In this technological era we challenge our eyes more and more without taking into consideration the overall effects that has on movement and the body. Our vision makes up 70-90% of all sensory input. Just like any other muscle in the body we want our eye muscles to be able to contract but more importantly relax. Today we are going to learn basic visual resets that you can use periodically throughout the day to help you with the relaxation part. The four visual resets are eye massage, direct pressure, rapid blinking, and palming.
Eye Massage
-Put three fingers just underneath your eyes so you can feel the bony ridge. Roll your fingers so they are right on the top edge of that bone and press very gently to perform some light circular massage there for 5 seconds.
-Next, place your index fingers just inside the inner portion of both eyes near your nose and push up slightly toward the bridge of your nose. Circle your fingertips to massage this area for 5 seconds.
-Repeat this same motion on the outer corners of your eyes.
-Finally, place your fingers on the bony ridge just below your eyebrows. Go a little more gently here as you start to press, and, like you did for the other locations, circle your fingertips to massage the area for 5 seconds.
Direct Pressure
-With your eyes closed, press very, very lightly on the center of your eye with two fingers.
-When we say, “press lightly,” we mean fingertip contact with the same pressure as you would feel if you had two small coins, like dimes, sitting on your eyes.
-Please be especially careful with this drill if you are wearing contact lenses. As you are pressing, take two to four deep breaths and relax.
-Once this amount of pressure feels comfortable, you can experiment with adding a TINY bit more while repeating the relaxed breathing.
Rapid Blinking
-Blink your eyes as rapidly as you can while keeping the rest of your body relaxed.
-Keep blinking for 5–10 seconds.
-Once you stop, allow any blurriness to clear and note if your eyes feel more relaxed or if your visual clarity has gotten sharper
Palming
-Close your eyes and use both hands to cover them. You can interlace your fingers or overlap them to create a seal that keeps the light out.
-Next, relax and pay attention to what you are “seeing.” You may see flashes of light, sparkles, or “fireworks.”
-Rest in this position and try to decrease how many “fireworks” you see. Because no light is reaching your eyes during this time, you really should only be seeing black.
-Stay in this position and continue to relax your eyes for 30 seconds to a minute.