Http://web.Singnet.
Com.Sg/~hanwen/nvifaq.Htm
i copy and paste it to this page
please read it carefully
http://web.Singnet.
Com.Sg/~hanwen/nvifaq.Htm
natural vision improvement frequently
asked questions v1.1
introduction
this comprehensive faq is my first
introduction to natural vision
improvement. It was so long ago, I had to
wait ages to download this textfile. I
must say it has been very informative,
even though this was written in 1995. If
anyone knows of a newer version, please
tell me about it.
------------------------------------------
-----------------------
this work is
dedicated to
his holiness tenzin gyatso the
fourteenth dalai lama.
May whatever merit there is in
presenting this material on
natural vision serve to benefit each
and every sentient being
throughout
space.
------------------------------------------
-----------------------
version 1.1 (apr 18 1995)
compiled by: vic cinc (vic@cia.Com.Au)
with help from: alex eulenberg
rene malingre
karen deweeger
marco terry
richard kucera
comments, suggestions, reports of errors,
request for inclusions,
ideas: please email to
vic@cia.Com.A
u
this faq is availlable at
http://www.Cia.Com.Au/vic/faq
.Html
or email
vic@cia.Com.A
u
the faq will be posted occasionally to
sci.Med, sci.Med.Vision
and alt.Self-help.
------------------------------------------
-----------------------
[0.0] table of contents
[1.0] introduction
[1.1] can vision be improved?
[1.2] can defective vision be improved?
[1.3] does vision therapy take up much
time?
[1.4] how much does vision therapy cost?
[2.0] corrected vision
[2.1] what do glasses do to they eye?
[2.2] but don't glasses give me perfect
vision already?
[2.3] are compensating lenses addictive?
[3.0] the begining
[3.1] how do I start?
[3.2] how quickly will I make progress?
[4.0] textbook definitions
[4.1] what is an optometrist?
[4.2] what is an ophthalmologist?
[4.3] what is a behavioral optometrist?
[4.4] what is an optician?
[4.5] what is the difference between sight
and vision?
[4.6] what are vision problems?
[4.7] what are errors of refraction?
[4.8] what is accommodation?
[4.9] what is the far point?
[4.10] what is the near point?
[4.11] what is excessive accommodation?
[4.12] what is spasm of accommodation?
[4.13] what is insufficient
accommodation?
[4.14] what is ill-sustained
accommodation?
[4.15] what is inertia of accommodation?
[4.16] what is paralysis of
accommodation?
[4.17] what is vergence (convergence &
divergence)?
[4.18] what is insufficency of
convergence?
[4.19] what is excess of convergence?
[4.20] what is a diopter?
[4.21] what is the cornea?
[4.22] what is the crytaline lens?
[4.23] what is the pupil?
[4.24] what is the retina?
[5.0] the problems
[5.1] what is myopia?
[5.2] what is astigmatism?
[5.2.1] what is the notation for
astigmatism?
[5.3] what is hypermetropia?
[5.4] what is presbyopia?
[5.5] what is emmetropia?
[5.6] what is strabismus?
[5.7] what is amblyopia?
[5.8] how accurate are visual
measurements?
[5.9] how do I measure my own accuity?
[5.10] what is average daily vision?
[5.11] what is peak daily vision?
[5.12] should I keep track of peak and
average daily vision in a diary?
[6.0] lets go!
[7.0] massage
[7.1] what are the signs of tension and
strain?
[7.2] how do I relax strain in the body?
[7.3] how do I massage my face?
[7.4] how do I massage my neck?
[7.5] how often should I massage my neck
and face?
[7.6] how do I stretch the muscles of the
eye?
[7.7] how often should I stretch the
muscles of the eye?
[8.0] passive vision
[8.1] what is passive vision?
[8.2] does sleep help reduce strain?
[8.3] what do I do if my sight is worse in
the mornings?
[8.4] how often should I wear glasses or
contacts?
[8.5] should I go cold turkey and stop
wearing glasses altogether?
[8.6] what are functional or fitness
glasses?
[8.7] how long before I become accustomed
to not wearing glasses?
[8.8] what is palming?
[8.9] how often should I palm?
[8.10] can I do too much palming?
[8.11] what is sunning?
[8.12] what is skying?
[8.13] how much sunning should I do?
[8.14] is sunning safe?
[8.15] should I stop wearing sunglasses?
