Pamper your eyes, the Ayurveda Way Ayurvedic Treatments for

Eye Care Tips:

The body has numerous mechanisms to safeguard the eyes, like the brow ridges, lids, lashes, conjunctiva and even tears. But that alone is not enough. We also have to take some active steps for eye health. Realizing that eyes are precious is the very first step in eye-care. If you have taken this step, here are a few more to keep your eyes healthy and happy.

Diet Control:

• Eyes are very sensitive towards ‘pitta’ (a body humor) increase. So foods increasing pittta should be kept to minimum. Very spicy and hot food should be avoided.
• Sour taste is the most unwholesome to the eyes. Vinegar (Sukta), fermented rice wash (Aarnal) etc are not good for the eyes.
• Food which is heavy to digest like baked snacks made of white fine floor (Menda), deep fried foods etc are also not very healthy to the eyes.
• Care should also be taken to avoid incompatible food combinations (Virudhdh-aahar) i.e. milk should not be taken with sour fruits, onion, curd, tamarind due to opposite properties.
• Incompatible foods and habit of overeating can cause inflammation (Abhishyand) which can directly affect the eyes.
• Pomegranate, grapes and fruit of gooseberry are good for eye health.
• Pure rainwater is an excellent eye tonic.
• Sugar and rock-salt, though wholesome to the eyes should be used with moderation.
• ‘Cow Ghee’ (Clarified butter) is very wholesome to the eyes. Many types of medicated ghee are used as eye-fill (Tarpana).
• ‘Triphala’ is a wonder formulation. It is one of the best medicines for eye health. Use it regularly in the form of powder to take internally or as filtered decoction for eye-wash.

Lifestyle modifications:

• Make whole body massage (Abhyanga) by Ayurvedic massage oils a habit. It has a nourishing effect (Drashti-prasadan) on the eyes.
• Bathing freshens up all senses. But avoid head-wash using hot water. Hot water not only affects vision, it damages hair too.
• Taking a cold shower when your body is hot is unhealthy and can cause not just eye diseases but a whole range of ENT problems as well.
• Ayurveda encourages daily use of ‘Kajals’ with Antimony sulphide (Sauviranjana). Besides defining your eyes and making you pretty, these ‘Kajals’ keep the eyes moist and unctuous. It makes lashes denser and prevents its fall. Another variety of eye liner made of tree-turmaric (Daru-haridra or Berberis aristata) called ‘Rasanjana’ may be used once in a week to flush out impurities and to remove any clogging of channels.
• Derangements in sleep patterns can harm the eyes. You might have noticed the eyes getting dry and blood shot when you keep awake at night. If you oversleep during daytime, the dyes become foggy and heavy.
• Your pillow also has a say in eye health. Pillows that are too high or low can interfere with blood flow to the head.
• Do not mess with your bodily urges. These are reflexes and if held or induced forcefully, can cause the entire body mechanism go haywire. Try holding a sneeze and you will know what I am talking about. Holding sleep can make eyes heavy. Holding flatus, feces, urine, tears and vomit have direct adverse effect on eyes.
• Do not try to focus on tiny objects or distant objects for long. These activities put immense strain on the eyes and can eventually hamper vision.
• Fervent movements are stressful to the eyes. Watching an intense ping-pong match or reading while travelling on Indian roads will fall under this category.
• Sit upright and keep your head straight. Awkward head positions stain the eyes.
• Working long time with computers, using sewing machines, welding and outdoor works are potentially harmful to the eyes. Avoid them or take sufficient precautions. Make it a habit to blink regularly. You may also use herbal products that will keep your eyes cool, moist and clean.
• Wear protective eyewear when outdoor. Besides making you snazzy, cooling glasses block harmful rays and pollutants too.
• Night driving is very stressful to the eyes, so try to avoid it.
• Keep your mind relaxed and focused. It will certainly add an appeal to your eyes.
• Anger and sorrow takes the life out of your eyes.
• Worship your feet (Padpuja). Take good care of them. It is believed that the feet have a direct link to the eyes via two nerves. Therapies like foot massage, irrigation (Dhara), paste (Lepa) etc. have effect on the eyes too. Always use footwear, keep the feet clean and do regular oil application on the feet.

Try and put all of them into your regular practice. When the body is striving so hard to protect itself, shouldn’t we contribute too?