yoga breathing Archives | Natural Health with Merrilyn Hope

Breathing For Asthma With Prana Yoga Techniques

Natural Remedies

Yogic Breathing To Reduce Asthma Attacks

‘You know some very complicated things can go on within your body as a result of apparently simple exercises.’

This profound thought comes from the pen of Dr M. Doreal, who wrote an insightful book about healing with yoga techniques called ‘Sahaj Yoga’, published by Brotherhood of the White Temple, Inc., Sedalia, Colorado, 80135.

It is true that Yoga Breathing techniques can have some amazing effects on long-standing conditions of ill-health , such as asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease and depression.

Yogic breathing practices have been practiced by yogis for literally thousands of years. These yogi adepts have long understood the healing value of yoga and yoga pranic breathing. It is believed in yoga that a longer life can be earned through proper, deeper breathing. People who habitually breathe quickly. and with shallow breaths. tend to live shorter lives than people who have developed the yoga style of slow, deep breathing.

Nowadays orthodox medical people are just beginning to accept these yoga practices into the mainstream of medical practice, but usually without the acknowledgement to yoga which it deserves.

Yogic breathing practices have been adapted and adopted by many orthodox practitioners and institutions of health. Proper breathing is recognized by orthodox asthma foundations as being one very good healing tool for the prevention of an attack of asthma. But these breathing exercises come from the ancient yoga traditions.

Many people have been healed of asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease and depression after bringing yoga and its wonderful breathing practices into their daily lives.

Yoga Breathing Exercises Which Help Asthma and High Blood Pressure:

First Exercise: Abdominal Breathing: This is a technique which develops the capacity to breathe into the lower part of the stomach. Asthma sufferers tend to have shallow breathing, and breathe into the top part of the chest. People who suffer anxiety usually breath in a similar way. With daily practice, a person can train themselves into breathing with full, deep breaths, using the whole of the lung capacity instead of just the top part of the lungs.

Abdominal Breathing can be done anywhere, at any time. But the most effective way to practice it is lying down, whilst doing Yoga Nidra relaxation, if you have the time.

In all yoga breathing exercises, except for one practice which I will tell you about after this, the breathing is always done through the nose.

Abdominal Breathing Exercise is most important for asthma sufferers: Lying down comfortably, feet a little apart, and hands off the sides of the body. Watch the tummy rising and falling as you breathe. Inhale slowly and deeply through the nose, watching the tummy rising up. Try to count a slow ‘four’. Hold for one or two counts if you can, and then slowly exhale, again through the nose, watching the tummy falling back down towards the spine again.

Relax into the rhythm, and repeat many times. Try to remember as you breathe in, to visualize the pranic energy coming to the front part of the body. As you breathe out, visualize the energy or prana going to the back, to the spine.

Another neat healing trick is to use the ‘whispering breath’, called the Ujjayi breath in yoga.

With this, you breathe in and out through the nose as usual, but you make a ‘ha’ sound in the throat as you breathe out. Mouth remains closed. This practice has an especially soothing effect on the nervous system, on the mind, and on the lungs.

Second Exercise: Alternate Nostril Breathing

Nadi Shodan Pranayama Preparation:

The best way to begin this exercise is to practice five breaths in and out through one nostril, and then five breaths in and out through the other nostril.

Place the right hand forefinger and middle finger between the eyebrows. Use the thumb to block off the right side nostril. Breathe in and out through the left side for five breaths, and then change sides: Use the fourth finger to block off the left nostril, breathe out through the right nostril, and continue for five more breaths. Then do five more rounds on the other side. Repeat.

Stop the practice if you feel dizzy or strange. Do just a few breaths to start with if you feel uncomfortable.

After some time, when you have become familiar with the technique, you can practice the regular Nadi Shodhan technique, which is done one breath each side, and continue the practice for a longer time.

Third Exercise: The Cooling Breath

Sheetali Pranayama:

This is the only breathing exercise in yoga where you breath in through the mouth. It is very, very cooling and soothing to the mind and nervous system. It is also a very good stimulant to the digestion, as it encourages the production of saliva.

