Regaining 20/20 Vision:
Your Eyes Can Be Well Again - with a little practice...
The adult eyeball is a sphere, about the size of a ping pong ball, with six muscles attached. According to natural vision therapists, nearly all common vision problems can be traced to chronic tension in one or more of these muscles.
December 10, 2007
Vision therapists have suggested that when 20/20 vision slips away, it often has less to do with biology than stress and a few bad habits that can be fixed with practice.
Lissette Scholl, author of 28 Days to Reading Without Glasses, says in her book that the standard line that our cave man eyes weren’t supposed to last beyond the age of 40 is nonsense. An ophthalmologist named William Bates proved back in the 1920s that most vision problems were linked to the simple problem of muscle tension. Two muscles are wrapped around the back of the eyeball, and the rest orient the orb for proper focus, just like a camera adjusting for the amount of light and distance. When any of the muscles stiffen, they may fail to align your eyes properly. Depending on which muscles falter, the end result may be nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, myopia or other common disorder.
According to Bates, eyeglasses compensate for the muscle dysfunction without treating the underlying tension, prompting his to develop an alternative approach to relieve the stress and limber up the muscles so they flex without difficulty. Simple techniques such as yawning and blinking are combined with gentle movement exercises that can ultimately restore 20/20 vision.
Another doctor, Robert Michael Kaplan, points out that the given their small size, the eyes require “a greater blood and nerve supply than most other organ systems in the body.” In fact, about half the cranial nerves that feed the nervous system are dedicated to vision. And each time you yawn, the blood flow through the brain gets a big dose of oxygen. This helps all the muscles in your head relax. Kaplan is the author of Seeing Without Glasses.
A common tendency of people with poor or failing vision is adopting the habit of staring or fixing their gaze on an object. This locks their eyeballs into position and initiates the muscle tension anomaly that’s so unhealthy. Moreover, because the center of the retina distinguishes in only a tiny fragment of the object it’s pointed toward, staring strains that area while ignoring the other parts of the retina calibrated for peripheral viewing rather than clarity.
Natural vision care re-teaches the eyes to rove around objects, examing the outer edges as well as their central details in order to build a clear picture for the brain without fixating. Bates called the process Centralization.
Dr. William Bates
Writing in Better Vision Now, a classic how-to guide first published in 1955, author Clara Hackett explains, “Nature, it would seem, meant vision to be a pinpointing process involving great mobility, with the eyes constantly shifting to take in large images in small, clear segments.”
Those who work at a computer for long periods at a time are familiar with the eyestrain that comes with the territory. That’s because the eyes are restricted to the screen in front of them, with a single depth of field. Vision therapists suggest taking a break at least every fifteen minutes from computer chores in order to take your eyes out for a walk, as if they were a cooped up pet.
Mental anguish, fatigue, general sluggishness or habitual stiffness in the body are also thought to contribute to eye disorders, underscoring the need for frequent rest, relaxation, and some form of calisthenics.
It’s interesting to note that the sockets in our skull, where our eyeballs are lodged, are called orbits. The two orbs were meant to function as fine-tuned cams designed to roll around like ball bearings, always searching for a different angle. The tear ducts provide the necessary lubrication for this operation (like grease), with your eyelids distributing the fluid over the surface of your eyes every time you blink.
The average wink rate for humans is 5-7 times per minute, or about every 10 seconds. If your eyes feel dry much of time, try counting the number of blinks over 60 seconds to see if your lids are falling down on the job. If they are, you’ll need to pay close attention for awhile until you achieve that 5-7 per minute frequency.
Diet modifications can also enhance vision. Scholl tells her patients to avoid heavy, artery-clogging foods like red meat, which can hinder blood flow to the cranial nerves. In addition, the bioflavinoids found in the white rind pulp of citrus fruits have found to be especially beneficial to the eyes, as are berries, avocados, carrots, spinach and other dark leafy greens, nuts, broccoli and pumpkin seeds.
A tincture made of bilberries and sold in natural food stores has been shown in several studies to improve eyesight. Small berries like these are a staple in the diets of birds, a species credited with having the sharpest vision on the planet.
Chinese medicine also has remedies for poor eyesight and acute disorders like conjunctivitis. A typical diagnosis may identify “liver heat” or “liver chi congestion" as the culprit, a problem that’s caused by stress or poor digestion. If your eyes are chronically sensitive to light indicates a liver connection. Deficient kidneys are also thought to hinder vision. Drinking less coffee, alcohol or other caffeinated beverages will help boost their strength.
Acupuncture is widely used to relieve soreness and discomfort around the eyes, as well as for eyestrain-related headaches. Tiger Balm rubbed on the temples and forehead also helps, and a formula of chrysanthemum, lycium and other herbs may be prescribed to cool the Liver heat or treat the chi congestion. For acupressure points and a common massage technique used in China, follow the link at the end of this article.
Unfortunately, the Bates method for vision repair never caught on in western medicine. One of the central tenets of the therapy involves abandoning eyeglasses, which is not always practical. In fact, conventional optometrists were so opposed to the new approach that Dr. Bates was forced to resign from his teaching post at a New York university.
