I found another article on internet that I might though would be interesting:
Natural Vision Improvement: An Alternative to Lasik Surgery
The site describes acupressure points that might release tension in 3 major muscles: superior oblique, inferior oblique and ciliary muscles. There is a point for recti muscles as well. You will find a chart with all the corresponding points.
Check it out.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Vision Fluctuates
My eyes feel strained again. It might be a good thing though, before they were straining and I could not even tell. Now I actually feel the strain. Not that it does me any good. I have to wear my contacts most of the day now so that could be a contributing factor too.
Anyway, try to relax if you can.
Anyway, try to relax if you can.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Henry Rawlinson
The picture above is of Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, famous for deciphering Persian cuneiform. What does it have to do with eyesight, you might ask? Actually, I want you to notice his eyes. It’s not a photograph but his eyes look so vivid and definitely not myopic in spite of hours that he (supposedly) spent working on unknown script. He was also a British military officer so my guess is he spent lots of time outside looking at the distance. Anyway, I think this portrait is exceptional. Here’s the man with perfect vision in spite of hours of doing close work. Somehow he avoided near-point stress. He should be an inspiration to all of us.I think it's a good idea to put a portrait of somebody with a perfect vision where you can look at it often. Dr. Bates noticed that people's sight is affected by surroundings that included other people. That's why children of myopic parents are often grow up to be myopic. They pick up a staring habit from their parent. It does not happen every time but unfortunately often enough to give a rise to the false idea that myopia is genetic.
The way I see it myopic people developed a habit of staring/straining when looking at the distance and "relaxing" the muscle when doing close work when it should be the other way around. Even Bates himself admitted that the eye in the relaxed state is designed for looking at the distance: the ciliary muscle is relaxed and the lens inside the eye is flat. Dr. Bates in his book has some interesting photographs of people who stare and who don’t, sometimes even the same person (see online version of the book).
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
How to Work with an Eyechart
First of all, let me tell you that I don’t like eyecharts. I think they are boring. I much prefer to look at the trees. But they certainly have their use.
I noticed that whenever I look at an eyechart as a chart trying to see how many letters I can make out I can almost never can make any. On the other hand if I just glance at it like an object (just something to look at) without trying to make letters I have some glimpses of improved vision. Sometimes if I just look at the eyechart for a few seconds the letters would come into focus but that does not usually last. The psychological switch is very subtle though and I cannot always get into the required state.
Another point is that eyecharts are different. Different eyecharts have different impacts. I like the one I made myself (just printed some letters on a sheet). I made several others too but they did not seem to be as good.
Actually the worse thing about the eyechart is its falsehood. People usually treat eyechart like a way to test their vision. Virtually every advice on the eyechart includes something along the lines to look at it until you can see a letter (or a line) clear (or clearer). Well, in my experience, if you can see one line or letter clearly, all of them become clear (except the very small ones, and sometimes even they are clear).
So I recommend you print your own eyechart. Don’t even bother with small letters, you can always print another chart with smaller letters when your vision becomes better.
For those of you who just want to print eyecharts and don't want to make your own, here's an excellent resource.
The main point to keep in mind is that you should be able to relax while you look at it. And if you remember the letters and are able to imagine them, it’s even better, I think that is what Bates called memory and imagination as an aid to vision.
By the way I am not good at memory/imagination thing myself but Bates reports some amazing stories. There is a case of a doctor who was cured when he was able to imagine that the printed letters were perfectly black.
I noticed that whenever I look at an eyechart as a chart trying to see how many letters I can make out I can almost never can make any. On the other hand if I just glance at it like an object (just something to look at) without trying to make letters I have some glimpses of improved vision. Sometimes if I just look at the eyechart for a few seconds the letters would come into focus but that does not usually last. The psychological switch is very subtle though and I cannot always get into the required state.
Another point is that eyecharts are different. Different eyecharts have different impacts. I like the one I made myself (just printed some letters on a sheet). I made several others too but they did not seem to be as good.
Actually the worse thing about the eyechart is its falsehood. People usually treat eyechart like a way to test their vision. Virtually every advice on the eyechart includes something along the lines to look at it until you can see a letter (or a line) clear (or clearer). Well, in my experience, if you can see one line or letter clearly, all of them become clear (except the very small ones, and sometimes even they are clear).
So I recommend you print your own eyechart. Don’t even bother with small letters, you can always print another chart with smaller letters when your vision becomes better.
For those of you who just want to print eyecharts and don't want to make your own, here's an excellent resource.
The main point to keep in mind is that you should be able to relax while you look at it. And if you remember the letters and are able to imagine them, it’s even better, I think that is what Bates called memory and imagination as an aid to vision.
By the way I am not good at memory/imagination thing myself but Bates reports some amazing stories. There is a case of a doctor who was cured when he was able to imagine that the printed letters were perfectly black.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Glasses and Anomaly of Refraction
I read something in Dr. R. S. Agarwal’s book that I want to share with you. It is the fact that correlation between the degree of abnormality (dioptria) and your glasses (contact) prescription is not linear. Or rather the distance at which you are able to see a certain line on the eyechart is not directly related to your prescription. Two people might have the same anomaly of refraction, e. g. 10/200 and one is corrected by -3 D glasses while another need -5 D. This is certainly very interesting. I can tell from my experience of clear flashes that sometimes they get almost clear. I had a perfect flash once about 5 years ago but it only lasted for a split of a second. Of course if the flash is that short it is possible that we might never become aware of it.
The point is that vision improvement is not necessarily a gradual process but rather comes in jumps. It depends how well you are able to relax your muscles.
I think this is the reason why glasses/contacts should be discarded if you are serious about eyesight improvement. It is not always possible but it would be the best way. You might be able to recover very quickly but every time you wear glasses you lock into you bad vision again.
On the other hand I know how frustrating it is to move around without the vision aid. I still think one should remove glasses whenever possible, for example moving around house, going for a walk, etc. And it is a good idea to read without glasses.
The point is that vision improvement is not necessarily a gradual process but rather comes in jumps. It depends how well you are able to relax your muscles.
I think this is the reason why glasses/contacts should be discarded if you are serious about eyesight improvement. It is not always possible but it would be the best way. You might be able to recover very quickly but every time you wear glasses you lock into you bad vision again.
On the other hand I know how frustrating it is to move around without the vision aid. I still think one should remove glasses whenever possible, for example moving around house, going for a walk, etc. And it is a good idea to read without glasses.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Caution on Sun Treatment
Sun treatment or sunning as it is popularly known is a famous technique advocated by Bates. I read that some people promoted sunning with open eyes. Not only that but they also recommend using magnifying glass. I do not recommend it. It’s very easy to burn your retina and the consequences will be tragic. It also takes precise distance from the eye to magnifying glass that is hard to calculate. The afterimage of the sun may be long lasting too and might be a contributing factor to floaters.
I heard that members of an Indian sect that look directly at the sun eventually go blind. In India it’s considered a sign of spiritual devotion or something like that. But the fact is that they lose their sight.
Bates himself claimed that some people can look directly at the sun without any harm. There is even a picture in the original book (see online version) that shows a woman and a child supposedly looking at the sun. And they are not even squinting! I find it hard to believe that people with normal sight would look at the sun and not squint. For this very reason the passage was removed in later edition.
