Medikoe Wellness Expert
Feb 5, 2019
Overview
The eyes are our windows to the soul. They are the main sites of pitta dosha called alocha. Excessive heat can accumulate in the eyes and can cause strain, dryness, bloodshot eyes, and even diminished vision. It is thus beneficial to give your eyes extra care, nutrition and rest after the overuse of staring all day at screens and detailed work. Ayurveda is an excellent approach for treating eye diseases caused by such day to day problems.
What is Netra Tarpana?
Ayurveda places great emphasis on the overall balance of your body and soul and a holistic approach to relieve the stress. Netra Tarpana is a procedure where circular formed frames made of a powdered Masha paste are placed around the eyes.
Lukewarm medicated "ghee" (according to the dosha) is essentially the combination of two Sanskrit words: "Netra" meaning eyes and "Tarpana" meaning rehydration. This Ayurvedic healing therapy utilizes ghee, i.e., clarified butter. Ghee is an excellent healing agent for stressed, tired, disorderly eyesight and dehydrated eyes.
Netra Tarpana cools, lubricates, rejuvenates, and improve inner vision by clearing out the subtle channels associated with inner and outer perception. It also brings back brightness and clarity to the eyes as impurities are removed. It also helps with sleep, glaucoma, chronic conjunctivitis, the early formation of a cataract, and promotes relaxation.
Netra Tarpana Procedure (Ghee Eye Bath)
Duration: 30 minutes
The treatment is done by making a pool of herbal ghee over the eye. The eyes comfortably swim in the ghee for about 20 minutes. In this procedure, a dam made of dough is used, which creates a well around the eyes. For making the dough, urad flour is preferable because it is sticky and it creates enough firms to hold the ghee without any leakage.
Moreover, there are eyecup and eyeglasses that make this procedure even easy and quick. If you want to use eyeglasses or eyecups, make sure you sterilize it.
- Take 2 or 3 tablespoons of ghee and heat it to medium temperature using sterile cooking equipment. Don't use ghee that has used previously for other foodstuffs or non-sterile utensils.
- Allow it to cool down to your body temperature and with the head down press the eyeglasses or dam to your eyes.
- Now, move your head back with your eye open, hold your dam or eyeglasses firmly in place for 2 minutes.
- Pour the ghee around your eyes, blink, and look around to allow the ghee to cover your eyes completely.
The best way you can do this is while lying down; it will help you to relax and let the gravity do the work for you. You can do the entire process 3 to 4 times a week to reduce the appearance of fatigue and dry eyes and also to counteract pitta imbalance. Always use a new pack of ghee for every use because used ghee can contain harmful bacteria which can lead to a severe condition like blindness or eye damage.
Instead of ghee, you can also apply a compress of equal parts of turmeric and raw honey to the eyelid. Apply a bottle of hot water to keep it warm for 20 minutes.
It is preferred to perform Netra Tarpana in the afternoon in optimal temperature conditions. Extremely hot or cold conditions should be avoided. This treatment should be performed by a trained Ayurvedic practitioner.