[8.16] how much blinking should I be
doing?
[8.17] should I be yawning?
[8.18] how should I be breathing?
[8.19] what are some breathing
exercesise?
[8.20] what am I seeing?
[9.0] active vision
[9.1] what is orphoptics?
[9.2] what is active vision?
[9.3] what is central fixation?
[9.4] how do I restore central fixation?
[9.5] what is shifting?
[9.6] what are saccadic movements?
[9.7] what is swinging?
[9.8] how do I exercise shifting or
saccadic motion?
[9.9] what is peripheral vision?
[9.10] how can I test my binocular
vision?
[9.11] how do I exercise peripheral
vision?
[9.12] how do I exercise accomodation?
[9.13] can accommodation be brought under
conscious control?
[9.14] what is fusion?
[9.15] how do I exercise fusion and
convergence?
[9.16] can convergence be brought under
conscious control?
[9.17] can I invent my own exercises?
[9.18] how often should I do active eye
work?
[9.19] what is a clear flash?
[9.20] should I be concerned about adverse
lighting conditions?
[9.21] what is the astigmatic mirror?
[9.22] how do I use the astigmatic mirror
to reduce astigmatism?
[10] mental vision
[10.1] what is the role of memory and
imagination in vision?
[10.2] how can I exercise my perception?
[10.3] can hypnosis be used to cure visual
problems?
[10.4] how is nlp used to cure visual
problems?
[10.5] how is the de silva method used to
cure visual problems?
[11.0] behavioral optometry
[11.1] what is behavioral optometry?
[11.12] what is patching?
[11.13] what are pinhole glasses?
[11.14] what are anaglyph glasses?
[11.15] what are polaroid glasses?
[11.16] what are prism glasses?
[11.17] what is the accommotrac vision
trainer?
[12.0] emotions and vision
[12.1] what is the emotional nature of
myopia?
[12.2] what is the emotional nature of
hypermetropia?
[12.4] what is the emotional nature of
presbiopya?
[12.5] what is the emotional nature of
macular degeneration?
[12.6] what is the emotional nature of
amblyopia?
[12.7] what is the emotional nature of
strabismus?
[12.8] what is the emotional nature of
glaucoma?
[12.9] what is the emotional nature of
cataracts?
[12.10] what is the emotional nature of
retinis pigmentosa?
[12.11] what is the emotional nature of
retinal detachment?
[13.0] eastern aproach
[13.1] what are accupressure points for
the eyes?
[13.2] can accupuncture be used to relieve
eye strain?
[13.3] how do I meditate?
[13.4] what eastern herbs are
availlable?
[14.0] movement & posture
[14.1] should I be more aware of my
poture?
[14.2] how can I tell if my head is
tilted?
[14.3] do I lean my head forward/back too
much?
[14.4] how do I sit up straight?
[14.5] what are feldenkrais lessons,
alexander technique, rolfing
[14.6] what is craniosacral therapy?
[15.0] diet & light
[15.1] what nutrients are essential?
[15.2] should I be using full-spectrum
lighting?
[15.3] should I avoid tints in glasses and
lenses?
[15.4] what is the relationship between
light and mood?
[15.5] what is syntonics?
[15.6] is there a homeopathic remedy?
[15.7] what is eyebright?
[15.8] what is bilbery?
[15.9] what other herbs are of benefit?
[15.10] what are drugs that may adversly
affect visual accuity?
[15.11] what are drugs that may adversly
affect pupilary response?
[15.12] what are drugs that may adversly
affect eye movement?
[15.13] what are drugs that may adversly
affect eye pressure?
[15.14] what are drugs that may adversly
affect the conjuntiva, cornea, and lens?
[15.15] what are drugs that may adversly
affect the retina and optic nerve?
[16.0] concerns
[16.1] I do a lot of reading what should I
do?
[16.2] I spend a lot of time in front of a
computer what should i
[16.3] one eye is weaker than the other
what should I do?
[16.4] my eyes are dry and iritated what
should I do?
[16.5] I already have 20/20 vision how do
I get super normal vision.
[16.6] what is an example program for
myopia?
[16.7] what is an example program for
astigmatism?
[16.8] what is an example program for
hyperopia?
[16.9] what is an example program for
presbyopia?
[16.10] what is an example program for
cataracts?
[16.11] what is an example program for
macular degeneration?
[16.12] what is an example program for
gluacoma?
