Trataka - Yoga practice for the eyes

Trataka is a yoga practice that is part of the Shatkarm system. Exercise is the "thinnest" of all cleansing techniques that contribute to the opening of the "third eye", so it is still considered a full-fledged meditative technique. The word trataka itself comes from the Sanskrit word tinder, which means crying and shedding tears. This, perhaps, is the very essence of the exercise.

The Indian exercise of trataka for restoring vision consists in staring at the object - the flame of a candle or a fixed point. Watch until tears come out. Yoga, which has this technique, suggests that it helps to clean not only the eyes, but also intuition.

This practice is designed for daily performance by healthy adults. However, children over five years of age can also begin to master this technique under the supervision of adults who know a lot about practice.

What abilities gives a trataka
Trataka for the eyes is considered as a yogic method of accumulating a special psychic energy - Tapas. What is this energy and what is its strength?

Tapas is a cosmic heat, what moves us helps to achieve our goals. It should also be understood as piety and ascetic zeal, which is especially welcomed in yoga.

 

This practice has a powerful effect:

Trataka enhances mental potential, that is, clarity of mind. The power of concentration, gaze and will - all this is trained in the process of regular practice. Perception of reality becomes more sober.
The cleaning technique allows you to get rid of unnecessary information that comes to a person daily in large quantities and interferes with clarity of mind. All this helps to prevent stress, and also gives peace of mind.
Due to the fact that trataka helps to concentrate energy in the Ajna Chakra (in the pineal gland, called the “third eye” in yoga), which is responsible for spiritual knowledge and intuition, mental potential is enhanced, and sometimes clairvoyance awakens.
Practice relieves eye strain, prevents the development of eye diseases and helps in the treatment of eye diseases.
Trataka promotes relaxation, pacification, therefore, it must be performed before bedtime.
Trataka is like an attempt to control attention and reduce the level of uncontrolled mental “noise” that interferes with more subtle perception, thinking, intuition. This yogic practice purifies the sight of both the external and the internal.
Preparing for a trataka
To perform trataki should be prepared. To do this, rinse your eyes with water, the temperature of which is equal to body temperature. It is advisable to use a container specially designed for this, which is usually available to experienced yogis. If such a container is not available, then you can pour water into a clean basin, dip your head into it, open your eyes and blink. After this, it is advisable to complete 6–9 cycles of the Surya Namaskar asana complex, also known as “Salutation to the Sun.”

Gymnastics for the eyes will not be superfluous. To do this, you need to sit in a comfortable motionless pose with a straightened back. Then the eyeballs move:

from side to side;
up and down (the head is still stationary);
diagonally - from one corner to another (from left to right and vice versa);
in a circle, marking imaginary points on 6 and 12.
Each type of movement is performed 7-14 times.

Trataka meditation on a candle
It is necessary to practice meditation on a candle flame in a quiet room without drafts. The main thing that the flame did not flicker was motionless. It is also very important that the fire did not double in the eyes.

The candle should be at arm's length and at eye level. The pose should be relaxed. When performing the exercise, you do not need to look at all the flames. It is worth concentrating approximately in the middle of it - where the top edge of the wick is. There should not be any unpleasant sensations and tension in the eyes. If you feel tired, you can briefly cover your eyes.

Now we will go directly to the stages of the trataka exercise.
Stage of harmonization of breathing and relaxation
You should take a comfortable posture for meditation. For this, Padmasana, Siddhasana or Sukhasana will do. Alternatively, you can sit on a chair and put a candle on the table.

Now it’s time to start Nadi Shodhasana Pranayama in order to cleanse the subtle canals. To do this, the right nostril is clamped with the thumb of the right hand, a breath is taken at the expense of 1, after which both nostrils are clamped and the breath is held for 4 counts. After that, the left nostril is clamped with the little finger or ring finger of the right hand and the right one is released, through which it should be exhaled for 2 counts.

All this makes up one cycle. All they need to spend 10-15. In order not to get confused, you need to change your fingers after inhaling and holding your breath. Note that 1 score is not necessarily 1 second. This is a time gap, proportion.

Focus on the subject
Now it's time to move on to focusing attention on the flame. The candle should be located at a distance of 20-30 cm from the head and be at eye level.

Take five breaths and, at the last, hold your breath without straining your chest and stomach. With a delay, you need to look closely at the candle flame (in its center) until tears come out. Facial expression should express peace and quiet. However, it is recommended to express a slight smile, as this helps to relax the lower jaw and throat muscles.

Typically, the trataka practitioner's tears appear quickly enough. It can take a beginner about 5-10 minutes. There are very rare cases when tears do not protrude even for 20 minutes. Then it is absolutely necessary to temporarily abandon attempts to achieve such an effect.

Visualization with meditation
After waiting for the moment when tears flow from the eyes, you need to close your eyes, exhale as slowly as possible and reduce your eyes (also very slowly) to the area between the eyebrows (Brumadya). An image of flame will appear in this place. This image can be very different, take bizarre forms. Observe them - impartially, not trying to control his transformation.

Completion
When the image of the flame disappears, you need to take a deep breath and hold the air. During this, the forehead is gently massaged and movements are made from the “third eye” region to the temples and from the base of the nose to the temples. If breath holding is still comfortable, then you should clasp your fingers into the lock and stretch your neck, holding his head. Then palms fall on the chest, exhale is done. Then the breath should level out. After that, you need to open your eyes.

Eye Cooling
This stage of practice is optional to perform, as it is optional. Rinse your eyes with rose water or perform jala neti.

It is better to do the practice every evening after it has already darkened so that nothing interferes with concentration. After a trataka, it is very undesirable to strain one's eyes by working at a computer, reading, etc.

Trataka at external sites
Those objects that are motionless and do not emit flicker or pulsation can be used for trataki. Therefore, instead of the candle flame, you can focus your eyes, for example, on a black dot, a crystal, the rising sun. Some use a deity figure or some symbols - a heart lotus, a cross, a crescent. The most important thing to consider when choosing a subject for a trataka is the lack of dazzlingly bright or destructive radiation that can harm your eyesight.

The size of the subject for meditation can vary from practice to practice. It is very important to exercise with one selected object all the time. You can experiment and give preference to the one that is most suitable. In this matter, everything is purely individual. What is good for one can harm the other.

There are some contraindications to the tratake. The practice of cleaning technique should not be given to those who have an inflammatory disease of the eye or brain in an acute form, glaucoma, a malignant formation of the visual system, retinal detachment, or a mental disorder. If there are serious problems with vision, then meditation on a candle flame can be replaced by meditation on a mandala or dot.

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