Movement Snack: Relieving Strain in the Eyes and Neck
June 16 2022 | Written by Leticia Padmasri
I want to share with you an eye movement snack this month of June since we are entering the summer season. That’s the time when fire is predominant in the environment, making it the Pitta season of the year.
In addition to the increase of fire in our environment, the eyes are an organ of the fire element (Pitta dosha) as per Ayurveda. This is then a good time to build awareness and create a daily routine for our eyes. Many of us face eye strain and eye fatigue due to the high use of electronic devices so eye exercises will help in keeping up eye health.
“The eyes are an organ of the fire element (Pitta dosha) as per Ayurveda.”
…
The other day I was practicing and noticed tension in my neck. After just a few eye movements, the tension diminished! I was reminded then of the connection between eye muscles and neck muscles.
By Anatomography under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan license.
The eyes are moved by 12 extraocular muscles.
The neck has a group of four small muscles, called suboccipital, deeply located in the back of the neck.
The suboccipital are the only neck muscles that are directly connected to the eyes. In addition to enabling us to tilt and turn the head to either side, they subtly adjust our head position based on the movements of our eyes.
So with that in mind, I played with combined movements of the neck and eyes.
It was even juicier: more neck tension was released and my eyes felt deeply relaxed. I noticed my head balancing lightly atop my neck and even breathing felt easier—my body was expressing appreciation for being used without strain.
Excessive eye engagement on a computer screen or a handheld device increases heat in the eyes and stiffens the neck which can provoke Pitta dosha.
This practice softens and cools the eyes and releases neck tension, which in turn helps keep Pitta dosha cool and relaxed.
So here you have it! Double snack. Remember to do these movements more often. The more often you incorporate these little movement breaks into your everyday life the better you feel. It's not that hard! It's not that complex!