Eye Exercises for People With Cataracts

Cataracts are a clouding of the lens of the eye, which is found directly behind the iris and pupil, the colored area of the eyeball. The lens of the eye adjusts focus and enables light to pass through, thereby enabling us to see. However, as we age, proteins that make up the lens sometimes group or clump together, causing a gradual clouding of the eye. In addition to a diet high in antioxidants and decreased salt intake, exercise may help prevent such changes in the lens.

Focus on the Lens

• Exercises that encourage the eye to focus may be beneficial in preventing and treating mild cases of cataracts. One such exercise is commonly called tromboning. In this exercise, you hold an object at arm's length. Inhale and move the object closer to your face until it touches the end of your nose. As you exhale, extend the object to arm's length again, always keeping your eyes focused on the object. This exercise and others like it will help exercise your eye muscles and lenses.

Yoga Eye Exercises

• Yoga is designed to provide health and well-being for the entire body, mind and spirit. Many yoga techniques and exercises emphasize the reduction of stress, which can affect eyesight, especially when many of us sit staring at a computer screen all day. When we step away and try to focus on distant object, our focus may be off. Try this exercise to help focus: Focus on a distant object in a room for a few seconds, and then look to a point on the floor in front of you. Next, roll your eyeballs upward, hold, then roll them downward and hold. Now look to the left and then to the right, focusing on different objects at eye level on either side of you. Repeat this process four times, staying relaxed and breathing deeply throughout.

Altering Vision

• Altering the focus of your vision keeps the eye muscles strong and toned, and helps the lens to quickly adjust to the distance between far and near objects. Start this exercise by holding a pencil to the end of your nose. Without raising it, move it away from your nose, keeping it at a point where you can see it without blurred vision. Now raise your eyes and find a distant point that you can see clearly, without any blurring. Now shift your focus back to the pencil. Repeat this back and forth move at least three times. Finish by blinking firmly several times, then squeeze your eyes shut tightly for several seconds, then open and relax. This exercise will help keep the lens active and moving, which may also help prevent proteins from clumping in the lens, causing cloudy vision.