Come to think of it, there are probably people who can look directly at the sun. But my guess is they are in minority and as rare as people with, say, 80/20 vision. Bates, like others in the similar circumstances, picked up cases that illustrated his point without indicating how common they were. All the “instant cure’ cases belong to this category too.
The people promoting open eyes sunning technique report no ill effect. Well, some people can swallow nails without any harm too. It does not mean that we should follow them.
Here’s another good one. On one of the eyesight forum somebody recommended eyewash that contained cayenne pepper as one of the ingredients. Hmm… I don’t think I am going to try this one.
So take any advice with a grain of salt and exercise caution. Not everybody out there is an expert. And what works for one will not necessarily work for another.
I heard that members of an Indian sect that look directly at the sun eventually go blind. In India it’s considered a sign of spiritual devotion or something like that. But the fact is that they lose their sight.
Bates himself claimed that some people can look directly at the sun without any harm. There is even a picture in the original book (see online version) that shows a woman and a child supposedly looking at the sun. And they are not even squinting! I find it hard to believe that people with normal sight would look at the sun and not squint. For this very reason the passage was removed in later edition.
Come to think of it, there are probably people who can look directly at the sun. But my guess is they are in minority and as rare as people with, say, 80/20 vision. Bates, like others in the similar circumstances, picked up cases that illustrated his point without indicating how common they were. All the “instant cure’ cases belong to this category too.
The people promoting open eyes sunning technique report no ill effect. Well, some people can swallow nails without any harm too. It does not mean that we should follow them.
Here’s another good one. On one of the eyesight forum somebody recommended eyewash that contained cayenne pepper as one of the ingredients. Hmm… I don’t think I am going to try this one.
So take any advice with a grain of salt and exercise caution. Not everybody out there is an expert. And what works for one will not necessarily work for another.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Research Proposal
I’d like to find a method that would help everyone to cure any degree of myopia. For that I propose that a group of volunteers will be sent to some island in the tropical climate (warm weather is good for sunning) and perform distant viewing. They will practice traditional Bates techniques. In addition to that they will have to spend 2 or 3 hours on top of the hill gazing at the distance. Reading will be allowed but all computer work will be eliminated. Needless to say, they will all have to discard glasses but other than that they can do pretty much what they want: swimming, laying on the beach, bicycling, yoga. The stress environment should be eliminates so they should not worry about the money.
And this is what I think will happen. My idea is that looking at the distance for hours will eventually eliminate the myopia. So there are 3 phases to that.
Phase 1. A person just looks at the distance consciously trying to relax while doing so. According to Bates myopia is caused by straining to look far so the point here is start looking at the distance without straining. In order to relax while looking at the distance one has to blink frequently and shift constantly.
Phase 2. After the habit of staring is broken, a person should start noticing considerable improvement in his/her vision. At first the flashes will be very brief and rare but eventually they will become prolonged flashed and their quality will be improved.
Phase 3. Once these flashes become normal, one can produce prolonged flashes of clear vision at will. When one flash ends just start another. Eventually your body will get what it is you want and your vision will become perfect or almost perfect. The improvement will be permanent. But just to keep it safe be aware of Bates techniques and keep practicing them. And don’t forget to keep your eyes relaxed.
Update. Perhaps one should also add pranic healing to the activities in this imaginary (as for now) retreat. Heck, why not, we should use any method that can help.
And this is what I think will happen. My idea is that looking at the distance for hours will eventually eliminate the myopia. So there are 3 phases to that.
Phase 1. A person just looks at the distance consciously trying to relax while doing so. According to Bates myopia is caused by straining to look far so the point here is start looking at the distance without straining. In order to relax while looking at the distance one has to blink frequently and shift constantly.
Phase 2. After the habit of staring is broken, a person should start noticing considerable improvement in his/her vision. At first the flashes will be very brief and rare but eventually they will become prolonged flashed and their quality will be improved.
Phase 3. Once these flashes become normal, one can produce prolonged flashes of clear vision at will. When one flash ends just start another. Eventually your body will get what it is you want and your vision will become perfect or almost perfect. The improvement will be permanent. But just to keep it safe be aware of Bates techniques and keep practicing them. And don’t forget to keep your eyes relaxed.
Update. Perhaps one should also add pranic healing to the activities in this imaginary (as for now) retreat. Heck, why not, we should use any method that can help.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Eyesight and Glare
Recently I noticed that it’s hard for me to look at the distance. The problem is not just straining but because of the awful glare. It is probably caused by smog though the town is fairly small and the place is far from the freeway.
Thomas (my follower) who has good eyesight reported the same effect so I know it’s not just my eyesight but something in the air. The glare is so bad that sometimes I want to put on dark shades (and I don’t even have a pair).
The situation is so bad that sometimes it is almost painful to look out of the window. However, if I look from the inside, it’s all right. It’s not really painful but sometimes my eyes would tear and I actually feel tremendous strain. I wonder if it is the consequences of the “ozone hole”.
Thomas (my follower) who has good eyesight reported the same effect so I know it’s not just my eyesight but something in the air. The glare is so bad that sometimes I want to put on dark shades (and I don’t even have a pair).
The situation is so bad that sometimes it is almost painful to look out of the window. However, if I look from the inside, it’s all right. It’s not really painful but sometimes my eyes would tear and I actually feel tremendous strain. I wonder if it is the consequences of the “ozone hole”.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Bates Method Are Not Exercises
If there is one thing I want to impress on you about the Bares method is that this method is not about physical exercises. Quite the opposite, in fact. It is about maintaining and developing correct visual habits, the right way to use your eyes. Lots of people read his book and think all they have to do is perform certain exercises, and then they wonder why they don’t see any results. Well, Bates method is more like yoga in that respect. If you decide to master, say, Raja yoga, you don’t practice a certain set of exercises and expect to become an adept after a while. It’s more about developing your mind, mind control, things that can’t be developed mechanically. Things that can’t be taught in a book. It is the same with the Bates method.
Palming and sun treatment can hardly be called exercises, techniques maybe, that allow one to relax. Shifting and central fixation are actions that are performed all the time even by people with imperfect vision. They should become more aware of them.
Bates advocated the use of an eye chart but this chart is used more for a feedback rather than an actual tool. You don’t have to use a eyechart, you can use trees, pictures on the wall or whatever object you want. He encouraged practicing shifting with an eyechart because it’s quite easy to do. He never advocated exercises like “roll your eyes all the way to the left, then all the way to the right”, that are so popular. Admittedly, they won’t do any harm. But no benefits either.
Just look at all the misconceptions that are around and used by people “promoting” Bates method
They would talk about “weak” muscles that need strengthening, “just like any other part of the body”. Yeah, right. Eye muscles are not like any other muscle. They are certainly not weak, in fact they are in a permanent spasm. To relax this spasm is what Bates method is all about.
They would talk about eyechart that if you use the same eyechart, you memorize it and it won’t be effective. That is precisely the idea! The eye chart in Bates method is not used to test your vision, it is used to practice shifting, or, if your vision is good, to maintain it just by looking at it as a familiar object. I actually saw someone on internet selling one of the numerous Bates rip-off products the random eyechart generator. These people just don’t get it.
