2 Eye Exercises You Should Be Doing with Your Clients

Did you know that the eyes play a significant role in how the body moves, balances, and processes pain? Well I bet if you didn’t, you had SOME curiosity about it since you are here after all ;) Welcome to the blog, I am so grateful you’re here to expand and blossom this unique conversation for yourself and your clients.

The Visual System

The visual system is deeply connected to the brain and nervous system… meaning that poor eye control can directly impact your posture, coordination, and overall physical performance. While most of us take our vision for granted, training eye movement can be a powerful tool for improving function and reducing discomfort for clients.

Two simple yet impactful eye exercises—smooth pursuits and near-far focus—can help sharpen visual control, optimize brain processing, and support better movement outcomes.

Smooth Pursuits

Smooth pursuits are all about training the eyes to track moving objects smoothly without jumping ahead or lagging behind. The brain relies heavily on these types of movements to predict and prepare for what’s coming next. Smooth pursuits are essential for activities that require coordinated motion, such as walking, running, or catching objects. When this function is compromised, it can lead to inefficient movement patterns and increased stress on the body. To perform smooth pursuits, have your client follow a slow-moving target (like your finger or a pen) as you guide it horizontally, vertically, and in circles, ensuring their head remains still. This simple exercise strengthens the brain’s ability to integrate visual information and support movement precision.

Near-Fars

Near-far focus, on the other hand, trains the eyes to shift smoothly between a close-up target and one farther away (both distances can be changed). This exercise challenges the brain to quickly adjust visual focus, which is critical for everyday tasks like driving, reading, and maintaining balance during movement. Near-far focus also helps reduce visual fatigue and supports better depth perception, which can influence how well a client positions themselves in space. To perform this exercise, hold a small object (like a pen) at arm’s length and have your client focus on it, about 6 inches from the bridge of their nose (not the tip). Next, instruct them to shift their gaze to a distant target across the room or the tip of a tree outside, then return to the near object. Repeat for several repetitions, ensuring the shift remains smooth and intentional. Do not move to next target until previous target is clear, is possible.

Combining smooth pursuits and near-far focus exercises in client sessions is a simple but effective way to activate the visual system, improve brain-body connection, and support better movement outcomes.

I learned this information from Dr. Goldberg at Stanford University (chair of ophthalmology) and the most EXCITING news about these 2 eye exercsies is they are actually PROVEN to 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 and don’t just work the eye muscles and help with everything I listed above.
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🤯This is a 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 that should be on every billboard on every highway across our entire country.⁣
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🤯It should be on every news station and all over social media.⁣
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👵🏼 People should be sharing this with their loved ones, especially if they’re over 40 years old.⁣
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But here I am in my little corner of the Internet, shouting as loud as I can, for anyone who’s willing to listen 😂⁣
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👁️ 𝗘𝘆𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. ⁣
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👂🏼 𝗩𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.⁣
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𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 ➡️ 👀 +👂🏼 ⁣
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🧠 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.⁣
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HERE is a 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦 if you are interested in a real training session 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.

See you next month😉 SEE what I did there? 👀