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Newsletter>
Is it really possible to have better eyesight?
June 12, 2008
Yes! We are used to thinking that, once we get glasses, we
are stuck with them for life because there is no natural
way to improve blurry eyesight. Does this make sense? All
the other parts of the body are self-healing, even the
brain! So, why not the eyes?
Perhaps it’s our belief systems rather than our eyes that
keep us stuck. If we pull a muscle or sustain a sports
injury, we don’t expect to wear a tensor bandage or a cast
for the rest of our lives. We allow the injury to heal and
go for physiotherapy or rehabilitation to restore proper
functioning. Once we are healed, we put away our crutches.
We can think of the eyes the same way. Whether we are
nearsighted, farsighted, have astigmatism or wear reading
glasses, we need to allow our eyes to heal so they can
return to natural good vision.
Here’s some news that may be surprising: even the best
eyesight is not “perfect” all the time! Eyesight is
affected by a combination of factors including the amount
of light available, how tired we are, and how long we have
been staring at the computer. Chronically tense eye
muscles, physical and emotional stress, poor nutrition,
exposure to food and chemical toxins, and poor lifestyle
habits including lack of exercise, rest and relaxation all
play a role in how well we see. So does opening up our
perception of ourselves and the world around us. What we
believe is what we see.
In Natural Vision Improvement (NVI), we learn activities to
relax tight eye muscles and release chronic patterns of
tension from body and mind. We also need to unlearn poor
vision habits that contribute to blurry eyesight, and learn
good habits that support our vision.
The concepts of NVI and the activities for improving vision
are simple, yet they are also complex. This is because,
although the eyes are physical sense organs, vision is a
learned skill. Yes, you read that right. We learn to see.
In cases where a person with lifetime blindness regains
their sight through surgery, that person has no idea what
they’re looking at until they learn to identify, classify,
and remember it. They must learn to recognize colours,
shapes, street corners, the faces of their own family
members, the rooms in their own house, and the subtle,
visible expressions of emotion and social interaction so
familiar to sighted people.
When we are born with functioning eyes, we learn to see and
we learn not to see. We sometimes restrict our vision to
push away or escape from painful situations and feelings
about ourselves or the world. When we set out to improve
our eyesight, these old, stored beliefs and emotions may
surface and will need to be released, causing some
discomfort as we move towards a new way of seeing.
NVI has been around for centuries, particularly in India
and China. Yogic and acupressure traditions both have
techniques for improving eyesight.
In North America, Dr. William Bates is considered the
“father” of vision improvement. Dr. Bates, an
ophthalmologist in New York in the early 1900’s, found that
teaching his patients to relax the eyes and the mind had a
permanent beneficial effect on vision, whereas prescribing
glasses resulted in patients needing increasingly strong
prescriptions. He helped thousands to throw away their
glasses and see clearly, and was even able to help patients
straighten a turning eye without surgery. Despite, or
perhaps because of his success, he was reviled by his
fellow doctors.
What happens in classes or private lessons in Natural
Vision Improvement? No one is asked to throw away their
glasses! The glasses are a tool to be used when needed.
The eyes love movement and relaxation, so we learn
activities that help them move correctly and relax deeply.
Good reading techniques, good computer habits, and
nutrition for the eyes are part of the program. Nearsighted
students work with gently expanding their range of vision.
Students with reading glasses work with relaxing and
clarifying near vision.
Some of the activities may seem “too easy” or even silly at
first, but they are designed to engage more of us than just
our judgmental, logical minds. In fact, some activities
require moving the whole body, so it’s a good idea to wear
comfortable clothes. Students find they have better results
when they avoid wearing fabric softener, perfume or cologne
and other scented products, as the chemicals in these
products may interfere with some aspects of vision
improvement.
Vision improvement classes allow us time to connect with
our eyes, with all they do for us, and with what we believe
is possible. How we see is part of who we are as
individuals in the world. When we change our vision, we
change our lives.
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