Is there any advice on practicing yoga if you have glaucoma?
You should speak to your ophthalmologist (hospital eye doctor) for advice about doing yoga if you have glaucoma.
There is some evidence that certain activities where the head is below the heart for extended periods of time, can raise eye pressure temporarily. This may apply to certain positions in yoga, such as downward facing dog or headstands. People already diagnosed with glaucoma may be advised to avoid activities which involve repeated head-down or inverted positions because of the potential for eye pressure being raised by these positions.
However, it’s not known whether the temporary rise in eye pressure caused by these positions causes problems to someone’s glaucoma in the long term. Exercise generally has many beneficial effects for eye and general health.
