Are glasses or surgery really the answer to poor vision?
(photo courtesy of Evil Erin)
Can your eyes really regain their clarity from childhood. If the heart, liver, skin, nails, and bones can heal themselves, why can’t eyes?
I just finished Relearning to See over the Christmas period in an attempt to regain my vision. It’s a monster book. I found Vision Without Glasses shorter and easier to understand.
I have about 20/200 vision in each eye with minor astigmatism. Put it this way, I’m pretty damn blind. I can just see clearly at a computer screen. Text beyond there gets unreadable.
About six years ago the clarity of text on blackboards from the back of a classroom became blurry. My vision worsened for another year. At that time, I decided to do something about it.
I got glasses. Suddenly I could see again!
It was a false miracle.
My perception of depth went out of whack. I parked the car coming home from the optometrist with my glasses on, thinking I did a perfect three-point park. I was one-and-a-half meters from the side! Woah! This bad boy is going to have to get some adjusting to.
Headaches developed. Overtime things went blurred again. It was as if my body yelled at me to remove the foreign object from my eyes.
Like almost everyone with glasses, eventually I needed a stronger prescription. Out goes some money, in comes new glasses, and my confidence lowers. People say “hi” from a distance and I have no idea who they are. “Hey… mate.” Some communication coach I am.
It made me consider surgery. $6000 for better vision? Surely there’s a better option. After all, it’s another quick fix society loves. Why don’t I go get implants or liposuction while I’m at it.
After reading Relearning to See, which covers the Bates Method of vision correction, I’ve learned a lot. Students of the method have miraculously healed their problematic eyes. My acuity has yet to improve (because it’s been only a week since practicing better vision habits), but I’m more relaxed. And relaxation is the key to see clearly again.
I might save you from flicking through the 500-page textbook-like vision bible. If you want to improve your vision and throw away your glasses, boil it down to this question, “How can I relax more?”
- Blink naturally. It’s relaxing to your eyes.
- Do not stare. Diffusion is strain.
- Scan with your eyes, shifting your focus between central points. This is called centralization. The central part of human vision contains cones responsible for clarity.
- Breathe naturally deep into your stomach.
- Alleviate yourself from neck tension. Learn to self-massage.
- Relax your mind. A tense mind tenses your eyes. Students have found when they stress over study, their vision blurs.
- Discard glasses where it’s safe to do so. Don’t drive if you can’t see.
Steven Aitchison has five good “eye exercises” on his blog mentioned in the book. No point me repeating them here.
If you want to improve your eye sight naturally without glasses or surgery, the Bates Method is what you’re after. Stop yourself wasting more money on glasses and get protected from the dangers of lasik eye surgery. I suggest you get your hands on this guide to completely learn how to see clearly again.
I read about the Bates Method four or five years ago – “See Without Glasses” Christopher Markert (apparently he’s about 80 and has never worn glasses).
My eyesight started to deteriorate noticeably in my late 40s – I’m 58 now – and I was inclined to believe there would be an age related gradual deterioration, but then I noticed that my eyesight would actually vary from day to day and seemed to improve naturally at times – sometimes quite dramatically – when I was particularly relaxed or I was refreshed by a good sleep. Then I read about the Bates Method. But to be honest I found the exercises boring and they dropped out of my daily routine over time, though I seem to have incorporated one or two anyway. I will take a look at the “five good eye exercises” you mention. Five I can probably handle. Thanks.
I wear glasses for driving now – anything more than ten feet away gets a bit blurry – but otherwise I allow my eyes to ‘go naked’ in the hope that will encourage them to do their job, so to speak, and that has me occasionally thinking about what I can do to help.
It’s probably no coincidence I was reading your blog post.
Looking forward to reading of your success!
Interesting Bob.
I too have began to notice the variance of clarity throughout the day. At the end of an all-nighter (their frequency is dropping I proudly add), the tension through my neck and back is high. I need to get closer and closer to the screen to see, destroying my posture, which probably leads to psychological problems… but we won’t go there
When I’m refreshed after a swim at the beach, massage, or holiday, the world gets a little clearer. It’s a 2010 goal of mine to clearly see the beautiful world again.
The people I know who don’t wear their glasses often are the ones who don’t get stronger prescriptions. I think that’s no coincidence. Here’s to naked eyes.
simple yet effective!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!