[17.0] emergencies
[17.1] what should I do in the case of an
eye wound?
[17.2] what should I do in case of
chemical burns to the eye?
[17.3] what should I do in the case of
foreign bodies in the eye?
[18.0] resources
[18.1] what resources are availlable to
help me?
[18.2] how do I locate a behavioral
optometrist?
[1.0] introduction
this faq is devoted to bringing up to date
information on the
process of natural vision and natural
vision improvement. The
distilation of numerous theories and
schools of thought are
presented here to maximise the opportunity
that you may find the key
to your particular individual situation.
The discussion of "why's?" and theory is
beyond the scope of this faq.
Similarly testamonials have not been
included due to space
considerations. Only methods which have
had outstanding results and
documented successes have been include
here, procedures with
uncertainty have been noted as such.
[1.1] can vision be improved?
Yes. The us air force and many commercial
airlines have a
programs of training pilots with normal
vision to super normal
sight. Olympic athletes including the us
volleyball and field
hockey teams frequently work to improve
their sight to beyond
normal. Other athletes that do so include
tennis champion
virginia wade, the dallas cowboys, new
york yeankees, val
skinner profesional golfer. Connecticut
state police have regular
vision improvement training. The list is
endless.
[1.2] can defective vision be improved?
Yes. In the majority of cases
improvements are possible.
Conditions like myopia, astigmatism and
hypermetropia can often be
corrected fully or better than normal or
at least
significantly, depending on the individual
condition, motivation and
the inherant flexibility of the visual
systems.
Having said this please do not take
anything in this faq on
faith. Always verify everything for
yourself with your own
senses and your own experimentations and
investigations.
[1.3] does vision therapy take up much
time?
No. Primarily it is a matter of
developing good visual habits and
intergrating them throughout your normal
day to replace bad
visual habits.
Vision therapy is not a matter of doing
half an hour of exercises a
day, and then ten hours of sight adversive
activities.
Successful vision therapy is about
bringing to consciousness bad
habits, modifying them to become good
habits and repeating them till
they become unconcsious. In other words
vision therapy is about
converting the continuous use of your
natural vision to be an ongoing
benefical activity and extending or
building new neurological
pathways in the mind.
[1.4] how much does vision therapy cost?
Nothing. You can choose to seek help from
the various
professionals involved in the vision
industry who will charge you for
their time.
------------------------------------------
-----------------------
[2.0] corrected vision
90% of the population of the usa, will at
one point or other begin
to wear glasses.
[2.1] what do glasses do to they eye?
It is common experience that wearing
contacts and glasses worsens
unaided sight.
Glass and plastic lenses in spectacles and
contact lenses
interfere with the transmission of light.
Color is always more
intense when seem with the naked eye than
with any lens. It can be
argued that since color is a major part of
the perception of form it
follows that in small to medium sight
defects form is not as well
perceived with glasses. Secondly its
possible that glasses
actually agravate the eye, by constantly
maintaining a degree of
refractive error which otherwise would not
be there, particularly
while in eccentric focusing.
The strong concave glasses required by
myopes of high degree make all
objects seem much smaller than they really
are, while convex glasses
enlarge them. Patients with a degree of
astigamitism can suffer some
very disagreable sensations when they put
on glasses. Usually these
difficulties are overcome, but often they
are not, and it sometimes
happens that those who do overcome them
during the day never succeed in
getting used to them at night.
All glasses contract the field of vision
to a greater or lesser
degree. Often glasses cause annoying
nervous symptoms, such as
dizziness and headache, and the frames
also interfere with
peripheral vision.
Many russian civilians during ww2 were
known to wear negative
diopter lenses for several days prior to
visual examinations in
compuslory enlistments in order to easily
fail the tests.
[2.2] but don't glasses give me perfect
vision already?
No. Refractive abnormalities are
continually changing from day to
day, from hour to hour, and from minute to
minute. A fact that is
easily verified by personal observation.
Thus the accurate fitting
of glasses or contacts is, of course
impossible.
The difficulty of keeping glass clear is
one of the minor
discomforts of glasses, but is
nevertheless a most annoying one.
Likewise reflections of strong light from
eyeglasses are often very
annoying, and in the street may be very
dangerous. Expensive coatings
are needed to reduce these effects. In so
doing, they reduce the
brightness of colors. These coatings also
require special cloths to
clean, and they scratch easily requiring a
hardness coating.