The Sheetali Pranayama is one exercise which, although very simple to do, can achieve astounding results.

Sit comfortably. Now curl the tongue into a tube. Slowly breathe in through the curled tongue. Hold the breath for a few counts if you can, and then breathe out through the nose. Repeat.

For high blood pressure, Swami Satyananda recommends that this exercise can be done up to 60 times in one session. But it is best to build up slowly from five or a little more at a time. Again, stop the practice if you feel dizzy or light-headed.

Natural Remedies

Culpeper says of Sage that it ’causes the hair to become black’.

Garden sage has many therapeutic uses.

In the garden, its flowers provide medicine and nectar for the bees, as well as a herbal tonic to the neighbouring plants.

It is well-known as an aid to oral hygiene. It has strong antiseptic qualities and is supposed to whiten tooth enamel.

Sage is still used today in some tooth-pastes. It is reputedly one effective remedy for bleeding gums, and improving gum health: The crushed fresh leaves are massaged several times a day onto the gums and teeth.

The tea is gargled to relieve sore throats, colds and flu, and ulcers in the mouth.

It can be effective to reduce fevers, and has been used in the past for thyphoid fever. (see ‘Herbal Remedies and Homeopathy’ published by Geddes and Grosset.)

It is a valuable nerve medicine, and is a useful stomach remedy for improving a weak appetite.

Natural Herbal Hair Dye and Tonic: Sage can help restore healthy hair and improve the colour.

Strong sage tea encourages hair growth and darkens the hair, if it is used on a regular basis. Many herbalists describe it in their writings: see John Heinerman’s ‘Encyclopedia of Fruits Vegetables and Herbs’.

Rosemary is another wonderful herb which can help hair growth, but it does not have such a darkening effect on the hair, as sage does.

Recipe For Sage Hair Dye: Here is a simple, natural hair dye and tonic which you can try. It is perfectly safe to use, as it does not contain any harmful additives such as you might find in commercial dyes for darkening the hair.

Take two cups of fresh sage leaves and put into a stainless steel saucepan.

Add one cup of dry black tea leaves

Add half a cup of cider vinegar and eight cups of water.

Simmer very gently, with no lid, for one hour on a very low heat. You should have around half the original quantity of liquid left at the end of an hour. If you need to add a little more water, make sure you do so well before you finish simmering the brew. If you add more water at the end of the simmering, then your mixture will not keep so well.

Take off the heat after an hour of simmering. Set aside to cool.

Once your sage mixture has cooled properly, strain it off.

To the liquid remaining add the same amount of vodka.

Put into a bottle with a screw-top lid and store in a cool place.

Massage around a tablespoonful of the sage infusion into the hair each day. Use more or less, depending on how much hair you need to cover.

Massage the sage tonic well into the roots of the hair as well, so that it feeds the scalp and hair follicles. Massaging the scalp with the sage tonic will help the hair to grow again.

The oils in the sage leaves will put a natural shine to the hair.

Once the hair is sufficiently darkened, which may take several weeks, you can reduce the amount of applications each week. Once or twice a week may be enough to maintain the darker colour.

Sage is really very good for the hair in so many ways.

Alternative Sage Tonic Without Alcohol: You could make up your sage tea without the alcohol if you wish. Only, remember that your mixture will not keep for longer than a week, and it must be kept in the fridge. You could make up a lesser amount, enough to last a week, and then make up a fresh brew of tea for the following week.

My new book is available on Amazon:

Breathing Method To Help Reduce High Blood Pressure

The Yoga Cooling Breath – Sheetali Pranayama

Yoga Technique To Enhance Vitality, Induce Mental Calmness And Normalize Blood Pressure

Sheetali Pranayama is an age-old practice which is included in the teachings of Satyananda.

Sheetali Pranayama will noticeably reduce high blood pressure even after one or two practices of the method. Over time, if you practice it regularly on a daily basis, you will find that your general health will improve, and that your blood pressure will also improve. Of course, attention to the diet and minimizing any activities which cause your blood pressure to rise are also important in achieving a balanced state.

