Our Dancing Eyes!
Hello My Dancing Friends!
One of our most incredible gifts we have is the gift of sight. Of all of your body’s five senses, the sense of sight is considered to be the most complex. They are designed to receive and process light, rays and beams of light, and bounce off objects, giving you information about color, shape and texture. Have you ever stopped during your day and acknowledge the sights that are being taken in by your eyes? From the moment we wake up to the time we go to bed, our eyes are busy taking pictures and sending them to our brain for analysis. Our brain is in business with our eyes! Take a moment now and look around. What do you see and what are you perceiving you see? Nia asks us to be aware every moment, and as we look out into the world, to change our perception of what we see to make it pleasing - Life As Art. Pleasure. Our eyes are about the size of a table-tennis ball and they work just like a camera. The numerous muscles in our eyes work together to allow our eyes to move in all directions: up, down, around... taking pictures of our world! Did you know that out of all the muscles in your body, the muscles that control your eyes are the most active? You blink about 12 times every minute, and every blink lasts about 1/10th of a second! BUSY! In a Nia class we use the Head and Eye movement (one of Nia's 52 moves) to condition our eyes by looking around. When we follow our hand with our eyes or act as if we are following a butterfly, we engage the whole body. I have used this move many times to release tension in my neck and jaw. As I've said before, Nia is a WHOLE body workout, including our eyes!! I have listed below some things you can do throughout your day as you Dance Through Life, to keep your eyes healthy, and your body as well! Happy SEEING...and SEE you in class this week. 1. Breathe deeply. Your eyes are situated far from your lungs and heart, and shallow breathing will deprive your eyes of the essential nutrients they need to stay healthy, fit and well. Every hour, consciously take 30 seconds to “smell the moment,” drawing a deep breath in and letting out a full sigh, lengthening the time of your exhale.
2. Relax. Stress reduces the flow of blood and oxygen, starving your eyes of the fuel and nutrients they need to stay healthy. Make a conscious effort to relax your body and face, softening your eyes and jaw.
3. Check your posture. Avoid thrusting your head forward by releasing your lower jaw, allowing your head to gently float up.
4. Take a time out. When you sense your sight becoming blurry, distorted or strained, stop and take a time out. Relax and release by vocally sounding sustained vowel sounds of, “A-E-I-O-U”.
5. Thank your eyes. Each day, in the morning, noon and night, thank your eyes by saying, “Thank you for sharing the world with me”.
6. Exercise your eye muscles. Look left and right, up and down, around to the left and around to the right, and diagonally, sensing the muscles of your eyes stretching.
7. Avoid staring and blink. For every five minutes you have to look in one direction or at one point for extended lengths of time, stop and look out into the distance and take in everything. Move away from your computer screen after 20 minutes and look around.
8. Take a moment to close your eyes and sense your body. Allow your eyes time to rest and renew. Learn more and go deeper into the connection with you body and your life by taking a Nia White Belt Intensive. Check out my trainings HERE!
The light in me honors and SEES the light in you!!! Namaste!
Joanie