On a side note: the more I look on internet, the more I think that any info product that is sold there is an overpriced scam. Vision improvement products are just part of it. You certainly don't need to buy anything. The Bates book is actually cheaper than books of his followers.
Palming and sun treatment can hardly be called exercises, techniques maybe, that allow one to relax. Shifting and central fixation are actions that are performed all the time even by people with imperfect vision. They should become more aware of them.
Bates advocated the use of an eye chart but this chart is used more for a feedback rather than an actual tool. You don’t have to use a eyechart, you can use trees, pictures on the wall or whatever object you want. He encouraged practicing shifting with an eyechart because it’s quite easy to do. He never advocated exercises like “roll your eyes all the way to the left, then all the way to the right”, that are so popular. Admittedly, they won’t do any harm. But no benefits either.
Just look at all the misconceptions that are around and used by people “promoting” Bates method
They would talk about “weak” muscles that need strengthening, “just like any other part of the body”. Yeah, right. Eye muscles are not like any other muscle. They are certainly not weak, in fact they are in a permanent spasm. To relax this spasm is what Bates method is all about.
They would talk about eyechart that if you use the same eyechart, you memorize it and it won’t be effective. That is precisely the idea! The eye chart in Bates method is not used to test your vision, it is used to practice shifting, or, if your vision is good, to maintain it just by looking at it as a familiar object. I actually saw someone on internet selling one of the numerous Bates rip-off products the random eyechart generator. These people just don’t get it.
On a side note: the more I look on internet, the more I think that any info product that is sold there is an overpriced scam. Vision improvement products are just part of it. You certainly don't need to buy anything. The Bates book is actually cheaper than books of his followers.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Complete book of Eye Care
Dr. M. S. Agarwal is the son of Dr. R. S. Agarwal and was also an ophthalmologist wrote a book The Complete Book of Eye Care that is available on this site.
It’s a quick read. Here is my review of it.
Well, it is a very basic book. It starts with the invective against television and enlists the very simple Bates techniques. The part that I like is a chapter on yoga exercises that include postures (asanas) and breathing (pranayama). Yes, they are very basic but most people probably never heard of them. There is a chapter on mechanical contraptions as well that supposes to improve vision (like myopeter in Donald Rehm’s book, see my previous post). Another part that I like is a chapter on diet: though not really practical for American residents as it mentions Indian fruit and vegetables, it at least makes you aware of the importance of diet for the overall health.
Speaking about diet I can’t help recommending you an excellent book by Dr. Weston Price, who was in dentistry the same figure as Dr. Bates was in ophthalmology. Read that to find out the truth about why people’s teeth are bad. And as you have probably guessed by now it’s not lack of brushing. Here is a quick synopsis of the book as it is rather long and tedious. You can also read my article on diet.
So as it is a very quick read it’s worth the time. The book is not very well written (compared to Bates or even Dr. R. S. Agarwal) but if you are just looking for information, it fits the bill. There are tons of pictures too to show you how to perform asanas and also there are charts to practice central fixation.
The part that intrigued me most was about the Swami Arjundev who was using - 20.0 glasses and was completely cured by these methods (in the Opinions chapter). I could not find more info on this though I’ll definitely continue searching.
It’s a quick read. Here is my review of it.
Well, it is a very basic book. It starts with the invective against television and enlists the very simple Bates techniques. The part that I like is a chapter on yoga exercises that include postures (asanas) and breathing (pranayama). Yes, they are very basic but most people probably never heard of them. There is a chapter on mechanical contraptions as well that supposes to improve vision (like myopeter in Donald Rehm’s book, see my previous post). Another part that I like is a chapter on diet: though not really practical for American residents as it mentions Indian fruit and vegetables, it at least makes you aware of the importance of diet for the overall health.
Speaking about diet I can’t help recommending you an excellent book by Dr. Weston Price, who was in dentistry the same figure as Dr. Bates was in ophthalmology. Read that to find out the truth about why people’s teeth are bad. And as you have probably guessed by now it’s not lack of brushing. Here is a quick synopsis of the book as it is rather long and tedious. You can also read my article on diet.
So as it is a very quick read it’s worth the time. The book is not very well written (compared to Bates or even Dr. R. S. Agarwal) but if you are just looking for information, it fits the bill. There are tons of pictures too to show you how to perform asanas and also there are charts to practice central fixation.
The part that intrigued me most was about the Swami Arjundev who was using - 20.0 glasses and was completely cured by these methods (in the Opinions chapter). I could not find more info on this though I’ll definitely continue searching.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Perfect Eyesight by Robert Zuraw
Here’s another one of these New Age sites with alternative cures for the eyes. I’ve tried that a while ago so can’t give you fresh impressions. But here goes.
For some reason the info is found on the site of Mantak Chia, though the original author is Robert Zuraw. Exactly the same info. The old site evidently does not exist anymore. Where is Zuraw, you might ask? Good question. If you scroll to the very bottom of that article you will find his name. Well, I guess that's better than nothing.
Anyway, the information is pretty good, I was really into it for a while. Unfortunately I never got any kind of results from practicing the exercises. No wonder, now that I got deeper into Bates, I see that it’s basically stretching muscle exercises that do not involve muscles that are really responsible for focusing. It never ceases to amaze me why they keep comparing eye muscles to the muscles of your body in an athletic sense. I think muscles responsible for focusing are more like our inner muscles. You can’t control your stomach muscles unless you are an advanced yogi adept. But it does make more sense to me that the eye muscles are too tensed instead of being atrophied “for the lack of use”.
So we have all this “ancient” wisdom and a wide variety of exercises with mysterious names like “Egyptian Eye Dot” technique, “Sun Gazing”, etc. Acupuncture and massage are also thrown in.
Well, like I said I have not noticed any benefits. It does give good advice on performing close work. Some techniques are fun to perform and the article make you more aware of your eyes in general. And that is a good thing.
For some reason the info is found on the site of Mantak Chia, though the original author is Robert Zuraw. Exactly the same info. The old site evidently does not exist anymore. Where is Zuraw, you might ask? Good question. If you scroll to the very bottom of that article you will find his name. Well, I guess that's better than nothing.
Anyway, the information is pretty good, I was really into it for a while. Unfortunately I never got any kind of results from practicing the exercises. No wonder, now that I got deeper into Bates, I see that it’s basically stretching muscle exercises that do not involve muscles that are really responsible for focusing. It never ceases to amaze me why they keep comparing eye muscles to the muscles of your body in an athletic sense. I think muscles responsible for focusing are more like our inner muscles. You can’t control your stomach muscles unless you are an advanced yogi adept. But it does make more sense to me that the eye muscles are too tensed instead of being atrophied “for the lack of use”.
So we have all this “ancient” wisdom and a wide variety of exercises with mysterious names like “Egyptian Eye Dot” technique, “Sun Gazing”, etc. Acupuncture and massage are also thrown in.