Basically, this is a very easy exercise to perform. There are some added sophisticated yoga techniques which you could add to the exercise if you wish to take your yoga practice seriously.

But here I will give the simple, basic method which is effective in calming the mind and in helping to reduce blood pressure, and which anyone can do easily without any prior knowledge of yoga technique.

First, make yourself comfortable, either in a chair, or in your favourite meditation pose.

Take two or three slow deep breaths to clear your lungs of air and prepare for the Sheetali pranayama cooling breath.

How To Perform The Sheetali pranayama Cooling Breath:

So now you are seated comfortably. Stick out the tongue a little, and make it into a tube shape. You are going to breathe in through this tube made by the folds of the tongue. Note: This is the only one of Satyananda’s yoga breathing techniques whereby the breath is taken inward through the mouth, and outward through the nose. It is the reverse of the usual method.

So – With the eyes closed, we take the breath in through the curl of the tongue, slowly and evenly. Hold the breath in briefly with the mouth closed. Then exhale evenly out through the nose.

Repeat.

Be Cautious – Build Up Slowly:

In the beginning, if your blood pressure is high, it might be best to perform only about three or four breaths using this curled tongue technique. Otherwise if you do too many at once, you might feel awfully light-headed or dizzy as the sudden burst of oxygen into the blood stream takes effect.

As your strength improves with building up your Prana, or nervous energy, you should be able to perform more breaths in the one sitting. In conjunction with regular pranayama practice, nine rounds is suggested by Satyananda.

For people suffering high blood pressure, Satyananda recommends building up the practice slowly for anything up to 60 rounds.

Many Benefits:

I find that the Sheetali pranayama Cooling Breath has many benefits. As well as the obvious effects in calming the mind and normalizing the blood pressure, it also oxygenates the blood, helps the eyesight, enhances the intuitive faculties, improves memory, and helps to improve the digestion. You will notice right away that saliva secretions increase as you perform the exercise. Stimulating the saliva glands in this way greatly helps the digestion. After a few days of practicing the Cooling Breath, you will become aware of other more subtle changes occuring throughout the system.

It can be a helpful technique for people suffering all kinds of degenerative disease, such as cancer and arthritis.

Merrilyn’s new book is out on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.ca/Cancer-And-Good-Health-Notebook-ebook/dp/B01DHMH6DG

Remember To Drink Plenty Of Water Daily: This helps keep the blood pressure stable. Take a glass of water immediately after performing the Sheetali pranayama cooling breath exercise.

Jalandhara bandha – The Chin Lock. If you wish, you could perform the Jalandhara bandha as you practice the Sheetali pranayama Cooling Breath.

You need to sit in a meditation pose for this, knees touching the floor if possible, and with the arms straightened out, hands holding the knees. Hunch up the shoulders so that the arms can become perfectly straight.

Close the eyes. You then inhale through the curled tongue, then, close the mouth whilst holding in the breath, and push the head forward so that the chin touches the chest.

Hold this position, with the breath retained inward, for as long as is comfortable. Then, still retaining the breath inside, slowly relax the pose, bringing the head up. Exhale slowly through the nose as you sit with the head erect.

Repeat.

It is important to remember that the head must be properly erect before breathing in or out. No breathing should be done whilst the head is down on the chest in the chin-lock.

Personally, I think that the chin-lock is a bit much for most people who are simply wanting to improve their blood pressure. It is not really necessary in order to achieve results.

But there we have it!!!!!!

See the deep relaxation technique which is also helpful for stabilizing blood pressure and calming the nerves:

Yoga Nidra Deep Relaxation

What Happens When You Stop Smoking

You can imagine what happens when you stop smoking.

Giving up smoking is very difficult for most people. A few people manage the cold turkey approach to giving up smoking: something makes them decide one morning that they are just sick of the coughing fit which is experienced every morning upon waking. And that coughing fit is always followed by the crazy routine of going straight for the fags, the cause of the problem. They decide, on the spot, that they’re never going to smoke again, and that’s it. They don’t.

