Care and beauty of your eyes

As far as the beauty of our eyes is concerned, prevention is always better than cure. So do pay attention to your lifestyle as this has a direct effect on the eyes. Modern occupations and activities take a heavy toll on our eyes and their beauty. Spending long hours looking at computer and television screens, reading fine print and figures as well as air pollutants result in eye fatigue. Lack of sleep can affect the eyes too and they begin to look puffy and bloodshot.  Habitual lack of sleep can lead to ageing skin and dark circles under the eyes. This not only tells on the appearance, but on the health of the eyes.

Regular sleep and rest are necessary to relieve eye strain. Sleep has great restorative powers for both health and beauty. It relieves fatigue and helps to renew and refresh.  When the eyes are closed, they are ‘washed’ with natural moisture. This is necessary for good health of the eyes. Anyone who spends long hours reading or working on a computer should take time off, periodically, to rest the eyes by closing them for a few minutes.

Eye fatigue can also be relieved with washing. Splash the eyes with water and it feels good immediately. In fact, contrast washing is good for the eyes. Wash with warm water and follow this with cold water washing. This improves blood circulation to the eyes and soothes them. It also cleanses the eyes and relieves congestion.

Do some eye exercises daily:

• Put your hands over the eyes, with the base of your palm resting over the cheeks and the fingers on the forehead. Your palms create hollows over the eyes. Look into the darkness for a minute. This is very relaxing.
• Press the base of your palms gently on the eyes. Release the pressure and repeat. Do this three to four times.
• Open the eyes wide and look at the four corners of the room. Close the eyes and repeat, going the other way.
• Do the same exercise by rolling the eyes in a circle. Repeat going the other way around.
• Hold a pencil in front of the face. Look at it. Slowly extend your arm, taking the pencil further and further away from the face, while you are still looking at it. Bring the pencil back slowly and repeat.
• Look out of the window as far as you can see. This is a very good exercise for the eyes.
• Take time off from your work and look at green plants and trees. Green is supposed to soothe the eyes.

You can try this combination of massage and acupressure to help preserve eye beauty:

• To prevent fine lines around the eye area, form a circle around the eyes, using the third fingers, starting from the inner point of the eyebrows, going under the eyes and ending upwards at the outer point of the brows. Use a gentle touch and smooth gliding action.
• Apply gentle pressure to five points, first along the eyebrows, starting at the inner corner, then the centre of the brows and the outer corner. The fourth point is just beyond the outer corner of the eyes and the last point is just below the eyes.

Regular exercises are extremely beneficial for both health and beauty. Consult your doctor about daily exercises and include deep breathing exercises in your schedule. Yogic Pranayama is ideal. It counteracts stress and also oxygenates the body.

Regularity is the keyword for external beauty care while nutrition, exercise and a healthy lifestyle form the basis of beauty. In fact, internal good health and external care are two sides of the same coin. I think the woman today is fortunate that she has the benefit of information, beauty treatments and professional care.