Well, like I said I have not noticed any benefits. It does give good advice on performing close work. Some techniques are fun to perform and the article make you more aware of your eyes in general. And that is a good thing.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Back to Bates
So I’m afraid it’s back to Bates. The good thing about these Shaolin techniques is that whoever invented them came up with an ingenious method of shifting: counting leaves. I think it’s better than so-called sketching: normal eye shift, you can feel vibrations or shifting inside.
Tracking is also good: follow the bird in its flight or cars driving by.
Interestingly, near-far swing is not from Bates but everybody recommends it and in this case I agree that this one is beneficial. Definitely unsurpassed in eliminating near-point stress. But remember to keep your eyes relaxed while looking at the distance.
Update. I noticed recently that for myopia it’s the “far” part that really matters. The first phase is just to look at the distant object without straining. How do you eliminate staring? One good method is to start blinking often while still looking at the distance. Another one is while you are looking at something, keep shifting, for example if you look at the tree shift from one branch (a peak in the outline) to another all the way to the top.
Bates methods are not exactly exercises but rather correct visual habits. Some of them can be regarded as exercises but the thing about them is that they can be practiced anytime and anywhere. You don’t need an eye chart, you don’t need glasses, you don’t need anything. You can practice shifting, for example on any small object. You don’t need to set up special time to perform them. The idea is to develop good visual habits, like shifting, blinking and central fixation.
Tracking is also good: follow the bird in its flight or cars driving by.
Interestingly, near-far swing is not from Bates but everybody recommends it and in this case I agree that this one is beneficial. Definitely unsurpassed in eliminating near-point stress. But remember to keep your eyes relaxed while looking at the distance.
Update. I noticed recently that for myopia it’s the “far” part that really matters. The first phase is just to look at the distant object without straining. How do you eliminate staring? One good method is to start blinking often while still looking at the distance. Another one is while you are looking at something, keep shifting, for example if you look at the tree shift from one branch (a peak in the outline) to another all the way to the top.
Bates methods are not exactly exercises but rather correct visual habits. Some of them can be regarded as exercises but the thing about them is that they can be practiced anytime and anywhere. You don’t need an eye chart, you don’t need glasses, you don’t need anything. You can practice shifting, for example on any small object. You don’t need to set up special time to perform them. The idea is to develop good visual habits, like shifting, blinking and central fixation.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Shaolin Eye Techniques
This one is interesting. On one site I found some exercises that are called Shaolin Eye Techniques. They are not Bates techniques but Chinese Chi Kung.
View the Shaolin Eight Eye Techniques here (scroll down to answer 4).
Well, I looked around and the reviews of these techniques are surprisingly good. So let's have a closer look, shall we?
I still don't quite know what to make of them. I've been practicing them for a while now but since my vision is pretty bad to start with I don't expect quick results.
Since I wrote this post I also began to study Qigong in more depth. The main idea behind Qigong is that physical movement is just an outside form. The real thing is the mind control: mind directs energy (qi or chi) to whatever part of the body you want it to direct. This simple concept is easy to understand but is difficult to realize and actually implement so the movements would become effective.
So the techniques are these:
Counting leaves (just like it sounds: count leaves on a distant tree) encourages shifting. Be sure to stand close enough that you can actually see the leaves. The green color of the trees also seems to be soothing for the eyes. I have a nice fan palm growing right under my window. I don't see the leaves very well but I can clearly distinguish the ends or middle parts.
Rolling stars: roll the eyes in big circles, this one is similar to the muscle stretching exercise that are promoted in virtually all over the internet sites that have anything to do with vision improvement.
“Angry” eyes (not an apt description): close eyes tight and then open them as wide as possible. It would seem like a good way to cause strain in the eyes according to Bates. I tried it and actually it seems to alleviate tension.
Near-far swing (look at the close object, than at a distant object). I like this one a lot. This and the next one are the only focusing exercises and they are good.
The most debated: the stare (focusing one): you are supposed to “gently stare” (another inept choice of words) at some object. It goes rather against the Bates' idea of relaxation. The argument runs like this: staring is what caused your bad eyesight in the first place. Breaking the habit of staring is the first habit to develop. The opposite of staring is shifting and blinking.
Well, it got me thinking and now I think what they call stare is the same one that I call long distance viewing, because that is what it is. This is the only technique with which I noticed any improvement and temporary (so far) flashes of improved (not perfect) vision. I do recommend that you relax you eyes and blink naturally while doing this as it seems to work towards improvement.
I think it's because the ciliary muscle that controls the lens gets relaxed when eyes are focused on a distant object. I know that Bates said that lens has nothing to do with accommodation. But I think it does and this experience confirms it.
I am convinced that long distance viewing is great for myopia. I wrote another post about it.
By the way, that’s how you can easily tell if a person has bad eyesight, even if they wear contacts or had Lasik: they still stare. And that’s the main reason that Lasik is temporary, these people will have their sight worse in a few years provided they’ve got no other nasty side effect from this terrible operation.
The next technique sounds very similar to pranic healing: imagine energy flowing into your eyes. Not as complicated as Leo Angart describes it: just imagine energy flowing into your eyes. It sounds like it might help. I also like to imagine flowing energy that squeezes your eyeballs and brings them back to round shape.
You might also want to employ Daoist or reversed abdominal breathing while performing this technique as it helps to direct the energy to the eyes.
Point massage (acupressure). Leo Angart also recommends it. This is considered traditional Chinese method. I had to read a few books on Qigong in order to discover proper points. I don't thing the acupressure alone will improve your vision but it might help in combination with other techniques.
Heavenly Drum: that’s when you cover your ears with your palms and drum with your fingers on the back of your head. This Heavenly Drum is mentioned in Tai-Chi books as well.
These Shaolin Eye techniques have outrageous claims that they will restore your eyesight. Hype aside, I read several very good reviews about them. They are not exactly Bates but in a way the approach is more systematized, more technical (you are actually doing something rather than "imagining" which in my experience is not easy) and they are easy to perform.
View the Shaolin Eight Eye Techniques here (scroll down to answer 4).
Well, I looked around and the reviews of these techniques are surprisingly good. So let's have a closer look, shall we?
I still don't quite know what to make of them. I've been practicing them for a while now but since my vision is pretty bad to start with I don't expect quick results.
Since I wrote this post I also began to study Qigong in more depth. The main idea behind Qigong is that physical movement is just an outside form. The real thing is the mind control: mind directs energy (qi or chi) to whatever part of the body you want it to direct. This simple concept is easy to understand but is difficult to realize and actually implement so the movements would become effective.
So the techniques are these:
Counting leaves (just like it sounds: count leaves on a distant tree) encourages shifting. Be sure to stand close enough that you can actually see the leaves. The green color of the trees also seems to be soothing for the eyes. I have a nice fan palm growing right under my window. I don't see the leaves very well but I can clearly distinguish the ends or middle parts.
Rolling stars: roll the eyes in big circles, this one is similar to the muscle stretching exercise that are promoted in virtually all over the internet sites that have anything to do with vision improvement.
“Angry” eyes (not an apt description): close eyes tight and then open them as wide as possible. It would seem like a good way to cause strain in the eyes according to Bates. I tried it and actually it seems to alleviate tension.