For most of us, achieving our goal of being a non-smoker is far more difficult. It certainly takes a lot of perseverance, in my experience, to keep going on the no-smoking tack, when you repeatedly disappoint yourself by breaking your vow to stop. Read about some helpful tips in Merrilyn’s post http://merrilynhope.com/giving-up-smoking/

It is important to keep motivated and positive about your intentions. All you have to do really, is to Keep on keeping on – Keep believing that you will finally become a non-smoker, despite the slow progress. If you keep believing that, then it won’t matter whether you take three weeks, three months, or three years, as long as you get there. Of course, sooner is better, rather than later, but don’t be disappointed in yourself if you break your vow of abstinence.

Feeling guilty about your failure to quit actually makes you likely to smoke more. Pick yourself up again, and continue trying to give up. Finally, one day, you will have become a non-smoker.

So – finally, you manage to do it. What happens when you stop smoking – how do you feel?

Of course, you will feel proud of yourself. And justifiably, too. Giving up smoking is, along with giving up alcohol, one of the best achievements you will make in your life time. Giving up smoking will improve your health, prolong your life, and give you and your family a better quality of life. The whole family will benefit because there will be more money for good food and outings. Your family, and your friends too, will also be happier, because they are not subjected to your smoke, and because they do not see you getting closer to death with every puff.

Initially, after you have stopped smoking, you will most likely feel more stressed and bad-tempered. This is partly because all those tobacco and combustion toxins which have been stored in your body suddenly begin to be expelled. The body is jolted into throwing off the stored poisons, because of the sudden withdrawal of tobacco. These poisons which suddenly begin to be expelled can cause you to feel very sick, if not irritable.

As the poisons get expelled, and flood through the bloodstream, you might experience heart palpitations, a fluctuating blood sugar level, dizziness, a foul tasting mouth, a yellow-furred tongue, profuse sweating, and other disturbances of the metabolism.

Over Eating can be a a problem for many people. Initially, though, you should not worry about this, unless you are excessively fat. Generally, smokers are malnourished. They have a deficiency of many of the important vitamins and minerals on which our good health depends. So eating up at the beginning of your adjustment to a smoke-free life should not be of concern. The main thing is to eat nutritious food and avoid eating bread and wheat products and fried foods: if you susbstitute brown rice for any bread you might eat, you won’t get fat, and your cholesterol levels will remain healthy.

Avoid Getting Fat: The thing you have to do, is not so much to curb your eating, but to ensure that you are not eating any crap foods. Nourish your body and nervous system. If you are hungry between meals, then try to make the effort to make yourself a carrot juice, or an apple juice. Or simply eat an apple, or a banana – something which will provide sustenance to your body and your brain and your nervous system.

How To Minimize Withdrawal Symptoms

The classic symptoms which you experience when you stop smoking can be remedied very quickly if you take measures to expell the tobacco poisons as quickly as you can. The more quickly that you can rid the body of these harmful toxins, the more quickly will your health be returned to normal and your mood be happy and constant.

Castor Oil to Eliminate Poisons One of the most efficient ways to get rid of poisons in the body and brain is to take castor oil every second day, for a week or two. An irrigation of the bowel is recommended during this time, especially if you have not done a cleansing diet in a while. This washes away the poisons from the bowel immediately, so that you do not reabsorb the poisons back into the bloodstream. These reabsorbed poisons keep the tobacco drugs in your blood. Getting rid of theses poisons from the bowel and blood increases the liklihood that you will quit the tobacco habit forever.

Castor Oil, or Ghee Oil Put either of these two oils into your nostrils at night. Ghee oil has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to help many health conditions, and ghee oil to stop smoking is one of them. Castor oil has a similar effect and is another well-tried remedy.

