When Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel, his sight suffered due to the many hours he spent lying on his back focusing his gaze on a fixed point in a chapel with dim lighting. He lost his spacial sensitivity.
Today, while most of us are not painting masterpieces, we are also focusing our eyes for prolonged periods on different types of screens. This is not good for eye health!
Many people start to notice a deterioration in their vision in their 40s and 50s and start wearing reading glasses. This often arises because the muscles around the eye that control the tension of the lens thicken and/or the lens itself becomes stiff and can no longer contract and expand.
The same way we need to exercise our body to stay in shape, so we need to exercise our eye muscles for the same reason. Below are a couple of exercises you can easily do:
- Switch your gaze from near to far a few times in succession. For example, focus for a few seconds on the horizon or in the distance, then switch your focus to something close up for a few seconds. Repeat. (As hunter gatherers we would do this naturally as we assessed our surroundings.)
- Blink as many times as you can in 30 seconds. This will help help impart oxygen to your eyes which moisturises the tear glands and improves the quality of your tears too.
- Imagine there is a huge clock face right in front of you. Look up to 12, across to 3, down to 6, across to 9 and back up to 9. Then come back anticlockwise. Hold at each number for a few seconds and reach your sight as far as possible without moving your head.
Claudia Muehlenweg aka the Holistic Vision Coach https://www.myholisticvision.com/ has been teaching natural techniques to improve eyesight for years, having suffered with serious vision issues herself as a child. She has some great free resources on her website.
Wishing you all health and happiness,
Dr Maria