In this post you will discover the ‘mental’ side of improving your vision. If you read no other posts in this series, make sure this is the one.
This is the second post In the series how to correct your eyesight without LASIK. But if you haven’t read the first part, please go back and read it before continuing:
Vision Correction Without Lasik: Exercise Your Eyes
After reading my background, I am sure you can relate to many of my experiences as a nearsighted person. You may have felt odd about having to wear glasses as a kid or felt pain of getting pollen under a contact lens. For these reasons repairing our vision is not only desirable, it can relieve pain. Plus better vision has the potential to open new opportunities.
Like any good runner would stretch before a 5k, you too need a warm up. Before we get into the specific exercises we need to cover some background principles you must understand before you get into vision training.
Principle #1: Relax and See
The most important of these principles is relax and be easy. We think of the word exercise and we think strain. We think lifting or running until we are breathless. But with eye exercises you must never push of strain.
Principle #2: Vision (bad or good) is not a constant
Your eyesight changes constantly. Chart it out if you don’t believe me.
Get up early and you might see 10% better than after a big afternoon meal. An afternoon at the pool and you might see 15% better than you do that evening at 8 PM.
Why does our eyesight change so much?
I think when you use something as much as we use our eyes, wear and tear is a normal outcome. Eyes are amazing organs and they are always on. What other sensory organs get as much non-stop use as your eyes? Wait, don’t answer that.
Simply knowing our eyes perform at varying levels of efficiency can help sustain you through the challenges of this program.
And like muscles, your eyes need rest and recovery.
Dr. Bates argued most myopia was caused by patient anxiety and their resulting physical reaction. To simplify, he postulated that when we are upset or apprehensive we will resist seeing and will compensate by squinting, opening our eyes wider, and straining in order to see.
Unfortunately, these reactions do not make sight better, they make it worse.
Eye anatomy is beyond the scope of this post. However, suffice to say the cornea of the human eye is flexible. Put pressure on the cornea and the curvature increases – thus causing nearsightedness. Allow the eye muscles to relax and operate naturally and the cornea will ‘flatten’ and myopia will decrease.
Obviously, to see clearly, we want our eye muscles to work with us and not against us.
So, as you progress through the lessons, make sure to take it easy and stay relaxed. If you feel yourself stressing or feeling negative, then stop. Take a break and try again later.
I like to repeat a mantra as I do my exercises. I repeat “relax and see, relax and see” as I go through my routine.
Your first exercise
For our first exercise, I want you to get in touch with what is going on with you emotionally with regards to your eyesight.
Warning. Do not shrug off this exercise. It may seem lame to you analytical thinkers. But I strongly encourage you to stick with me. This is the cornerstone of the rest of the series and I think your results will not be as strong if you don’t do it.
With that said, grab a pen and sheet of paper and take off your glasses…
I’d like you to look at an object across the room or in the distance. Stare at it for 5 minutes. Notice the edges of the object. Notice the center. Notice the colors. Notice the blurrinesa.
During these 5 minutes, blink naturally and don’t squint or bulge your eyes. Just look.
While looking, simply notice some of the feelings you experience as you look at the blurry object.
What are some of the feelings that creep into your awareness? List them now.
Do any memories creep into your head? Note them too.
I don’t want to blow the surprise, but I will say when I first did this exercise I was amazed with what I found.
So give this a try and write down your results.
If you feel like sharing your revelations I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
There is plenty more info on vision correction coming don’t miss the next post. Subscribe to my RSS feed to get the next update.
{ 8 comments }
Really interesting post… I have never had problems with my eyes, luckily. Now my job involves using computers a lot though and I´m finding that my eyes are getting quite sore every night. I try and rest them as best I can in the evening so they are refreshed for the next day.. not always possible, as the internet awaits when I get home as well.
I will look into exercises to prevent my eyes becoming damaged and I think I should increase my breaks.
Marina
I tried this exercise and here is what I jotted down as I sat for five minutes:
Frustration
power to control
sleepiness
hypnotic
achiness
pointless
memories:
not seeing faraway signs and squinting to see
trying to order fast food (read the menus)
taking driver’s eye exam and failing after being able to get by and pass in the past. I felt like my eyesight was gone for ever.
Trish,
Many of your thoughts are similar to mine. Can you see how there’s a general negativity, tension and perhaps even anxiety associated with seeing without glasses? You go as far as to say achiness!
I’ve felt those thoughts myself.
Seeing should never ache, cause anxiety or tension (unless you are looking at something horrible like crime scene photos.) Yet those are emotions we feel when we take off our glasses… and they are negatively impacting our eyesight.
Hopefully, you are beginning to see the point of this exercise. But if you have any questions, do let me know.
Years ago I purchased a product that is best described as metal glasses with a hundred tiny holes in it. If you looked thru this, you could see clearly. As I remember, there were exercises associated with this that would lead to discarding your glasses. Can anyone point me to this product?
that gadget sort of sounds familiar. I am assuming it operates on the theory that by dialating your eyes and looking through a small hole you can see farther.
I remember a project we did as kids where you made a ‘pinhole telescope’ with black construction paper and a pin. Looking through a tiny hole allows the eye to see farther. Not sure the long term benefits though.
When we will see next lesson on vision correction?
Hi, I know it is taking me awhile. I have it written. Just lacking time to post.
Dr Harish S Belvi, a practising ophthalmologist (eye specialist) based in Mumbai, says that regular work hours should be infused with short breaks. During such breaks, he suggests a small and easy exercise: “First, blink your eyes several times. While you keep your eyes closed, roll your eyeballs both clockwise and anticlockwise and take a deep breath. Gradually open your eyes while releasing your breath. This exercise lasts for a minute and you can repeat it three times before getting back to work.” It serves as a good workout for the eyes.
{ 3 trackbacks }