These oils will help your mucous membranes to heal, and also deter youfrom smoking. Put just three drops up into each nostril and inhale it into the sinuses. You can smear a little of either of these oils into the nostrils during the day time as well. Every time you get an urge to smoke, just put a little of either castor oil or ghee into the nostrils.

The Apple Diet

If you do not wish to tackle the castor oil treatment, you might try fasting on only apples for a day. Eat normally for a few days, then do two days on the apple diet.

The Grape Diet

Grapes work just as well as apples. Just eat grapes whenever you are hungry. Grapes and apples eaten raw will have a cleansing effect on your whole body.

Carrot Juice Diet

Another way to cleanse the body quickly is to take a glass of carrot juice every hour for the whole of the day. Again – eat normally for a few days, then try two days on the carrot juice diet.

Natural Tranquillizers

Of course, your brain has been relying on the tobacco drug, to help with your stress levels. Now this is what happens when you stop smoking: your brain does not make the adjustment to a drug-free existence so lightly. It will tell you that you ‘need’ something. You will fell restless, and perhaps anxious. See the paragraph below on the effects of Vitamin C and Vitamin B, which help to de-stress your body while you get used to doing without cigarettes.

Yoga Breathing, and Yoga Nidra can help greatly in destressing the body and in oxygenating the blood and brain so that you will feel great.

Read merrilyn’s posts entitled ‘Yoga Nidra’, and the ‘Ha Ha Ha Breath/Quit Smoking’ for some simple yoga techniques you can use in quitting smoking.

Alternate Nostril Breathing is of great value in calming the emotions and in acting as a deterrent for smoking. Simply block off the right nostril with the right hand thumb. Breathe in through the left nostril. Hold for a second, then release the thumb from the right nostril and put the ring finger over the left nostril. Your middle finger and ring finger should be resting above your nose on the eye-brow center.

Exhale through the right nostril. Breath in through the same nostril you have just exhaled from , that is the right. Hold the breath for a second, then swap the fingers over so that the left nostril is released. Breatheout through the left, then in again through the same nostril. Change the fingers to release the other nostril and repeat, exhaing through the right nostril, then breathing in again through the right nostril.

This can be done in bed at night. It helps to bring restful sleep and calm the brain.

Diet and Vitamin Supplements

Generally, a low carbohydrate/ high protein diet is the one which is recommended for people giving up smoking or alcohol.

You can give your brain that ‘added something’ by nourishing it with foods and vitamins and minerals which will negate those unwanted cravings. You can improve your stress levels enormously with the following specific vitamin supplements.

Vitamin C, especially the non-acidic form such as Ester C, or Calcium Ascorbate, will work not only as a detoxifying agent, but as a soothing, mild tranquillizer. This makes Vitamin C especially useful when you are giving up smoking, or alcohol. Take 1000 mg three times a day to begin your smoke free life. A dose should be taken last thing at night, as this will help you to sleep well.

Vitamin B Complex is another important supplement for giving up smoking. This nourishes your nerves and brain so that you do not suffer the effects of giving up smoking so intensely.

Zinc, Magnesium and B6 are essential to good health. You need an extra boost of these minerals when you are giving up smoking.

Calcium is another important mineral which helps us to sustain good health. Alcium also acts as a mild tranquillizer, so this is another one to add to your diet. If you ate a small can of sardines, or some mackerel, every day, then you will be getting plenty of calcium from the small bones in these fish.

You might experiment with merrilyn’s recipe for home made calcium supplement in the post “Best Calcium Supplement’. This supplement is better absorbed than calcium tablets are, or even dolomite powder, because it is naturally mixed with other minerals like magnesium and zinc, which aid the absorption of calcium.

Iodine is another important mineral, and you will get this in ample supply from eating sardines or any sea food.

