cigarettes or drinking coffee.

Skying

Skying is a simple exercise. It is similar to sunning, but you do this as an alternative when there is no sun. You just put one hand behind the back of your head and one hand on your forehead, applying pressure so that you massage your head as you turn it from side to side. Now move your head from side to side like you are sunning and blink rapidly at the sky.

After two minutes of skying, do a minute of swinging. Then do three minutes of skying and two minutes of swinging. Then do three more minutes of skying and two more minutes of swinging. This is an antisquinting exercise, and as you sky and then swing, you are letting more light into your eyes and stopping the tendency to squint.

Figure 2.8. Apply great pressure to the head, holding the arms fixed as you blink at the sky and turn only your head from side to side.

Figure 2.9. Long swinging and skying go hand in hand.

Step 5: Night Walking

Night walking is the complementary exercise to sunning. The idea is simply to walk at night, in the dark, with only the light of the moon and the stars to guide your way.

Most of us, even if we live outside of a city, are surrounded by the glow of city lights. Those of us who live in remote areas often use flashlights. We have all learned to live with artificial lights, but once you get completely away from them for a time, you begin to realize how profoundly the city lights burden your eyes. Yes, we are happy to have them because they light the streets, making us safer and allowing for activity after the sun has fallen. But remember, as valuable as they may be to our industry and safety, this constant light is not beneficial to our eyes. For this reason, we must take part in exercises (like night walking) that strengthen our eyes and compensate for the burden of city lights.

Every time I teach an extensive eye course, we spend one evening in which we walk together in the dark. It is very pleasant for all of us to walk in places like the park, where we are free from artificial light. Of course, it can be dangerous to walk in the dark whether you live in the city or in the country, so I recommend that, when practicing night walking, you get a group of friends to walk together.

In the dark of night, it takes only three to four minutes to expand your pupils to nine times their normal size in the daytime. It takes about forty minutes to wake up the rods of the retina that sense movement and periphery. After night walking for about fifty minutes, you are finally utilizing the full potential of your eyes.

Night walking is a wonderful opportunity to try all the other exercises you are learning. After finding a nice, safe place to walk in the dark, set out and explore the many benefits of this practice. During your walk, stop at times and do the long swing exercise. Allow yourself the time to adjust to the darkness, and let your brain comprehend the change it is experiencing.

Palming (discussed in the next section) is another exercise that works great as an addition to night walking because it allows your eyes to better adjust to the dark. After they have properly adjusted, you can try peripheral exercises if you feel secure in your surroundings. Tape a short piece of paper between your eyes, and wave your hands to the sides of your head while walking to wake up the periphery.

By the time you finish your night walking, you will have awakened your eyes and reminded your brain of the way it used to function in a more primitive time, before light pollution filled the earth. Therefore, if you are serious about improving your eyes, night walking is an effective and enjoyable exercise that I would recommend doing at least twice a month when weather permits.

Step 6: Palming

Note: Before palming, individuals with glaucoma should read “Special Instructions for Palming with Glaucoma” in Chapter 6 for important modifications to this exercise.

Tibetan Yogis have been practicing palming for more than 1,500 years. It is an exercise that complements every other practice you will learn from this book.

Many people believe that they receive sufficient rest for their eyes while they are asleep. While sleep is very important, even with adequate sleep, many people still experience eye fatigue. There are a few reasons why this happens. One reason is that in these modern times we often hear noise around us while we are asleep; even though we don’t feel disturbed, the noise upsets our rest on a subconscious level. The other reason sleep often fails to sufficiently rest our eyes is that many people sleep in rooms that are not completely dark. I suggest that you darken your bedroom as much as you can. The darker the room, the more rest you will give your eyes. Sleeping in total darkness produces hormones, such as melatonin, that relax your body, allowing you to experience deeper and more refreshing sleep.

In order for sleep to be completely satisfying, quite often we dream. Dreams enhance our state of being; it is as though they wash away the day. Although dreams allow for physical and mental relaxation, the saccadic movement during dreams doesn’t allow for full relaxation of the eyes.