Choose to see clearly

Seeing should be gentle, effortless and enjoyable. To see clearly, our eyes move constantly and the muscles are relaxed for distance vision and focussed for near vision.

Very few of us are born with strong refractive errors (short or long sightedness or astigmatism) requiring glasses. More commonly, as we learn to see, we unconsciously develop poor habits of vision, fixing our eyes on one spot, which causes loss of clarity. We then stare and strain to try and see clearly, which may lead to muscle tension and refractive errors.

These unconscious habits can be changed, and vision may then improve, so we can see more clearly and easily.

Gentle exercises we can all do every day.

Breathing Everything begins with conscious attention to the breath.

Many of us hold our breath when we try to do things and this will increase the tension in our bodies and around our eyes. Begin by sitting still and focussing on your breath. Breathe gently in through the nose and release your body as you breathe out.

Blinking Consciously and gently blink and breathe, especially when performing focussed visual tasks. This breaks fixation, preventing fixed staring and strain, rests the eyes and lubricates the ocular surface.

Palming Rest your elbows comfortably. Place your gently cupped palms over your closed eyes, with fingers overlapping on the forehead. Relax your body, breathe gently through your nose, and rest in the stillness.

Sunning Sit or lie down outside. With your eyes closed, breathe gently through your nose and move your head from side to side to bathe the whole eye in light. Start with indirect sunlight by looking at the sky and work up to more direct alignment, always with your eyes closed and head moving.

Do not stare directly at the sun!

Colour days Choose a different colour at the start of each day and look out for it- this can be fun and can bring you much joy. It helps us to appreciate the beauty and colour that surround us, always. Learn to love what you see, today and every day.