By Rawya El Gammal
They say the eyes are the window to the soul and the world. If you take enough time to look at people in the eye, you will know a lot about what they are going through, hiding, or avoiding. They may twinkle with enthusiasm, or they may be vacant.
The eyes carry a lot of emotional weight and tension, and they help us see the environment around us. As we grow, like our gait, our eyes get locked into certain comfortable habits looking at things in certain ways, avoiding blind spots, reducing spatial awareness, weakening certain muscles and all of this is very important for our balance, ability to excel in sport, prevent falls, create safety by seeing something that could be staring us in the eye but we’ve limited our space of sight, and they also hold emotions, trauma, and so much more.
We hold our postures in certain ways, but what if the way we walked affected the way we looked, and what if our eyes dictated how our body swayed or didn’t? It’s a loop that feeds itself. Sometimes a person will tilt their head to see better, a condition known as ocular torticollis. Patients who improve their vision realize that their body doesn’t have to work so hard in compensatory movements to see the neck muscles relax, the facial muscles don’t have to overwork or squint. Leaning forward and so on are all adjusted with better vision.
Alternatively, poor posture can result in bad eyesight, where the eyes have to strain to withstand the overworked muscular system, especially with digital overload, poor lighting, and lack of sleep. When our eyesight is compromised, so is our posture. People may tilt their heads, strain their trapezius muscles, clench their teeth, creating muscular imbalance, and the bigger muscles carry the brunt of it all. When people start strengthening their vision muscles, get prescriptions, or have their eyes tested, their body starts to change its alignment to a more natural one the head stacks over the shoulders and the rest of the body doesn’t have to work so hard. Improving vision helps balance, and visual and brain integration improves.
It’s worth knowing that the eyes and feet are connected not only through nerve pathways and a sensory feedback system but also via the posterior superficial myofascial chain, connecting the soles of the feet, moving up the spine, to the neck, attaching to the aponeurosis of the head, and ending around the eyeball. The feet create the input sent to the brain, and the eyes adjust to maintain balance, stability, and coordination, especially in sports where eye, hand, and speed are incorporated. Diabetes is one of the diseases that affect both the eyes and feet.
In fitness, we hold our bodies a certain way, we look a certain way, and in some cultures, children are not allowed to give eye contact as a sign of respect toward their parents and elders. The neck is held at a certain tension and if someone throws a ball at you, you can’t see it coming. This is something you can train and develop. Sports vision training helps develop visual skills that can transform high-performance athletes. It helps with depth perception, tracking, throwing, and hand-eye coordination, and it retrains the brain and eyes to work together more efficiently.
As we age, we lose spatial awareness, visual depth, and balance, often attributed to aging, ear problems, stiffness, and poor vision. Sometimes, with the right exercises, these too can develop and change the quality of life and help prevent falls. Eye exercises such as orchestrated blinks, palming, and eye push ups can be incorporated into a fitness routine within eye comfort to improve movement, help prevent falls, and aid balance. Currently, there are Visual rehab programs that help improve gait and proprioception and should be included in early rehabilitation following joint replacements or surgeries for older adults.
On an emotional level, the eyes hold onto memories. During an accident or trauma, when the body enters survival mode, the brain can shut down and the direction or window of vision during the event can freeze along with the emotions.
Working with an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist can release those frozen spots. They may not be big, but they create muscle tension and emotional freeze for a long time. A certified therapist, with the help of visual tools or hand movements, will have the client move their eyes in specific ways to process traumatic memories.
Another form of therapy that utilizes the eyes is couple’s therapy. It invites couples to look into each other’s eyes, creating closeness and intimacy. It may seem odd at first, especially when couples are instructed not to blink, but as you favour looking into one eye, shapes form and quite often laughter, tears, and emotion emerge as people start to see the person behind the eyes. A person may feel uncomfortable or vulnerable as they reconnect to their partner in a nonverbal way, and often a release of oxytocin occurs during the session, creating a sense of safety and co-regulation of the nervous system. This form of therapy increases intimacy, promotes connection, and eye gazing is a developing evidence-based therapy known as PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couple’s Therapy).
Eye health and gut health are interconnected. Intra-abdominal pressure can cause eye pain before a bowel movement or during constipation. When the gut is struggling, the eyes can become irritated through systemic pathways. The liver and eyes are also interconnected and can cause problems due to inflammation and toxin buildup. Liver dysfunction impacts the cornea, optic nerve, and retina. It is very important to have a healthy functioning liver, as deficiencies, toxin buildup, metabolic issues, metal accumulation, chronic liver disease, and medication side effects can all cause various eye issues. We can try to maintain eye health by eating nutritious, well-balanced meals that include antioxidants and pertinent vitamins, especially if deficiencies are present.
Japan is known to have the fewest vision issues, despite recent changes due to increased use of electronic devices. They maintain regular health checkups, consume sea vegetables, focus on hydration, and practice shiatsu, eye massage, as well as eye bathing, known as Gankyo.
In Ancient Egypt, eye health was practiced through the application of kohl (eyeliner) made from an antimicrobial powder ground from galena (lead sulfide) and malachite mixed with fat. It was believed to have reduced the reflection of sunlight in the desert. Spiritual beliefs surrounded the Eye of Horus, and the Egyptians were known for their advanced surgical procedures, as were the Greeks.
In Iridology, the pupils are said to have a map of our health. The lighter the eye color, the easier it is to spot changes. Iridologists use a torch to look into the eye to see potential health issues before they manifest in the body or to identify old scars within. However, this is considered a pseudo-science.
Other lifestyle approaches for eye and vision health, apart from adopting a nutritious diet, include lifestyle adjustments such as screen wellness, adequate sleep, acupuncture, and routine eye checkups, even if vision seems perfect. From foot to eye health, the body is a complex interdisciplinary system that needs the whole to feel whole and requires our full vision both internal and external to allow our being to truly be.
Rawya El Gammal is an Integrative Sports Therapist, works in Rehabilitation, a Menopause Health & Fitness Specialist, Lifestyle Medicine, Sleep, Nutrition & Wellness
Sports & Complementary Therapy 