Near-far swing (look at the close object, than at a distant object). I like this one a lot. This and the next one are the only focusing exercises and they are good.
The most debated: the stare (focusing one): you are supposed to “gently stare” (another inept choice of words) at some object. It goes rather against the Bates' idea of relaxation. The argument runs like this: staring is what caused your bad eyesight in the first place. Breaking the habit of staring is the first habit to develop. The opposite of staring is shifting and blinking.
Well, it got me thinking and now I think what they call stare is the same one that I call long distance viewing, because that is what it is. This is the only technique with which I noticed any improvement and temporary (so far) flashes of improved (not perfect) vision. I do recommend that you relax you eyes and blink naturally while doing this as it seems to work towards improvement.
I think it's because the ciliary muscle that controls the lens gets relaxed when eyes are focused on a distant object. I know that Bates said that lens has nothing to do with accommodation. But I think it does and this experience confirms it.
I am convinced that long distance viewing is great for myopia. I wrote another post about it.
By the way, that’s how you can easily tell if a person has bad eyesight, even if they wear contacts or had Lasik: they still stare. And that’s the main reason that Lasik is temporary, these people will have their sight worse in a few years provided they’ve got no other nasty side effect from this terrible operation.
The next technique sounds very similar to pranic healing: imagine energy flowing into your eyes. Not as complicated as Leo Angart describes it: just imagine energy flowing into your eyes. It sounds like it might help. I also like to imagine flowing energy that squeezes your eyeballs and brings them back to round shape.
You might also want to employ Daoist or reversed abdominal breathing while performing this technique as it helps to direct the energy to the eyes.
Point massage (acupressure). Leo Angart also recommends it. This is considered traditional Chinese method. I had to read a few books on Qigong in order to discover proper points. I don't thing the acupressure alone will improve your vision but it might help in combination with other techniques.
Heavenly Drum: that’s when you cover your ears with your palms and drum with your fingers on the back of your head. This Heavenly Drum is mentioned in Tai-Chi books as well.
These Shaolin Eye techniques have outrageous claims that they will restore your eyesight. Hype aside, I read several very good reviews about them. They are not exactly Bates but in a way the approach is more systematized, more technical (you are actually doing something rather than "imagining" which in my experience is not easy) and they are easy to perform.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Methods to Improve Vision. Part 3
Ok, now let’s have a look at psychological and mental approaches to improve vision
Bates method is the king here. It can yield amazing results, it’s easy to practice (if you know how), it’s harmless even if it does you no good.
Pranic healing. That’s Leo Angart’s favourite. It’s easy to perform but it requires mental focus that he might be naturally good at. I did not notice any results with this method. But give it a try, it won’t hurt.
Hypnosis. Leo mentioned that one too. The story goes that a man was progressed back into his childhood before he started wearing glasses and then brought back to present with his ‘early’ vision. The part that they usually don’t tell you is that the results didn’t last.
Let’s skip chanting mantras and affirmations as I think they are just stupid. Sorry, but I don’t think they work.
EFT. Emotional Freedom Technique. That’s a good one. The idea behind the method is that all the diseases (including impaired vision) are caused by some emotional trauma that usually happened in the distant past. The method consists of in tapping yourself on certain parts of the body thus releasing… well, something. Yes, sounds ludicrous but some people reported success with this method. I tried it for a while but can’t say I noticed any improvement. You can find basic information free on the FFT site and I consider that a sign of quality: at least they want to help people and are not just after their money. Anyway, it’s quick and easy to perform and it won’t hurt.
There are also rumours on internet that you can become rich by doing EFT. The unscrupulous people will try to sell you this information that is available for free on this site.
Convex lenses. That’s the one where you wear reading glasses if you are nearsighted. The reason I put it here is because you wear them for certain period of time until your vision becomes perfect. I haven’t tried them as I am not convinced by the theory behind the method and I haven’t found any positive reviews about this method. And of course I don’t want to aggravate my myopia even more.
Tratak (and similar) method. This one is from yoga. This is really strange. The method consists of gazing or rather staring at the flame of a candle. Without blinking. Like, for 5 minutes or as long as you can stand. Sounds the opposite of everything that Bates said and it’s clear just from description that it will cause tremendous strain on the eyes. Do not confuse it with reading fine print in the candlelight, that one is good. Thomas Quackenbush shares the same opinion with me about tratak (it’s just to show that I am not the only one who is puzzled by this yogic method for eyesight improvement.
I was surprised to read about methods similar to tratak used in visualization techniques, in a way that they involve hard staring. They are probably supposed to make your mind more focused, who knows. They seem to do the opposite of what they claim.
Bates method is the king here. It can yield amazing results, it’s easy to practice (if you know how), it’s harmless even if it does you no good.
Pranic healing. That’s Leo Angart’s favourite. It’s easy to perform but it requires mental focus that he might be naturally good at. I did not notice any results with this method. But give it a try, it won’t hurt.
Hypnosis. Leo mentioned that one too. The story goes that a man was progressed back into his childhood before he started wearing glasses and then brought back to present with his ‘early’ vision. The part that they usually don’t tell you is that the results didn’t last.
Let’s skip chanting mantras and affirmations as I think they are just stupid. Sorry, but I don’t think they work.
EFT. Emotional Freedom Technique. That’s a good one. The idea behind the method is that all the diseases (including impaired vision) are caused by some emotional trauma that usually happened in the distant past. The method consists of in tapping yourself on certain parts of the body thus releasing… well, something. Yes, sounds ludicrous but some people reported success with this method. I tried it for a while but can’t say I noticed any improvement. You can find basic information free on the FFT site and I consider that a sign of quality: at least they want to help people and are not just after their money. Anyway, it’s quick and easy to perform and it won’t hurt.
There are also rumours on internet that you can become rich by doing EFT. The unscrupulous people will try to sell you this information that is available for free on this site.
Convex lenses. That’s the one where you wear reading glasses if you are nearsighted. The reason I put it here is because you wear them for certain period of time until your vision becomes perfect. I haven’t tried them as I am not convinced by the theory behind the method and I haven’t found any positive reviews about this method. And of course I don’t want to aggravate my myopia even more.
Tratak (and similar) method. This one is from yoga. This is really strange. The method consists of gazing or rather staring at the flame of a candle. Without blinking. Like, for 5 minutes or as long as you can stand. Sounds the opposite of everything that Bates said and it’s clear just from description that it will cause tremendous strain on the eyes. Do not confuse it with reading fine print in the candlelight, that one is good. Thomas Quackenbush shares the same opinion with me about tratak (it’s just to show that I am not the only one who is puzzled by this yogic method for eyesight improvement.
I was surprised to read about methods similar to tratak used in visualization techniques, in a way that they involve hard staring. They are probably supposed to make your mind more focused, who knows. They seem to do the opposite of what they claim.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Methods to improve vision. Part 2
Ortho-K-lenses. These are hard contacts that you wear while you sleep. They reshape your cornea but the effect lasts for only a day. So it’s basically night contacts. I have not tried them myself but the idea seems sound and they don’t cause permanent damage to the eye. I’ve read in Leo Angart’s book that hard contacts are worse than day (soft) contacts because they rub off layers from your cornea. Also the risk of infection is greater and they are not as comfortable. I bet they are expensive too.