Look at merrilyn’s posts entitled ‘Giving Up Smoking’, ‘Giving Up Alcohol Vitamins’, and ‘Detox Diets’. Also:

‘Homeopathic Remedy To Reduce Craving For Tobacco‘

Yoga Exercise for Varicose Veins

Yoga exercise is beneficial for everyone, as we all know. Here are a few very simple yoga exercises which will benefit people with varicose veins.
The first category of yoga exercise for varicose veins is the one which improves circulation. Improved circulation will help those sore veins.
The second category is the inverted posture: Inverted postures help drain old blood out of the legs, enabling new blood to nourish the veins. This exercise has the effect of relieving those tired and aching legs. The inverted posture also benefits the brain and the thyroid, as it causes more blood to reach the head area.

We will begin our exercise programme with some very simple yoga exercises which almost anyone can do.

Day One: The first exercise which you will learn, ‘the simple leg raising exercise’, will help your cicirculation, and give your legs a small opportunity to rest, as well.
The Simple Leg Raising Exercise: This exercise, believe it or not, has the combined effects of stimulating the circulation AND draining old blood from the legs. It is great for preventing constipation. It can be done at any time during the day, but it is a good one to do just before you go to bed, followed by the next listed here, the ‘simple inverted posture’. For preventing constipation, try to do the leg raising exercise as soon as you get up. These take so little time – the benefits are so great for the little time spent in doing them.
Just lie on the floor, hands beside the body on the floor. Breathe in a long, slow, deep breath. Hold the breath, and as you do, lift the legs up slowly until they are perpendicular to the body, upright, with the toes pointing towards the ceiling.
Hold the legs in this upright position, while you breath out slowly. Slowly take another breath in and out while you keep the legs up with the toes pointing towards the ceiling.
Take another slow breath in, filling the lungs completely. Hold the breath as you slowly lower the legs to the floor.
Breathe out again while your legs are lying relaxed on the floor. Take another breath in and out. Then take a deep breath in again, and hold the breath while you repeat the precedure of lifting the legs slowly up until the toes point to the sky.
Release the breath again, while you hold the legs in this position. Another breath in, and out. Then another breath in which you hold while the legs move down slowly to the floor again.
Repeat a third time. Then relax on the floor, breathing normally. Watch the breath as you lie relaxed on the floor, and feel the effect of having done this exercise.

Simple Leg Clasping Exercise: This is another good one to prevent constipation, as it massages the stomach area. This also aids digestion. The legs benefit too, as they are drawn up with the knees getting applied pressure as you do so. Lie on the floor. Draw the knees up towards the chest. Clasp the hands around the knees. Breathe in a deep breath. As you breathe out, pull the knees towards the chest, tugging the legs towards you. Release the pressure on the knees as you breathe in again, relaxing the pose a little, but keeping the hands clasped around the knees. Breathing out, pull the legs inward towards the chest again. Hold for a second, then breathe in as you let the knees move outward again. Repeat for up to five rounds.

Rest.

Easy Knee Massage: After you have done the above exercise, whilst you are still lying on the floor, or on your bed, you can give some gentle massage to the knees, using only the legs. Draw the knees upward off the floor. Just gently rub the inside of one knee against the other for half a minute. Put the legs down. Repeat. Then stop. This simple exercise will benefit your legs if you perform it at least once a day. You can do it even while you are in bed before sleeping, if you haven’t already done your exercises..

Simple Inverted Posture for Varicose Veins:
Lie close to a wall, close enough to touch the wall with your feet, with your knees bent.
Now place your legs up the wall. About two or three feet up the wall is a good height. Simply rest there, with your feet touching the wall. The wall holds the weight of your feet. Lie there for ten to twenty minutes, doing your yoga breathing. Imagine the tummy rising and falling with each breath, even if it is not moving much in this position. This exercise is also good for chest ailments, and asthma. Stop doing the exercise when it becomes uncomfortable, or if you are short of breath.

