“The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.”
“The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
I would like to pose a question. What is your relationship to your sense of sight? Has your vision weakened as you aged or are you frustrated by dry or irritated eyes? Do you take time to look at the beauty of nature, the clouds, landscape, and critters that we share this planet with? Let’s dive into the sense of sight.
How does this Ralph Waldo Emerson speak to you? I deeply feel what he is saying when I look to the east around the hour of sunrise. Early morning is my favorite time to take in the beauty of the sky. Whenever we look at nature, the visual imprint is deeply enriching, but the unique art masterpiece of sunrise fulfills my soul.
Every day I am so unbelievably grateful for the sense of sight. The eyes are considered one of the most vital organs of the body. Approximately 80% of the knowledge we gain is through our eyes. According to Ayurveda, pitta dosha and the fire element are associated with the sense of sight and the eyes. When we carry excess heat in the body, emotions, or mind, it can present itself as red irritated and dry eyes. Especially during the summertime, the heat can wreak havoc on the eyes. Just think of what too much sun exposure can do to your skin. That same heat can damage and weaken the eyes. Other factors such as pitta aggravating foods, as in too much hot, spicy, salty, or sour foods can cause a heat imbalance in your eyes.
Most of us do not pay much attention to our eyes until an issue arises. Instead, we should intentionally carve out time to care for our eyes by adding to our daily routine the space to nourish and relax our eyes. This will give us a better appreciation of the gifts that the sense of sight provides.
The sister sciences of Yoga and Ayurveda have a lot to offer in the way of treatments, practices, and lifestyle choices that will help to support healthy vision and simultaneously calm the mind.
There are many practices that we can implement in our daily routine. A practice as simple as splashing cool water on your eyes in the morning will be greatly refreshing. Surprisingly filling your mouth with water, holding for a few minutes, then spitting out can be nourishing too. These are both easy and all you need is cool clean water. Your feet are the motor organ of action for the fire element and directly related to the eyes. Massaging your feet with coconut oil is a wonderful treat to cool and strengthen the eyes.
Ingesting Triphala is very helpful for many issues, including eye problems. Making Triphala water is a very traditional way of cleaning the eyes. Simply add 1/2 teaspoon of Triphala powder to 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, reduce to half, and let cool to room temp. The Triphala will settle to the bottom, then strain well. I like to use 2 organic unbleached coffee filters to filter out all residual sediment. Take pure liquid Triphala reduction and either soak organic cotton balls or use an eyecup to saturate the eyes with the liquid.
This past year has certainly increased my screen time in front of my computer, tablet, and phone. When we spend excess time in front of our digital devices the result is eyes that are stressed, strained, and overstimulated. This will then have an impact on the mind as we are constantly bombarded with videos, images, and information. This can be made worse when some of this stimulus may not align with our true nature.
Schedule breaks when you find yourself having to spend excess time in front of your screen. A few quick and effective pauses to tend to your vision will be greatly beneficial. Here is a series of exercises to do a few times a day that will only take about 2 minutes. Begin by rubbing the hands together to generate some energy and then place your palms over your eyes for about 30 seconds. Next, make circles with your eyes both clockwise and counterclockwise. Do this for about 30 seconds too. Then look right and left several times by just moving the eyes not the neck. Keep these eye movements slow and conscious. Next, place your index finger in front of your eyes at arm's length. Slowly pull the finger towards your nose following the finger with your eyes. Move the finger towards your nose and away from your nose 4-5 times. Follow that by blinking the eyes as fast as you can, fluttering the lids 20-30 times. Then open the eyes as wide as possible and squeeze them tight. Lastly apply a nice rosewater spritz to the face and eyes and you are ready to get back to work.
One of my go-to practices is called Trataka. It is often referred to as, fixed gazing meditation, blink less gazing, or yogic gazing. Trataka is a well-known kriya of the six karmas of yoga, called the “shatkarma”. Shat means six and karma means action. Trataka is a wonderful meditation as well as being an eye-cleansing exercise. The practice is described in the Upanishads as well as mentioned in many other ancient texts. The Gheranda Samhita teaches that the practice cultivates clairvoyance and inner vision. Hatha Yoga Pradipika states, “Trataka eradicates all eye diseases, fatigue, and sloth, and closes the doorway creating these problems”. Trataka can also be found in the texts of Ayurveda where it is recommended to stimulate and balance the alochaka pitta, the sub-dosha related to sight. The practice of Trataka will affect the mind by decreasing lethargy while increasing the buddhi mind which is our higher intellect related to discernment. Although traditionally performed with a ghee lamp or a candle, you can use almost any external point of unwavering focus. Concentrate your gaze on the flame for 2-3 minutes, without blinking, until your eyes begin to tear. Then close your eyes and try to maintain a vivid image of that object for as long as possible. This exercise increases tejas by balancing fire element which allows the eyes to be bright and shiny.
Here are a few other routine remedies to boost your eyes. Many of you know I have a deep love relationship with this amazing cooling nectar. Rosewater will cool heated and irritated eyes. I like to soak some organic cotton pads in rosewater and allow them to rest on my closed eyelids. Ghee and castor oil are also fantastic to pull heat out and moisturize the eyes. This would be done at night right before bed. A drop or two of liquid ghee in each eye for excess heat or high-quality castor oil if there is dryness. These home treatments are magic.
Lastly, having a diet filled with fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables is critical as the phytonutrients in the food will feed and heal the tissues of the eyes. I am sure you have heard the phrase "eat the rainbow". It is true if we eat red, orange, yellow, green, blue and various shades of purple foods we will receive the magic medicine that fruits and vegetables have to offer.
I hope that these tips and suggestions help you to nourish and nurture your eyes. I also encourage you to wake up early enough to watch the sunrise. What a gift it is to greet the morning and feel a sense of gratitude that we have another day to live and learn.
Hari OM Tat Sat
From: August 2021 Newsletter