Your eyes are the window to your soul but do you know that your eyes can help you change and transform your soul. Ancient techniques yoga techniques have used various eye movements to help one relax and get within. Moreover, now modern medicine is also acknowledging the powerful effect our eyes have on our inner workings.
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Eyes & The Brain
Most of the information we receive from our world is through our vision. Our eyes represent a complex part of our central nervous system, connected directly to the brain. Via inputs to the visual cortex, the brain interprets and determines how the body should respond. The brain then sends messages down the spinal cord to instruct the body how to react to what the eyes see.
We perceive our reality through the behavior and actions of our family, friends and the world in general. We know whether someone cares about us by how they look at us. And vice versa, that look of anger and hate can make us feel terrible.
Look of Love
Besides physical nourishment, a baby needs its mother to deeply attune to him via deep eye contact. When a mother looks deeply into her child’s eyes and attunes to his physical and emotional needs she literally fires up the neurons in her baby’s brain thereby promoting brain development. It through this ‘limbic resonance’ or look of love shared with the primary caregivers that we develop into emotionally healthy human beings.
And if one does not experience this look of love as a child, one’s view of oneself and the world is undermined. It is as if one is engulfed in some black hole. Healing this void is possible through the limbic connection with another human being or maybe even a pet animal. Dogs and horses are notable healers, you need only to look into their eyes and feel the empathetic healing connection.
Only when one experiences that look of compassionate love can one become emotionally healthy human beings. It’s just plain and simple, deep human compassion, eye to eye contact is crucial for our well-being. For that reason, it is said, “psychotherapy is physiology,”
Posture and Your Eyes
Recently I read in one of the scoliosis blogs that one of the signs of scoliosis is a tilted eye line. Was scoliosis due to a wonky eye line or was a wonky eye line the reason for scoliosis. The brain does not work in isolation it relies on information from our environment. So if the environment is threatening, frightening and traumatic what information do the eyes convey to the brain.
Scientifically speaking, the visual system controls 70% of postural coordination and movements! Your vision is also affected by the muscles that control eye movement. There is a complex neurological connection between those parts and your brain.
People who are experiencing shame often look and feel small, shrinking. Their heads may be bowed, eyes downcast, and they don’t make eye contact – their gaze is averted. They are afraid to look directly at anyone.
Was how I looked at the world the reason for my crooked spine. Just before my spine went sideways I remember feeling shame-faced, my eyes were down-cast and I was afraid to look people in the eye. I was ashamed of the sexual abuse, feeling I was responsible. I was afraid of the physical violence of my father, I crouched in fear, waiting for the next attack.
Yogic Eye Exercises That Help Relax The Mind
If you can focus your eyes, you can focus your mind. Ancient yogic systems have a number of eye exercises that help you focus and thereby relax your mind and body:
- Trataka is a meditation technique which involves focusing on the eyes (and, in turn, the mind) through intent but relaxed gazing. The object can be almost anything, though the most popular choices are a candle flame, a black dot in a white wall, or an image with particular significance for you.
- Nasikagra Drishti – literally means gazing at the tip of the nose. It is a powerful practice to develop concentration and is used in conjunction with many meditation techniques.
- Shambhavi-mudra – is a yogic practice, in which the sight is directed and fixed in the center of the eyebrow. It is a powerful mudra used during meditation to still the mind and to experience higher stages of consciousness.
Louise Hay’s Mirror Work
Mirror work is a simple and effective method to learn see the world as a safe and loving place. When you feel good about yourself you see the world positively. Positive affirmations plant healing thoughts and ideas that support you in developing self-confidence and self-esteem and creating peace of mind and inner joy.
When you say positive affirmations out loud while you look at yourself in front of your mirror. the mirror reflects back to you the feeling you have about yourself. It makes you immediately aware of where you are resisting and where you are open and flowing. It clearly shows you what thoughts you will need to change.
The more you use mirrors for complimenting yourself, approving of yourself, and supporting yourself during difficult times, the deeper and more enjoyable your relationship with yourself will become.
Eyes Control Your Life.
Practicing some of the above eye exercises will help you soothe your mind which naturally leads to improved physical health. Feeling relaxed and positive translates into walking tall and confident. When we let go of negative programming and instill new positive inputs into our psyche our eyes transform from being downcast to being alive and optimistic.
Your eyes and your brain are intricately connected and you can learn how to tweak this interconnection by becoming aware of your gaze and how your eyes focus.
Your success in life definitely depends on your focus!
Further Reading:
Books
General Theory of Love – Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, Richard Lannon
