How to Improve Vision Naturally with Ayurveda: Tips, Exercises & Superfoods
Everybody wants healthy eyes with sharp vision, but is your use of technology putting your eye health at risk?
The average adult now spends 11 hours a day on screens. Maybe you’ve experienced some of the common effects of too much time in front of screens, such as dry eyes and eyestrain? Ayurveda — which scholars view as the oldest healing science — shows us how to improve vision naturally despite this modern challenge. In this article, we’ll discuss:
What Is Good Vision?
How to Improve Vision Naturally?
Foods to Improve Eyesight
How to Protect Your Eyes from the Sun & UV Rays?
5 Practical Tips for Eye Health
Natural Products for Eye Support
What Is Good Vision?
You may have heard of 20/20 vision, but what is it exactly?
Optometrists judge 20/20 vision as the standard for “normal” visual acuity.
You can think of visual acuity as the clarity or sharpness of your eyesight. To be classified as having 20/20 vision, your eyes need to be able to see what should normally be seen at a distance of 20 feet. This can also be achieved with correction, such as wearing glasses or lenses.
An individual with 20/20 vision should be able to read a row of 9mm letters from 20 feet away, according to The American Optometric Association.
If your eyesight from 20 feet is only as good as a normal person’s would be from 30 feet, you’re below average at 20/30.
Similarly, if your eyesight from 20 feet is as clear as a normal person’s would be from 10 feet, you’re above average at 20/10.
We hope this explanation makes sense!
While “what is good vision?” is a sensible question to ask, we also need to think about overall eye health.
Cleveland Clinic states that 20/20 vision is only one factor of having good eye health.
The eyes and their organ systems, connecting neurons to the brain, also need to be free of disease. A range of diseases and disorders can impact eye health. These include:
We recommend you go for regular check-ups throughout your life to make sure your eyes are in good health.
Now that we’ve outlined what good vision is and discussed overall eye health, it’s time to talk about how to improve vision naturally with Ayurveda.
How to Improve Vision Naturally with Ayurveda?
Having originated in India 5000 years ago, Ayurveda translates to “The Science of Life.”
The natural healing systems used in Ayurveda have become more popular in the West over time.
If you want to improve vision naturally or reduce eye irritation, Ayurveda encourages you to focus on limiting risk factors such as:
Alcohol
Direct sunlight exposure
Pollution
Stress
Ayurveda states that your eyes are where the pitta dosha (the fire principle) resides and eye problems arise due to a pitta imbalance.
Pitta-type eyes are medium in size, light in color, and tend to be more likely to experience eye strain and irritation than other eye types.
In terms of eye health, the Ayurvedic approach promotes a few key principles:
Natural foods to improve eyesight (including herbs and spices)
UV protection
Eye exercises
Practical tips e.g. screen breaks, palming, and home remedies
Natural eye support products
We’ll go into these in more detail in the sections below.
Foods to Improve Eyesight
To keep the Pitta dosha calm and promote eye health, we recommend a natural diet with plenty of Ayurvedic superfoods.
Such superfoods include organic quinoa khichadi, which is an authentic vegan and gluten-free Indian dish to bring balance to your diet.
Source: Ayurvedic Healing
If you’re looking for a perfect mixture of spices, you can try the Six Taste Spice Mix.
This Ayurvedic superfood is gluten-free, sugar-free, and includes a diverse mix of spices with sea salt. Organic cumin, amchoor, coriander, and cayenne are just a few of the spices you can enjoy with the mix.
Source: Ayurvedic Healing
We also suggest you try the replenishing Golden Milk.
This milk contains a blend of turmeric, coconut milk, dates, ginger, cinnamon, and other healthy ingredients.
Other foods to improve eyesight that Ayurveda promotes are those with high amounts of vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for normal vision.
Give your body vitamin A with this list of healthy fruits and vegetables.
Cabbage
Carrots
Chili pepper
Grapefruit
Lettuce
Mango
Spinach
Sweet potato
Tomato
Watermelon
How to Protect Your Eyes from the Sun & UV Rays?
We all know that healthy eyes are essential for quality of life, so protecting your eyes from harm is a priority in Ayurvedic medicine.
