Tromboning — a breath-paced focus exercise
Tromboning gets its name from the slide of a trombone: a pen moves slowly in toward your nose and back out to arm's length while you try to keep it in focus the whole way. The movement is paced by your breathing — in on the inhale, out on the exhale.
Because it is slow and rhythmic, it doubles as a breathing break. EyeFit's routines give it 2 to 3 minutes.
How to do it
Practise keeping a slowly moving object in focus, paced by your breathing.
- Hold an object (finger or pen) at arm's length.
- Breathe slowly and deeply.
- As you inhale, slowly bring the object toward your nose — keep it in focus.
- As you exhale, slowly take the object back out to arm's length.
- Continue timing all movements with your breathing.
Tip: If the object goes out of focus near your nose, slow down and let your eyes re-focus on a small detail.
Watch the demo
What you need
- A pen or your fingertip
When to stop
- If the pen goes blurry close to your face, stop moving it closer at that point.
- Stop if you feel eye strain, a headache or dizziness.
Do it with a guided timer
EyeFit runs this exercise inside timed routines — each step counts down, beeps when time is up and shows the steps and demo on screen. Free, in your browser. It appears in:
- Presbyopia & Hyperopia routine — 30 min total, this exercise 2 min
- Eye Floaters routine — 25 min total, this exercise 2 min
- Cataract routine — 28 min total, this exercise 3 min
- Macular Degeneration routine — 25 min total, this exercise 3 min
- Glaucoma & EpiRetinal Membrane routine — 25 min total, this exercise 3 min
- Keratoconus routine — 25 min total, this exercise 2 min
More eye exercise guides
- Palming
- Near-far focus
- Clock Rotations
- Eye Rolls
- Slow Blinking
- Squeeze Blinking
- Blur Zoning
- Shifting
- Warm & cold compress
- Eye acupressure
- All guides
EyeFit on Android
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