Ortho-C-lences (orthoculogy). The idea behind them, well, I don’t know exactly as I never got the book promised by the author, John Yee. The claim is that they help you reshape the eye by causing certain muscles to relax (???). How or why these muscles get relaxed is not satisfactorily explained. From description it seems that they are basically hard contact lenses that you wear only for 10 minutes a day. It sounds like a rip-off scam to me. Notice the total absence of any reviews about this method. I would stay away from these. The price is too high to give them a try.
Pinhole glasses. They work on mechanical principle of eliminating most slanted rays so that just direct light rays from the object reach your eye. They improve your vision… but not very well, not enough to move around comfortably. The only use for them I can think about is watching movies. Reading in them is absolute nuisance. Also, wearing them encourages staring which is a habit that should be broken. Not recommended.
These are mechanical contraptions I could think of. In the really old days they used to wear a monocle: it's like glasses, only you pop it in one eye (one-eyed glasses). It looked cool! Below you can see an example of somebody wearing a monocle (ripped-off from Wikipedia!)
Ortho-C-lences (orthoculogy). The idea behind them, well, I don’t know exactly as I never got the book promised by the author, John Yee. The claim is that they help you reshape the eye by causing certain muscles to relax (???). How or why these muscles get relaxed is not satisfactorily explained. From description it seems that they are basically hard contact lenses that you wear only for 10 minutes a day. It sounds like a rip-off scam to me. Notice the total absence of any reviews about this method. I would stay away from these. The price is too high to give them a try.
Pinhole glasses. They work on mechanical principle of eliminating most slanted rays so that just direct light rays from the object reach your eye. They improve your vision… but not very well, not enough to move around comfortably. The only use for them I can think about is watching movies. Reading in them is absolute nuisance. Also, wearing them encourages staring which is a habit that should be broken. Not recommended.
These are mechanical contraptions I could think of. In the really old days they used to wear a monocle: it's like glasses, only you pop it in one eye (one-eyed glasses). It looked cool! Below you can see an example of somebody wearing a monocle (ripped-off from Wikipedia!)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Methods to improve vision
Let’s have a look at different methods that are used to improve vision, what are advantages and disadvantages.
Glasses. The king of all methods. They’ve been used for quite a long time and are still about the only method that immediately corrects your vision. They are relatively safe (compared to horrible Lasik surgery) but in the long run they worsen the vision, in the majority of cases. They also distort vision, especially if you vision is really bad. They are, however, the best tool to use during natural vision improvement. Remember that glasses are basically crutches, they do not address the root of the problem but just alleviate the symptom. Their great advantage is that they can be put on and off in seconds.
Contact lenses. The second best. They eliminate some problems associated with glasses like the limit of the field of vision and vision distortion. They look much better on a person. However, they decrease eye sensitivity and increase the risk of eye infection. They also cannot be removed immediately like glasses. I don’t know if wearing contacts causes progressive myopia like in case with glasses. I myself prefer contacts to glasses for the above reasons.
Lasik surgery. The worse method you can choose. Instant gratification but the risk associated with the operation is great. Often doctors don’t inform you of all the consequences of this dangerous operation. The surgery does not remove the underlying cause of bad vision but just the symptoms. The damage made to your cornea cannot be undone and your vision will deteriorate again in the future. I recommend you stay away from it.
To be continued.
Glasses. The king of all methods. They’ve been used for quite a long time and are still about the only method that immediately corrects your vision. They are relatively safe (compared to horrible Lasik surgery) but in the long run they worsen the vision, in the majority of cases. They also distort vision, especially if you vision is really bad. They are, however, the best tool to use during natural vision improvement. Remember that glasses are basically crutches, they do not address the root of the problem but just alleviate the symptom. Their great advantage is that they can be put on and off in seconds.
Contact lenses. The second best. They eliminate some problems associated with glasses like the limit of the field of vision and vision distortion. They look much better on a person. However, they decrease eye sensitivity and increase the risk of eye infection. They also cannot be removed immediately like glasses. I don’t know if wearing contacts causes progressive myopia like in case with glasses. I myself prefer contacts to glasses for the above reasons.
Lasik surgery. The worse method you can choose. Instant gratification but the risk associated with the operation is great. Often doctors don’t inform you of all the consequences of this dangerous operation. The surgery does not remove the underlying cause of bad vision but just the symptoms. The damage made to your cornea cannot be undone and your vision will deteriorate again in the future. I recommend you stay away from it.
To be continued.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
I am back.
Buenos Dias!
It's been a while. I have moved to a town in Southern California. Now I am quite settled but still looking for a job. But you probably don't want to read about my adventures...
Ok. How about this view from my window?
It's been a while. I have moved to a town in Southern California. Now I am quite settled but still looking for a job. But you probably don't want to read about my adventures...
Ok. How about this view from my window?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Personal Message
Personal message to my readers: I will be moving in the next week to a new location so this blog won't be updated for about a week.
I also want to tell you that I am practicing distant vision and I am glad to report that I see some results. I will be working on refining this technique and will let you know how it goes.
I also want to tell you that I am practicing distant vision and I am glad to report that I see some results. I will be working on refining this technique and will let you know how it goes.
Monday, January 26, 2009
What is Far and Close?
Another important point to remember is to realize that far and close are subjective and not absolutes. They are different for people with impaired vision. 10 inches is considered close distance for normal or presbyopic person. If I can’t see clearly at 10 inches, is 10 inches far? In order for me to strain to see close the book should be very, very close to my eyes, uncomfortably close. I don’t want to do it because I am convinced that there is something going for near-point stress theory and I don’t want to make my lens thicker than it is. I want to make it flatter and the only way to do it is to look at the distance.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
So What Is It: Fine Print or Horizon?
Dr. Bates says that straining to read fine print alleviates myopia and causes or worsens hyperopia. Accordingly, straining to see distant objects causes or aggravates myopia and alleviates hypemetropia. But then he mentions that reading fine print in dim light is especially beneficial for presbiopia, which is a form of hyperopia. So it naturally follows that looking at the distance should be beneficial for myopia. And in my experience it is. Curiously enough, Bates himself never mentions it as a possible cure. Could it be because he himself suffered from presbiopia?
It's curious that it's the opposite of the theory but I think I know the reason. Here it is. People with myopia don’t strain to see close. They automatically relax. Besides, they became nearsighted by looking at the close object for hours on end. Remember that vision is mostly mental. The opposite is true for people with hypemetropia: they strain to see close and automatically relax when looking at the distance. So myopic people can’t strain when looking at the close but they can relax when they look at the distance.
It's curious that it's the opposite of the theory but I think I know the reason. Here it is. People with myopia don’t strain to see close. They automatically relax. Besides, they became nearsighted by looking at the close object for hours on end. Remember that vision is mostly mental. The opposite is true for people with hypemetropia: they strain to see close and automatically relax when looking at the distance. So myopic people can’t strain when looking at the close but they can relax when they look at the distance.