YOGA NIDRA , or the ‘Yoga of Sleep’ is beneficial for treating varicose veins. It is also excellent for destressing the body, and ridding feelings of anxiety, so these are very good reasons to do this exercise. People with varicose veins often have high blood pressure and high levels of stress which contribute to health problems. This is the very exercise to relieve these symptoms. This exercise could follow the inverted posture above. For instructions on how to do yoga nidra, see merrilyn’s post entitled: ‘yoga nidra’. Also see merrilyn’s post entitled ‘Yoga Breath and Sleeping Well’

Day Two: So – now you have done two simple yoga exercises, and maybe you have even done Yoga Nidra.Stimulating Circulation – Churning the Mill: This exercise most definitely belongs to the stimulating category. Churning the Mill is also great for massaging the intestines, which helps prevent constipation. Constipation is one of the main causes of varicose veins, and must be avoided if you are to improve those veins and prevent the condition from worsening. Perform Churning the Mill as soon as you get up, before the above two exercises, if you are able. It can be done at any time really, but it should always be done before the gentle exercises of your routine. Always perform Churning the Mill before Yoga Nidra.

Sit on the floor with your legs spread apart. Clasp the hands together. Breathe out, as you stretch out as far as you can over your left leg, without straining. Now, holding the clasped hands together, move the hands across to the right leg, reaching towards the foot. Breathing in, bring the clasped hands up along the leg, top the top of the thigh. Lean the body back back as you do so. Keep the arms straight if you can, for the whole of the exercise. The idea is that you bend backwards slightly as you draw the clasped hands up the legs, so that you keep the arms straight. Breathe out as you take the clasped hands back down the left leg towards the left foot. Breathe in as you bring the hands along the right leg, upwards towards the right thigh.

The lean backwards is important, as this brings the stomach muscles into play. This stimulates circulation whilst it massages the stomach area.

Continue the exercise. Begin with five rounds, or do only one or two if you find it difficult. Change the direction to perform the same amount of rounds going the opposite way. Build up your practice slowly so that you can do ten rounds each way.

Improve Your Eyesight Naturally

Poor nutrition, inadequate water and lack of eye-movement exercise can cause a weakening of the eye-sight.

Environmental hazards like formaldehyde, which is found in compacted chip-wood for floors, will cause your eye-sight to deteriorate quite rapidly if you are daily exposed to the toxin. If you live in a house which has a particle board floor, then over time, your eye-sight will deteriorate, your memory will suffer, and you will probably become depressed with all of this as well.

However, provided you are not constantly being exposed to poisons, then these following ideas will help you to improve your eye-sight.

Of course, daily general exercise such as swimming, walking, cycling, or yoga, will help the general health, and your chosen daily exercise will help your eye-sight too, because this will get that blood circulating. A healthy flow of blood has the effect of better nourishing the eyes with the fluid, proteins, minerals and vitamins which they need for their healthy functioning.

Merrilyn’s new book is available on Amazon. More tips on this for improving the overall health.

https://www.amazon.ca/Cancer-And-Good-Health-Notebook-ebook/dp/B01DHMH6DG

Exercise also helps to keep the blood clean by working the abdominal muscles: this aids the removal of effete matter from the intestines, so that the blood which reaches your eyes will be free of harmful toxins.

But more about the eye-movement exercises: Much improvement in eye-sight can be observed (excuse the pun) when such simple exercises as the ones out-lined here are done on a daily basis. They really are so dreadfully easy to do, and can take almost no time at all if you practice them whilst travelling on a bus, or whilst watching a bit of T.V. Don’t do them while sitting in your car, though, as you may become so absorbed in your exercises that you fail to see that green light.

Many of us city dwellers who have desk jobs, or who pore over books or computers all day long, or mozie around the house once the children have flown the coup, do not use our eye muscles, or the change of focus mechanism, anything like half as much as what we should. Our eyes become lazy, as we get used to working within the same frame of focus for much of the day.

Extreme vertical or horizontal movements of the eyes are made redundant as we fix our gaze on our screens, with something like a short 15 degree angle only being all that is necessary to catch sight of the keyboard, and this at more or less the same distance as the screen from the eyes, which means that the eyes have to do very little re-focussing. Our heads become kind of frozen into a forward-leaning posture when we are thus stuck at a desk or a piano or a television, which does not give us much of a range of distances and angles for the eyes to explore.