Many people have great difficulties with
glasses because of the
activity of their lives, which not only
leads to the breaking of
the lenses but often throws them out of
focus, particularly in the
case of eyeglasses worn for astigmatism.
Contact lenses are difficult to clean and
maintain. They are
often dropped and lead to various eye
diseases if not
scrupulously cleaned. Astigmatism is
often corrected poorly, due to
the lens rotating on the eye. Even the
most permeable contacts deprive
the eye of oxygen and frequently
capilaries begin extending
into the cornea as a result. Extended
wear lenses are notorious for
causing infections and complications.
The progression of myopia often means that
a perfect prescription is
quickly inadequate and the the patient
spends most of his or her time
with a noticeable amount of refractive
error. (in fact, most
optometrists undercorrect myopia to begin
with -- contrary to popular
belief, 20/20 vision does not mean 100% of
the human visual
potential, but the average acuity of
people living during the time the
standard was established.)
in an emergency spectacles and contacts
often become a serious
hindrance. Droped or broken glasses often
aggravate any already
difficult situations.
[2.3] are compensating lenses addictive?
Yes. The lenses generally prescribed by
classical optometrist are
called compensating lenses, in that only
compensate for
refractive errors, and have no therapeutic
value. In a
progressive myopic the lenses quickly
become a total addiction.
------------------------------------------
-----------------------
[3.0] the begining
[3.1] how do I start?
Start by getting a visual check up and an
assessment of the
health of your eyes. You will also have a
reference point of your
original visual acuity to which you can
compare progress. It
helps to have an optometrist who is open
to the idea of natural
vision improvement. An optometrist that
practices behavioral
optometry or syntonics will only be too
pleased to help you.
Ask lots of questions about your
condition. Only when you know the
true state of your "ocular fitness" will
you will be able to make the
make best use of this faq. If you have
any doubts as to the safety
of any of the practices suggested, by all
means discuss it with
your eye doctor! This is especially true
if you have a serious eye
condition.
Since everybody is different, the
information this faq cannot claim
to be the ultimate authority on what you
should do. Rather, its
suggestions are meant to help you find
your unique key to positive
and rapid change.
[3.2] how quickly will I make progress?
Immediately. If you are myopic,
hypermetropic or astigmatic you can
demonstrate this by doing a few minutes of
palming and noticing
the results. The results of palming are
at first short lived, but
longer term progress will result from the
accummulation of
these and other shorter positive
beneficial effects. Progress
is usually measured in months or weeks,
depending on the
individual case and the degree of
flexibility and motivation.
Remember there are no quick answers, no
shortcuts. No two people are
alike or have exactly the same problems.
------------------------------------------
-----------------------
[4.0] textbook definitions
[4.1] what is an optometrist?
A doctor of optometry (o.D.) educated to
provide routine eye
health care and refraction measurement for
the prescription of
lenses. A growing number of optometrists,
who call themselves
visual training specialists or behavioral
optometrists (see
below), also incorporate non-surgical
therapies for visual
problems such as exercises, training
lenses, and nutritional
counseling.
[4.2] what is an behavioral optometrist?
An optometrist trained in vision therapy,
which involes a wide
variety of procedures for neuromuscular,
neurophysiological or
neurosensory visual dysfunction.
[4.3] what is an ophthalmologist?
A doctor of medicine (m.D.) trained in
disease of the eye and
surgery. In addition, many
ophthalmologists prescribe glasses and
contact lenses as well.
[4.4] what is an optician?
A technician who produces and/or dispenses
the optical lenses,
glasses or other equipment presribed by
optometrists and
ophthalmologist.
[4.5] what is the difference between sight
and vision?
Sight is the process of the eyes to focus
an image on the retina,
vision is the ability of the brain to give
this image meaning.
[4.6] what are vision problems?
Behavioral optometry regrds most vision
problems as imbalance
between the various systems of the bodies,
most occur as adaptive
responses to enviromental stresses and are
present in the brain at
an unconscious level. Errors of
refraction are seen as symptoms
which disapear when the causes are
attended to.
Classical optometry regards vision
problems as errors of
refraction, to be treated with corrective
lenses.
[4.7] what are errors of refraction?
A situation where a clear image is not
formed on the retina.
Myopia, astigmatism, hypermetropia all
types of errors of
refraction. Most of errors of refraction
are very small changes in
the eye, often in the order of fraction of
millimeters. You only have
to look at the difference in thickness in
the center of a contact lens
and the periphery to begin to appreciate
how small the physical
problems really are.
