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Essentially, “tromboning” means focusing in and out on a certain object (sort of like how a trombone slides forwards and backwards). Not only does this practice help strengthen your eye muscles—it’s like “push-ups” for the focusing system, Appelbaum says—but it also heightens your sense of peripheral awareness, which is great for quelling anxiety.  

“When we feel claustrophobic and we feel our body’s reaction to stress and we tense up, a lot can be done with relaxing focus, opening up periphery, and shifting how we are taking in that experience,” he adds. Think about it: With anxiety, many of us experience “tunnel-vision” and lose peripheral awareness. When you have the ability to zoom out, it can almost “trick” your brain into relieving that anxiety. 

But back to the tromboning practice: “Take a target up close with small letters on it, bring it as close as [you] can until it gets a little blurry. Stop, try and make it clear, and then bring it backwards,” says Appelbaum. “You’re almost tromboning that zone. The more you practice that, the closer you’ll be able to get that image.” Feel free to start with one eye covered and alternate, if that’s easier. 

Palming is actually a yogic exercise that has been around for hundreds of years, says Appelbaum. The key is to relax the muscles around the eyes, which reduces eye strain and provides an instant sense of comfort. To start, “rub your hands together to create a lot of heat. Then, ideally near a desk, close your eyes, put your hands over your eyes, block out any of the light that’s there, and the warmth and the relaxation almost acts like a meditation for the eyes,” he says. 

It’s great if you need a quick moment of pause during a busy workday—just don’t forget to breathe deeply while you relax. 

Your eyes contain teeny-tiny muscles, and you can help strengthen them, just as you might perform bicep curls to work your arm muscles. “Our muscles get tense, and life is tense. So often vision and adaptations that occur are in response to this stress,” Appelbaum notes.  

But because the eye muscles are so delicate, they don’t require a ton of training. Simply follow his instructions below:

1. Cover up one eye, and look as far up to the ceiling as you can. Hold it for 10 seconds before relaxing. 
2. Then look as far down to the floor as you can. Hold it for 10 seconds before relaxing. 
3. Repeat these steps by looking to the left, right, and diagonally. Then cover the other eye and repeat.