Eye Tracking

Lazy 8's Stand or sit with good alignment. Take right hand and stick thumb out while curling other four fingers Start with this thumb held about elbow's length from and straight ahead of the bridge of the nose. Very slowly start tracing a sideways eight or infinity sign moving from the right to left side of the body and above and below eye level. Holding head still track with eyes only. Reverse direction and then change hands.

Blue Light. This requires a helper. Sitting or standing or lying down in a dim room, have the assistant move a penlight about two feet from your face. Follow the light with the eyes only, not the head. The assistant should cross the the body midline and move up and down, but can also move somewhat closer and farther. In this variation there is no pattern, and changing speed and direction randomly is also part of the exercise. The goal is to not take the eyes off the light, and to really see it all times. If the assistant is a professional or observant, they might give prompts when attention wanders.

Rationale: Eye tracking exercises help 'eye block' by getting eyes moving and breaking up a stare. Eye tracking also gives constant feed back about 'losing track' of an object, and dissociation tendencies, especially the phenomenon of pointing he eyes forward but not really looking. Working with an assistant who moves randomly requires greater attention. Working with one's own thumb provides an opportunity to integrate proprioception and perhaps confront estrangement from one's own body. The figure eight pattern cause the eyes to cross the midline strengthening the corpus collosum and brain integration. It also stretches the extra-ocular muscles.