[4.8] what is accommodation?
Accommodation is the process whereby the
eye adapts to bring near
objects into focus and relaxes to bring
distant objects into focus
on the retina. Different ways of altering
the eye for
accommodation have been observed in
different animals. For
example in birds, the cornea changes
shape, and in fish the
entire eye elongates and flattens. In
humans, accommodation is
generally held to occur by the lens
becoming more or less convex,
under the control of the ciliary muscle.
However, the precise
mechanism for human accommodation is still
under debate.
[4.9] what is the far point?
The furthest point at which the eye can
see clearly.
[4.10] what is the near point?
The nearest point at which the eye can see
clearly.
[4.11] what is excessive accommodation?
The state where the tensing of the
cilliary muscle is sustained, and
both the far and near point are brought
closer to the eye. Diagnosis
by a trained optometrist or opthalmologist
is easily performed
under the effect of cyclopegics (drugs
that paralyze the ciliary) and
once diagnosed recovery is quick.
Standard treatment includes
temporarily minimising near work, and rest
to allow the over excited
cilliary to recover from its condition of
over use.
Should corrective lenses be unwintingly
prescribed the condition is
usually aggravated.
The causes range from improper or ill
fitting spectacles,
excessive amount of near work, general ill
health, physical or
mental. No one is really sure.
[4.12] what is spasm of accommodation?
Textbooks say a rare condition of spasm in
the ciliary muscle
which has become out of control. Objects
are seen as larger than they
normally are.
[4.13] what is insufficient
accommodation?
The condition where the power of the
ciliary is below that
required for normal vision. Near work is
blurred or becomes
difficult.
A program of active and passive vision can
improve this
condition.
If the cause is hardening of the lens than
the ciliary may have
diffculty overcoming this condition.
[4.14] what is ill-sustained
accommodation?
This is a milder form of insufficient
accommodation, usually
during period of ill health or tired eyes.
Often found in people who
wish to read in the evening or in bed when
tired.
Treatment is the same as for insufficient
accommodation.
[4.15] what is inertia of accommodation?
A condition where there is difficulty in
changing the range of
accommodation. Focusing seems to stick at
certain points and
difficulty or delay is experienced, when
changing depth of focus.
A program of accommodative exercises will
releive this condition.
[4.16] what is paralysis of
accommodation?
A variety of causes where the cilliary is
paralysed, either from
medication or trauma. Sometimes a result
of diabetes or alcohol
toxicity.
Treatment of this condition resolves
itself into a treatment of the
cause. A medical opinion should be
sought.
[4.17] what is vergence (convergence &
divergence)?
Vergence is the process of muscular
coordination which points each
eye at the same point in space to produce
binocular vision. To see at
the near point, the eyes must cross or
"converge", while to see
at the far point, the eyes must pull out
or "diverge".
Vergence works strongly in coordination
with accommodation and
pupil dilation. Vergence is principally
governed by the medial recti
and the pupilary contractions by the
sphincter pupillae. The
strong synkenetic association between
these three is seen by the supply
of all these muscles by one nerve called
the third cranial.
It is common to find in most vision
problems that the three
systems are not acting in coherence.
[4.18] what is insufficency of
convergence?
Convergence insufficency is the difficulty
in focusing when the near
point is less than 11cm from the
intra-occular base line. The
insuficciency may be in both or one eye
and the causes are not
well understood. Insufficency is a common
cause of reading
difficulties, one eye will be looking at a
point in space and the other
will be looking past it.
Convergence is easily brought under
conscious control, and a
program of convergence exercises can
correct this problem.
[4.19] what is excess of convergence?
Similar to insufficency, but one eye is
converging too far, gives the
appearance of cross-eyed. Commonly found
in hypermetropes, or myopes
freshly behind glasses.
Treatment involves learning to obtain a
double image and the use of
prisms or the use of an amblyoscope.
[4.20] what is a diopter?
A diopter a measurement of the power to
bend light. One diopter
means the ability to converge or bring to
focus parallel rays in a
distance of one meter. Negative diaopters
diverge light.
[4.21] what is the cornea?
The cornea is the outer "lens" of the eye,
in front of the pupil. It
has a power +43d. Its shape is supposedly
fixed.
[4.22] what is the crytaline lens?