The ancient tradition states that there are five important elements to visual health:
Vayu (Air) controls the color
Prithvi (Earth) controls the eye muscles
Tejas (Fire) controls the blood vessels
Apu (Water) controls the white area of the eye
Akasha (Space) controls the tear ducts
We recommend that you wear sunglasses in bright sunlight to protect your eyes from UV rays and solar radiation.
Also, if you can, avoid working in bright light which is likely to strain your eyes.
5 Practical Tips for Eye Health
Ayurvedic tradition seeks to maintain health by encouraging life balance through practical means. These means include lifestyle choices, pure food, and herbal products.
These 5 Ayurveda tips are a good place to start if you’re wondering how to improve vision naturally:
Meditation
“When the mind is tired or strained, nothing can rest the eyes; and when the mind is at rest, nothing can tire the eyes,” says Ayurvedic care author Pratima Raichur.
The Ayurvedic tradition states that vision and mind are connected. Have you ever noticed that when you feel stressed, you may get a headache or feel your eyes strain?
Improve eye health by committing to a daily meditation practice for stress management. You can even concentrate on letting the eyes soften during the meditation.
Exercises to improve eyesight
Another great idea for how to improve vision naturally is with the use of eye exercises.
Such exercises are helpful when your eyes feel tired and they can protect your eyes from developing “floaters.”
Here are a couple of exercises that you can try:
Up-And-Down Movements - Sit on the floor in a comfortable position. Close your right fist and position the fist on the right knee. Your thumb should face the ceiling.
Gaze ahead at the object in front of you. - Breathe out, deeply.
Gaze upwards, moving the eyeballs while keeping your head still.
Breathe in, deeply.
Return your gaze to the original object.
Repeat these steps with your left thumb.
Clockwise & Counter Clockwise Rotations
Straighten the head and spine.
Rest your hands on your knees, with your left palm on your left knee, and hold your right fist above the right knee. Your right thumb should face the ceiling.
Concentrate your vision on the thumb. Inhale and move the thumb upwards in a clockwise-moving circle.
Exhale as you complete the circle.
Repeat these steps 5 times, slowly, then do the same moving in a counter clockwise direction.
You can also find a helpful list of eye exercises on the WebMD website.
Palming
Palming is an ancient yogic strategy to relieve tired eyes.
To practice palming, take a seat in a comfortable position and rub your palms together. Do this until they are nicely warm.
Then, place your palms over the eyes. You should feel the gentle warmth from your palms soothing the eyes.
Take Screen Breaks
Prevention is a central part of Ayurvedic medicine. A practical tip to look after the eyes and prevent problems from escalating is to reduce eye strain.
When you are staring at a phone, computer, or TV screen, your eyes are at risk of straining.
In fact, watching TV close-up can worsen symptoms of myopia (near- sightedness). So, Ayurveda recommends that you develop healthy eye habits. Make sure to blink regularly and take short breaks from the screen throughout the day.
Home Remedies for Eye Care
One of the best ways to answer the question “how to improve vision naturally?” is to look to home remedies.
Rose water is a popular therapy in India to maintain eye health. This scented water from steeped rose petals is a natural antiseptic and antibacterial option that can ease dryness and make a useful eyewash.
Cold infusions with coriander seeds or fennel seeds are another natural eyewash option to improve eye health.
Castor oil eye drops are another alternative, as long as the drops are organic and do not contain any preservatives that may irritate the eyes.
Natural Products for Eye Support
At Ayurvedic Healing, we have a few natural product recommendations to support your eye health and improve vision naturally.
Vital Eyes: A special formula with Ayurvedic herbs, minerals, and vitamins to promote eye health.
Vital Liver: Ayurveda realizes that our eyes rely on pure blood in the liver. This natural product supports the elimination of impurities from the liver, as well as excess pitta from the body.
Pitta Tea: As we mentioned earlier in the article, a healthy Pitta Dosha is crucial for eye health. This cooling herbal tea is great for reducing eye inflammation with its blend of Ayurvedic herbs.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this article on how to improve vision naturally!
Feel free to try the Ayurveda superfoods, exercises, and other tips discussed above to promote your eye health.
Let us know what you plan to try first!
Thanks for reading.
Ayurvedic Healing
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (831) 462.3776
Author: Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar, Director of Ayurvedic Healing