Yet he garnered a huge following within the alternative health care community so that today you can find practitioners just about anywhere in the world. Natural vision therapy allows for patients to continue wearing glasses, gradually reducing the strength of their prescriptions over time. It takes much longer, however, to recover with this approach, and lowering the strength of your lenses can itself cause eyestrain.
Curiosity is a powerful force driving our eyes to absorb the universe. Perhaps the reason they fail as we age has less to do with biology and more to do with our loss of interest in what there is to see.
Always check with your doctor or other health care provider before changing your eyeglass prescription or undertaking any new vision regiment.
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Here are some of the techniques commonly used:
Breathing (to relax and oxygenate the blood)Breathe in and out as you proceed through any exercise and don’t try to force or strain your eyes in the process. The whole point is to get the muscles to relax and flex in an easy, smooth manner. If you should ever feel pain, stop the exercise immediately.
Yawning
To relax your jaw muscles and improve blood flow to the optic nerve and cerebral cortex, train yourself to yawn frequently, maybe even stretching your spine in the process.
Sunning
With your eyelids closed, face the sun and absorb its energy. (Warning: Looking into the sun with your eyes open can cause permanent damage, even during an eclipse!)
As an alternative, stand beneath a tree branch and repeat the same exercise, this time swaying your head so the sunlight flickers in between the leaves.
Palming
Cup your hands over your eyes by setting your palms on your cheekbones and your fingers flat on your forhead. This should block out any light. If your hands are cold, rub them together first. The fingers of one hand should lay across those of the other as it rests on the forehead.
To gently limber up your eye muscles:
Long Swings
Stand straight and gently alternate turning to your left and right, pivoting on one foot in each direction Your arms can hang down loosely or be held outstretched. As you move back and forth, notice the room passing by your eyes in the opposite direction. This exercise can also help with insomnia. If it feels comfortable, repeat the swings with your eyes closed.
Short Swings
Sit down and gently move your head up and down a few inches, allowing your vision to float easily up and down as well. Repeat the exercise, this time moving your head from left to right, then in a circle, as a figure eight on its side. Let your vision float naturally along.
Extraocular Muscle Stretch
The extraocular muscles control the rotation of your eye balls. To limber them up, practice breathing in and out as you keep your head facing forward and gently slide your eyes all the way to your left, then to the right. If possible, only move them during exhalations. Do not strain the muscles. The goal here is to direct the motion in a smooth, relaxed (rather than jumpy and jerking) manner. After three or four repetitions, shift to looking up and down. Then try moving your eyes diagonally, in a circle and in figure eight motions (as if the eight were lying on its side). These last two directions should be performed clockwise for a few repetitions, then counter-clockwise.
Movement and Centralization Exercises:
Counting
This exercise helps stimulate your curiosity, which in turn increases regular eye movements, both vertically and horizonatally. Whenever you walk into a room, casually count the pictures hanging on the wall. Then pick different characteristics, like objects of the same color, and count the numberer of them as well. If you're outdoors, count the number of trees in a park, flowers that are yellow, etc.
Edging
When you look at an object, trace its outline, moving your eyes around each of its edges. This exercise increases the clarity of your perception and works on both small objects (e.g. a vase) to large ones (a building entrance).
Ball Toss
Throw it up and down, from hand to hand, following its movement. Then bounce it against the wall and do the same. From a short distance, watch a ball that children that are playing with.
Dice Throw
Throw a pair of dice on a table and follow the roll. Then throw it across the floor, or use several dice. This will help train your eyes to see across a wider expanse and distance (and keep them in motion while doing so.)
Other Exercises:
At a playground, follow the movements of a ball that children are playing with.
Watch a movie on a big screen at a theatre.
Find places that are rich in visual stimuli. Visit an arboretum, hike on a nature trail, or go to a museum. Treat your eyes like two small children that need to get out and play.
More Tips:
If you have a lazy eye, do half of your vision recovery techniques wearing a pirate’s patch over the strong eye.
Avoid reverting to bad habits by making Bates remedies a conscious objective during every waking hour. If necessary, type up a list of techniques and reminders, then post it at home and work.
Take rest breaks often, especially if you use your eyes for focused activities like computer work.
Tension in all the muscle groups near the eyes (facial, jaw and shoulders) can restrict blood flow, limit oxygenation and impede eyesight, so remember to include those muscles in your daily stretching and relaxing techniques (See our article on progressive relaxation for more on this.)
Aerobic exercise like jogging, jumping jacks, bicycling and brisk walks improves circulation, vitality, eye movement and relaxation. (Ask your doctor first before starting any new exercise routine.)
Reading and Resources
You can usually find a good book or two about the Bates Method at your public library. Two popular titles include Better Vision Now, by Clara Hackett (includes a chapter on vision care for children), and 28 Days to Reading Without Glasses, by Lisette Scholl. For a meatier discourse on the subject, look for Relearning to See by Thomas Quakenbush. Quakenbush formally directed a natural vision institute in the San Francisco Bay Area.
For more tips, information, book and therapist referrals:
Association of Vision Educators http://www.visioneducators.org/
International Society for the Enhancement of Eyesight
Bates Association for Vision Education
Chinese Vision Care.
http://www.eye-exercises-for-good-vision.com/chinese-eye-exercises.html
Copyright 2007 TheCityEdition.com