Monday, January 19, 2009
What Can You Do if You Have High Myopia
Ah, my favourite subject. You’ve practiced Bates, you’ve tried just about everything you could find out about it but still see no progress. So what can be done for high degrees of nearsightedness?
I found out that 3 things work really well for me. Mind you, none of them gives me perfect vision but I can feel some degree of improvement and even control. The thing to do is to develop the abilities to control flashes of good vision. If you can do that, the rest is easy.
So, the first thing is swinging. I like to swing as I noticed it let go of tension immediately. It does not improve vision but I can often get rid of eye ache if I happen to have one.
The second thing is sun treatment. I noticed that my vision is always better in bright sunlight. I can even read at distances longer than usual.
The third one is my own discovery. It is the opposite of what Dr. Bates recommends but I can’t help it. It is the only technique that when I perform it I notice some improvement of vision.
It is looking at the distant object. Yes, just looking in the distance, preferably while your eyes are relaxed. I am somehow convinced that if we could spend a few hours a day looking at the distance, out vision would improve dramatically. Pity no one has tried it. Notice I say hours. Measly 10 or 30 minutes are not going to do it.
Just imagine… instead of spending your time in front of computer monitor you consciously spend your time looking at the distant objects. Vast landscapes with distant mountain would be the best. Sailors are famous for having good vision.
I found out that 3 things work really well for me. Mind you, none of them gives me perfect vision but I can feel some degree of improvement and even control. The thing to do is to develop the abilities to control flashes of good vision. If you can do that, the rest is easy.
So, the first thing is swinging. I like to swing as I noticed it let go of tension immediately. It does not improve vision but I can often get rid of eye ache if I happen to have one.
The second thing is sun treatment. I noticed that my vision is always better in bright sunlight. I can even read at distances longer than usual.
The third one is my own discovery. It is the opposite of what Dr. Bates recommends but I can’t help it. It is the only technique that when I perform it I notice some improvement of vision.
It is looking at the distant object. Yes, just looking in the distance, preferably while your eyes are relaxed. I am somehow convinced that if we could spend a few hours a day looking at the distance, out vision would improve dramatically. Pity no one has tried it. Notice I say hours. Measly 10 or 30 minutes are not going to do it.
Just imagine… instead of spending your time in front of computer monitor you consciously spend your time looking at the distant objects. Vast landscapes with distant mountain would be the best. Sailors are famous for having good vision.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
What to Do if You Have Headaches
Do you have a headache when you read or perform some other close work? I mean headaches caused by incorrect visual habits only, not pathological or psychological headaches. But suppose you’ve noticed that every time you do the homework at your house using a lamp, you quite often have a headache. Here’s what you can do to eliminate it.
Check you light first. Sometimes the reason for you head and eye ache is that the light is too bright and the glare from the white pages cause great strain for the eyes. Get yourself a dimmer light. (I won’t even talk about fluorescent light, I assume you are using incandescent light bulbs)
Adjust the distance. Maintain good posture, do not bend forward. Do not try to read at a maximum possible distance if you have good eyesight, just be sure to glance from the window or around the room now and then.
Read fine print. One of the amazing discoveries of Dr. Bates is that fine print is actually beneficial for the eyes while large print is a menace. The reason is that it’s easier for normal eye to shift around small objects (like small letters) than it is around big letters. Remember that what seems to us as the smooth process of vision is actually part shifting from point to point of the object and partly interpretation by the brain.
Read fine print at candlelight for 10 minutes in a darkened room. My guess is that if you have headaches doing close work you are somewhat hyperopic. Reading at candlelight with relaxed eyes helps to alleviate mental tension and visual problems, especially hyperopia
When you write, don’t look at the stuff that you’ve already written. Instead, follow the tip of your pen.
Check you light first. Sometimes the reason for you head and eye ache is that the light is too bright and the glare from the white pages cause great strain for the eyes. Get yourself a dimmer light. (I won’t even talk about fluorescent light, I assume you are using incandescent light bulbs)
Adjust the distance. Maintain good posture, do not bend forward. Do not try to read at a maximum possible distance if you have good eyesight, just be sure to glance from the window or around the room now and then.
Read fine print. One of the amazing discoveries of Dr. Bates is that fine print is actually beneficial for the eyes while large print is a menace. The reason is that it’s easier for normal eye to shift around small objects (like small letters) than it is around big letters. Remember that what seems to us as the smooth process of vision is actually part shifting from point to point of the object and partly interpretation by the brain.
Read fine print at candlelight for 10 minutes in a darkened room. My guess is that if you have headaches doing close work you are somewhat hyperopic. Reading at candlelight with relaxed eyes helps to alleviate mental tension and visual problems, especially hyperopia
When you write, don’t look at the stuff that you’ve already written. Instead, follow the tip of your pen.
Monday, January 12, 2009
How to Use Computer
If you spend lots of time on computer you might have noticed that you vision has deteriorated. Though my guess is that you spend too much time at the computer because your vision has deteriorated. Anyway, it’s beyond the point. Most people lose their eyesight when they go to school and that is because they spend hours doing the work at the close distance. So near-point stress undoubtedly plays part here.
So what can be done to prevent it? There are some simple things you can do to alleviate near-point stress. It goes not just for computer work but also for reading, writing and other close range activity.
First, if at all possible, choose your place near the window. Make sure that you are positioned in a way that lets you look through it. When you read a book glance through this window for a few seconds. Do it at least once per every page or for every paragraph. It is very good for the eyes. I noticed that my eyes do not get tired when I practice this kind of reading. For computer work you would probably have to use an alarm clock or some pop-up reminder. Do what it takes, it’s very well worth it.
Take a break every hour or half an hour. Even 3-5 minutes of conscious relaxing will do a lot for your eyes. People waste so much time on their computers anyway that this break should be taken seriously as it will benefit your eyes as well as the rest of the body. You can do some simple physical exercises during it too.
Every 10 minutes glance through the window or around the room. Develop this habit.
So what can be done to prevent it? There are some simple things you can do to alleviate near-point stress. It goes not just for computer work but also for reading, writing and other close range activity.
First, if at all possible, choose your place near the window. Make sure that you are positioned in a way that lets you look through it. When you read a book glance through this window for a few seconds. Do it at least once per every page or for every paragraph. It is very good for the eyes. I noticed that my eyes do not get tired when I practice this kind of reading. For computer work you would probably have to use an alarm clock or some pop-up reminder. Do what it takes, it’s very well worth it.
Take a break every hour or half an hour. Even 3-5 minutes of conscious relaxing will do a lot for your eyes. People waste so much time on their computers anyway that this break should be taken seriously as it will benefit your eyes as well as the rest of the body. You can do some simple physical exercises during it too.
Every 10 minutes glance through the window or around the room. Develop this habit.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Techniques for Improving Your Eyesight
So let’s get to the actual techniques of natural vision improvement. By now if you read my previous post you understand that there is no “mechanical” technique or exercise that will help you to restore vision if you do it regularly. If there is one, we are not aware of it. What we can do though, is practice certain techniques that were reported to alleviate tension and thus improve vision. It follows that other techniques of vision improvement can be developed, some of them might work specifically for you and no one else.
Here are the basic principles of treatment presented by Dr. Bates:
Palming. Palming is covering your eyes with your palms in a way that excludes all the light. Palming is very tricky as it is useless if you don’t have the right mental approach to it. First it calms down the nerves but on the other hand you might start thinking unpleasant thought while palming. You might want to try a combination of palming and yogic breathing (pranayama).
Swinging. Swinging is very useful as it is close to a regular physical exercise, it is excellent for the flexibility of spine as well as your eyes. The idea is to “let your eyes go”, do not try to see anything, in fact, you should strive to achieve illusion that everything is completely blurred due to the movement. And your swing does not have to be fast, go with your intuition. I found out that the best speed is medium.
Sun treatment. Sunning, as it popularly became known, is exposing your closed eyelids to the direct rays of sun. It is very relaxing but again, try to relax your mind. The good thing about sunning that unlike palming it almost forces you to relax mentally as well as physically.
Shifting. Shifting is the closest thing that comes to physical exercises for the eyes. It is also the main habit of good vision. Shifting can be practiced on the eye chart or on any other object. You look at one side of the letter than to the other and notice that the letter moved to the direction opposite of you glance. So you shift your glance to the left of the letter than to the right and so forth, from top to bottom and so on. The quicker you can do it and the smaller the letter you can do it on, the better the vision. People with good vision shift all the time unconsciously.
Central fixation. That is when the part of the object regarded directly is seen best. It is so because the retina has macula lutea or the area of the highest sensitivity. By shifting the eye with high speed we get the perception of the whole object. In fact shifting is so fast that people with good vision think they regard the whole object all at once when in fact the eye shifts from one part of the object to the other and it does that quicker than the brain has time to record the impression and make a perception of the object as a whole.
People with bad vision, on the other hand, do try to see the whole object all at once. It is, of course, impossible, but their retina loses sensitivity and their shifting becomes slow. The thing to do, then, is practice the correct visual habits of shifting and central fixation.
Here are the basic principles of treatment presented by Dr. Bates:
Palming. Palming is covering your eyes with your palms in a way that excludes all the light. Palming is very tricky as it is useless if you don’t have the right mental approach to it. First it calms down the nerves but on the other hand you might start thinking unpleasant thought while palming. You might want to try a combination of palming and yogic breathing (pranayama).
Swinging. Swinging is very useful as it is close to a regular physical exercise, it is excellent for the flexibility of spine as well as your eyes. The idea is to “let your eyes go”, do not try to see anything, in fact, you should strive to achieve illusion that everything is completely blurred due to the movement. And your swing does not have to be fast, go with your intuition. I found out that the best speed is medium.
Sun treatment. Sunning, as it popularly became known, is exposing your closed eyelids to the direct rays of sun. It is very relaxing but again, try to relax your mind. The good thing about sunning that unlike palming it almost forces you to relax mentally as well as physically.
Shifting. Shifting is the closest thing that comes to physical exercises for the eyes. It is also the main habit of good vision. Shifting can be practiced on the eye chart or on any other object. You look at one side of the letter than to the other and notice that the letter moved to the direction opposite of you glance. So you shift your glance to the left of the letter than to the right and so forth, from top to bottom and so on. The quicker you can do it and the smaller the letter you can do it on, the better the vision. People with good vision shift all the time unconsciously.
Central fixation. That is when the part of the object regarded directly is seen best. It is so because the retina has macula lutea or the area of the highest sensitivity. By shifting the eye with high speed we get the perception of the whole object. In fact shifting is so fast that people with good vision think they regard the whole object all at once when in fact the eye shifts from one part of the object to the other and it does that quicker than the brain has time to record the impression and make a perception of the object as a whole.
People with bad vision, on the other hand, do try to see the whole object all at once. It is, of course, impossible, but their retina loses sensitivity and their shifting becomes slow. The thing to do, then, is practice the correct visual habits of shifting and central fixation.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Blinking vs. Winking
Dr. Agarwal put a big stress on correct blinking, more so than Bates. In fact he used to demonstrate to his patients the difference between the two. Myopic people tend to wink, they do it unconsciously because the act of winking flattens the eyeball or the cornea and they seem to experience a slightly better vision. But winking also strains the muscles. Develop the habit of blinking instead.
Blinking should be very light and effortless. Think of a butterfly waving its wings. This image should cause you to blink correctly at least for a few moments.
Blinking should be very light and effortless. Think of a butterfly waving its wings. This image should cause you to blink correctly at least for a few moments.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Illusions of Normal Sight
Here is the excerpt from Yoga of Perfect Sight by Dr. R. S. Agarwal:
1. When the sight shifts from side to side of a letter, the letter appears to move in the opposite direction. This is Swinging.
2. The letter regarded appears clearest. This is central Fixation.
3. The white center of a letter appears whiter. This is Imagination.
These three characteristics are called normal illusions of the normal eye which are reduced or absent in the defective eye. So to improve the vision it is necessary to develop the normal illusions.
Shifting and swinging are one of the basic principles of treatment. You can perform long swing with your whole body or short swing: the shorter the swing, the better the vision. Remember, the normal eye shifts unconsciously so people with defective vision have to consciously develop this habit.
Central fixation is also something that normal eye does unconsciously. I also noticed that you can’t really practice central fixation, it is a symptom rather than a cause of good vision. But what one can practice is looking at the objects and regard part looking directly at best. For example when looking at a portrait, look at one eye first, then shift to the other eye, than nose and mouth. Than sweep your eye over hair. Do not try to see the whole picture at once. Central fixation always goes hand in hand with shifting.
Imagination is the ability to see a part of the letter regarded directly at the blackest. It is very useful for developing good vision. In fact, one of the most remarkable, one can say miraculous cures in Dr. Bates’ practice is about a doctor who became cured in a very short time just by imagining that the letters on a chart were as black as ink. He was able to do it and his vision became perfect. It remained so years later.
1. When the sight shifts from side to side of a letter, the letter appears to move in the opposite direction. This is Swinging.
2. The letter regarded appears clearest. This is central Fixation.
3. The white center of a letter appears whiter. This is Imagination.
These three characteristics are called normal illusions of the normal eye which are reduced or absent in the defective eye. So to improve the vision it is necessary to develop the normal illusions.
Shifting and swinging are one of the basic principles of treatment. You can perform long swing with your whole body or short swing: the shorter the swing, the better the vision. Remember, the normal eye shifts unconsciously so people with defective vision have to consciously develop this habit.
Central fixation is also something that normal eye does unconsciously. I also noticed that you can’t really practice central fixation, it is a symptom rather than a cause of good vision. But what one can practice is looking at the objects and regard part looking directly at best. For example when looking at a portrait, look at one eye first, then shift to the other eye, than nose and mouth. Than sweep your eye over hair. Do not try to see the whole picture at once. Central fixation always goes hand in hand with shifting.
Imagination is the ability to see a part of the letter regarded directly at the blackest. It is very useful for developing good vision. In fact, one of the most remarkable, one can say miraculous cures in Dr. Bates’ practice is about a doctor who became cured in a very short time just by imagining that the letters on a chart were as black as ink. He was able to do it and his vision became perfect. It remained so years later.
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