Now there is a definite relationship between the movement of the eyes and the nasal and sinus passages:

When the eyes become lazy, the nerves and muscles which prompt the sinuses into releasing mucous become lazy too. The result is sinus trouble – a congestion in the nasal area, which directly affects the nerves of the eyes and your vision. Weak eye-sight is often the direct result of sinus congestion.

You can test this theory for yourself by doing a few rounds of these yoga breathing eye exercises. You will notice that the sinus passages will release fluid as you do these exercises. You should keep up the practice for several minutes, with variations, until the sinus passages are cleared of mucous. The muscles and nerves of the eyes will thus be toned up, especially if you practice the exercises on a daily basis, and this will have the effect of strengthening your eye-sight.

CIRCULAR MOTION OF THE EYES: You can do this exercise either sitting or standing. Do not strain the eyes by pushing them too hard initially. Begin by looking straight ahead. You do not move the head for this exercise, but rather make the eyes do all the work. Look up as far as you can to the ceiling. Slowly bring the eyes down in a circular motion, stretching out the angle to the side as far as you can to catch sight of the objects to the side of you. Keep moving the eyes slowly until you are looking downwards as far as you can to the floor. Keep the head erect – eyes do the work. Come upwards to the left side slowly, again, reaching out as far as you can with the eye movement so that you see all objects as far to the left as you can. Keep moving slowly upwards. This is one round. Do three rounds, then reverse the direction to do three anti-clockwise movements.

PALM THE EYES To give the eyes a little rest, rub the palms of the hands vigorously together. Put your warmed hands over the closed eyes for a minute. Breathe evenly and deeply, imagining the vital force from your hands going directly into the eyes to strengthen and heal them.

VERTICAL EYE MOVEMENTS Now slowly look upwards. Stretch upward with the eyes as much as you, can without straining, or course. Breathe in as you reach upwards with the eye movement, breathe out as you slowly draw the eyes down to the floor. Breathe in as you raise the eyes to the ceiling. Do three rounds.

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENTS. Moving the eyes slowly, again whilst keeping the head still, look to the far right. Bring the eyes back to the center and then slowly move the gaze to the far left, trying to focus on something each time. Come back to the center. Repeat three times. Coordinating the breathing with the exercise gives more power to the exercise. Breathe in as you look to the side, and out as you return the gaze to the center.

HEAD ROLLS. This exercise stimulates the blood flow to the brain and to the eyes. It also helps the flow of chi down the spine. Simply drop the head forward onto the chest. Breathing in slowly, slowly move the head towards the right shoulder. Keep moving slowly upwards, rolling the head gently backwards, over the top of the spine, and over to the left shoulder. Your lungs should be full of air now. Slowly begin dropping the head down from the left shoulder as you breathe out. Keep moving down until the head touches the chest. Repeat three times, then reverse the direction.

HEAD DROPS Now, breathing out, drop the head sideways onto the right shoulder. Breathing in, lift the head back up to the erect position. Do three times. Drop to the chest as you breathe out, lift up as you breathe in. Repeat three times. Drop the head the same way to the left shoulder, slowly, three times. Drop the head backwards as far as is comfortable. Bring to the erect position and repeat slowly twice more.

DIAGONALS Next, look up to the very top right corner of your field of vision. Bring the focus downwards to the centre so that you are looking straight ahead. Keep moving the eyes in a diagonal direction until they are looking down at the left hand corner. Come back slowly to the centre and continue up towards the top right hand corner. Repeat until you have done three rounds. Repeat the whole exercise beginning at the top left hand corner. It is, again, more beneficial if you can coordinate the breathing with these exercises. Breathe in as you look up, and breathe out as you draw the eyes to the floor. Keep the breathing fluid and steady, with fluid and steady eye movements accompanying the breathing.

ACUPUNCTURE given to relieve sinus congestion will very often have the effect of sharpening your focus and improving short and long focussed vision. Visit a registered acupuncturist to get advice on this. Alternatively, you could do self-acupressure to help the situation. See our post on acupressure for the eyes.