Without our eyes we would not only not see the world we live in, but we would also not be connected to our inner light, says Vaidya Mishra. Our “inner light” is our “satwa,” the incandescent source that keeps us connected to cosmic life. In SVA, we learn that the physical eyes are the gateway that guide us from the individual satwa to the universal satwa, from jivatma to paramatma. When we close our eyes and shut out the hustle and bustle of the sensory world, it is our eyes that yogically turn on the inner light, and re-connect our subtle being with its source, guiding us back home to ourselves. Keeping our eyes physically healthy is therefore key.

 The eyes are run by several sub-doshas, but “alochak pitta” is the primary subdosha to address when trying to keep your eyes healthy.  Alochak pitta works in tandem with all other four pitta sub-dosha-s that govern our body: pachaka in the stomach, ranjaka in the liver, sadhaka in the heart, and bhrajaka in the skin. Alochaka, however, shares a special relation with ranjaka and sadhaka. In this sense, if one of them those go off, the likelihood of the others going off is greater.

Take care of sadhak and ranjak pitta: taking care of of our sadhak pitta and ranjak pitta can work wonders for the care of your eyes. Sadhak pitta governs the heart, and processes our emotions and thoughts. Ranjak pitta governs the liver and processes the food we ingest. Making sure that both sadhaka and ranjaka are cool and balanced will help support the eyes. All the things that help keep your emotions happy and healthy will keep your sadhak pitta in balance: from garnering positive mental habits to avoiding horror movies, going to bed on time and making sure you get some laughs and down time daily, you can keep sadhak pitta in check. Ranjak pitta gets affected by mental and emotional predisposition as much as bad food, and stress. So putting attention on managing your life and diet will help keep ranjak pitta in check.

Ashoka, Arjuna, Rose, DGL, and more: can play a central role when used daily and properly. For example, Ashoka, Arjuna, Rose,  De-glycerized Licorice, are wonderful herbal support for pitta subdoshas. SVA formulations that can readily help you pacify pitta subdoshas: the Samadhi Set (cream or roll-on) with Ashoka; rose is a balm for pitta! You can use it in any form or shape as an external transdermal application, as an aroma therapeutic addition, or ingest it in the SVA Rose preserve form. Then DGL  – either as a loose ingredient to make tea with (1 pinch DGL powder, 2 rosebuds, 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, 1/4 tsp coriander seeds – these proportions are per cup – drink no more than 2 cups a day); or as a cream or roll-on to apply on the liver area. Of course, SVA Pitta Tea, and SVA Pitta Masala are always great delicious additions to daily diet. Other ingredients that are also known to be of great help for the eyes are the amalaki berry (Wild Amla Capsules), Calcium (Soma Cal capsules), Triphala (Triphala for High Pitta Capsules).

  Marma point massage for the eyes: particularly for alochak pitta, doing eye marmas with Lalita’s age-defying cream or Vaidya Mishra’s ALA cream, or the SVA Triphala ghee before going to bed are ideal. If you do spend too many hours a day working on the computer, do the eye marma massage protocol in the morning as well. In this day and age, whether we are working on the computer, or starting at one of our many electronic devices’ screens, our eyes are overexposed to EMF and EMR. This electric that has been a technological boon is burning the “soma” of our eyes. Our eyes being agneya organs need a continuous supply of soma either through food, or from the environment. For example, you may consider keeping some plants in your work area, or take a break from work by going out into a garden or a park, and giving your eyes a break by staring at long distance objects to release and relax the eye muscles as well. You can also spray Vaidya’s Vayu Shudhi air freshener, it will not only refresh the air but its herbal aromatic ingredients will replenish the soma in the air.

Apply a spoonful on a band of clean cheesecloth, and then apply another spoon on the other side – measure so each spoonful will coincide with your eyelids once you lie down and place the cotton band on your eyes. Leave the cheesecloth on until your eyes are feeling or getting cold. Remove and discard the cheesecloth and wipe your eyes with cotton balls or cloth to remove any clay residue, then apply SVA Triphala Ghee on your eyelids and the temple area, massaging the eye marma-s. It is good to do this clay protocol before bed, as it will relax the brain, giving better sleep, even as it refreshes and soothes your tired eyes.

Shankha marma to release the stress built-up in the eyes

6) Ayurveda has a wide array of unique ingredients for every organ and organ-system : For our eyes, Chakchushya is the best specific herb for healthy long eye life. Vaidya Mishra has added this ingredient into his SVA Lalita’s Eyeliner along with, bhasma of  Mameera – bhasma means cooking it until it turns into a fine ash. Mameera is the traditional non-toxic ingredient for eye health. In addition, it supplies the rich black tint of the eyeliner. Then, Triphala if of course well-known for its three-dosha pacifying, detoxifying and nurturing effect on the eyes. Vaidya has made a special formula for the eyes that has Triphala and SVA Mum’s Ghee made from raw cream (not butter). Ghee made in the  traditional method is particularly considered best for the eyes, because ghee carries a balanced amount of soma and agni. When Triphala is infused in the ghee it becomes nectar for the eyes!  It will then not only nurture but also pacify alochak pitta and support alochak agni. Then, rose  is ideal for eyecare. A preparation of rose water to rinse the eyes on a daily basis will work wonders for your eyes. Vaidya Mishra has added the very best rose essence to the Lalita’s Eyeliner, in addition to ghee, Chakchu Mameera, beeswax – which s also good and nurturing and gives a good consistency to the eyeliner.

The idea of having an ayurvedic herbal eyeliner is not a concept unique to SVA! The ayurvedic shastras are filled with different kinds of herbalized eyeliners, called “anjan,” to support and/or enhance the health and activity of the eyes. An eyeliner is a great way to address the health of your eyes on a daily basis, since it is easy to use and apply. With Vaidya Mishra’s total Eyecare Marma protocol, products, and Lalita’s Eyeliner, you can have the best of all worlds: benefits from ancient ayurvedic herbs, marma remedies, and ingredients to help you keep going looking and seeing you best in the modern world!