The Wisdom of Eye Relaxation

Eye relaxation begins with the mind first, not the eye. The mind must be completely relaxed before it can relax the body—and the eye, which is only one of the organs of the body.

Relax the body to relax the eye

Practicing Oriental exercises, such as Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and Yoga, can significantly relax the body because these exercises focus on “soft” movements of the body. Western-style exercises, on the other hand, focus more on building physical strength and muscles rather than on relaxing the muscles, and hence total body relaxation.

Self-massage to relax the eye

Self-massage the eye for relaxation to increase blood circulation, to create a sense of ease about seeing, and to enhance eye awareness for better vision.

Facial and eye massage 

• Breathe deeply and slowly.
• Rub both hands to generate warmth.
• Massage your jaw with your hands moving in small circles, from the chin outward along your jawbone up to the front of and behind your ears.
• Then, move your hands over the bridge of your nose, and massage outward along your cheekbones until you reach your temples and your ears.
• Then, starting from the bridge of your nose, massage along your eyebrows, moving above, below, and along the brow. Use your thumbs to press against the grooves slightly below your eyebrow ridge close to the bridge of your nose.
• Gently squeeze your eyeball with your fingers.
• Finally, use long, firm, strokes to massage your forehead from the left to the right, and then from the right to the left.

Throughout your facial and eye self-massage, identify sore spots, especially in the eyebrow area. Massage them with slightly harder and stronger circular movements.

Rub the eye 

• Apply and press the heel of your left palm and the heel of your right palm against your left eye and right eye, respectively.
• With gentle pressure, rub with a twisting movement your left eye with your left palm and your right eye with your right palm.

Meanwhile, contract and relax your eyelid muscles.

Of course, relaxation has also to do with how you live your life, how you perceive your daily stress and how you cope with them. Remember, relaxation has much to do with letting go of all attachments in life. Let go of controlling how your life may turn out.

The Wisdom of Letting Go

Relaxation begins with the mind that relaxes the body and then the eye. Relaxation has much to do with letting go of all attachments in life. Living in the material world, we all have many attachments: physical, mental, and emotional ones that not only define who we are but also create our thoughts that ultimately affect our thinking, the origin of stress, which is the enemy of relaxation. Learn to let go of control: let go to let God. This is not easy, and that is why both human and spiritual wisdom are required. Get the wisdom of letting go.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau