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.
Showing posts with label Dr. R. S. Agarwal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dr. R. S. Agarwal. Show all posts
Thursday, April 23, 2009
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, 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.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Dr. R. S. Agarwal
I previously mentioned that Bates teachers are usually just fans of the method who more often than not do not quite understand the concept of the Bates method themselves and talk about “exercises” and what not. But there is one exception. There was a doctor who not only fully understood the principles of Dr. Bates but also integrated them into his practice. Like Bates himself and unlike Bates teachers he happened to be a Doctor of Ophthalmology. He also happened to be a follower of a famous yogi Sri Aurobindo. The name of this remarkable man was Dr. R. S. Agarwal.
Dr. Agarwal founded The School of Perfect Eyesight as part of Pondicherry Ashram in India and he had a phenomenal rate of success. He cured many seemingly hopeless cases that traditional doctors gave up on. Oh yes, and he did not charge for the treatment.
I did some research on Dr. Agarwal on internet and was surprised to find out that there was no information about him. You’ll find a few of his book for sale and that’s about it. Not even an entrance in Wikipedia.
I read Yoga of Perfect Sight and I think this book comes pretty close to Bates. It is actually a collection of essays on vision, kind of like the book of Dr. Bates is a collection of essays from Better Eyesight Magazine, that are put together in a book. Even the style is somewhat similar: lots of case histories and cases of remarkable cure. As a bonus there are also letters of Sri Aurobindo (nothing really to do with vision improvement, but a curious read anyway). This book is very different from "traditional" Bates teachers.
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