The inner lens, behind the pupil. Is has
a power of +20d at rest. Note
the total power of the eyes is about +59d
the crystaline lens is thought to be
solely responsible for
accommodation or the change in focus from
near and far objects. The
added power of the lens to accomodate
varies supposedly
declining with age. An "average" 10 year
old as around 13d of
accommodative power. Ie can bring to
focus a point 8cm from one
eye. An "average" 30 year old as around
9d of accommodative
power, and so can bring to to focus a
point 11cm from one eye.
Note that 1mm in change to the axial
length (front to back
distance) of the eye is roughly equal to 3
diopters in power. This
gives you an idea of how small any
problems actually are.
[4.23] what is the pupil?
The pupil is the colored part of the eye
which can contract to
change the field of vision and reduce the
amount of light
entering the eye.
[4.24] what is the retina?
The retina is the inside of the rear wall
of the eye, which is
photoreceptive. Light is focused here
from the cornea and
crytaline lens.
------------------------------------------
-----------------------
[5.0] the problems
[5.1] what is myopia?
Also called shortsighted, or nearsighted.
Myopia is the
inability to see distant object clearly.
The physiology is that the
image produced by the eye focuses just
short of the retina, leaving a
blured image to fall on the macula.
Textbooks say the physiology can vary, the
axial length from the
lens to the retina is too long, or the
lens is over
accommodating, or the curvature in the
cornea has changed, or the
lenticular curvature has changed. The
lens itself may by
displaced of its own accord or the inter
occular pressure is too
great. Diabetes is known cause of myopia
and general ill health;
stress, emotional problems can bring on
temporary conditions.
Some very rare cases result from a genetic
pigmentation problem with
the retina.
Conventional optometry regards myopia as a
hereditary problem
contrary to evidence to suggest a strong
enviromental factor.
Conventional optometry treats myopia by
the use of stronger and
stronger presrciptions.
Behavioral optometry regards myopia as a
symptom of vision
imbalance which is often responsive to
vision therapy.
Mypoia is measured in negative spherical
diopters. Ie -1 d. One
diopter is the power of a lens which will
focus parallel rays at a
distance of one meter.
[5.2] what is astigmatism?
Astigmatism is the condition where a point
focus can not be
formed on the retina. The refraction of
light is unequal in
different meridians. This means lines in
one one direction may be
blurred while others are not. Astigmatics
often report double vision
(diplopia) or even multiple images
(polypopia) in both eyes or even
a single eye.
The physiology is as uncertain as that of
myopia. The cornea or
lens may not be rotationaly symmetrical,
or the eye itself by be
assymetric. The extraocular muscles are
sometimes
responsible for deforming the shape of the
eye. Conventional
optometry treats astigmatism throught the
prescription of
lenses. Behavioral optometry regards
astigmatism as correctable with
vision therapy.
Elliot forrest o.D. Found a relationship
between head movement,
posture and visual scanning. If you use a
computer or read a lot then
you will tend to scan from along the
horizontal meridian and neglect
the vertical meridian, with a resultant
astigmatism in that
meridian.
Astigamtism may also result from a
twisting of the spine, pelvis or
neck. Astigmatics often have a tight or
restricted posture and
movement.
You can quickly tell if you are astigmatic
with the astigmatic mirror
section [9.21]
[5.2.1] what is the notation for
astigmatism?
Astigmatism is measured in cylindrical
diopters. Three numbers are
needed. The first number is the power of
a spherical lens. The
second is the power of cylindrical lens
and the last number is the
principal meridian in degrees for that
lens. Facing a patient: 0
degree or 180 degree is horizontal, 90
degree is vertical, 45 is
up right to down left, and 135 degree is
up left to down right.
Optometrist usualy use "minus" notation eg
+2.25 -0.75 x 175 and
ophthalmologist use "plus" notation eg
+2.25 +0.75 x 5 these are the
same measurement.
So is -1.00 +1.00 x 135 and -1.00 -1.00 x
45
the average astigmatic usually has the
horizontal meridian
flatter than the vertical meridian.
[5.3] what is hypermetropia?
Also farsighted or longsighted or
hyperopia. Hypermetropia is the
condition where the eye tends to focus
behind the retina.
Hypermetropia is usually not a problem as
small amounts can be
overcome by accommodation. Indeed the
majority of people are born
hypermetropic.
The physiology is as poorly understood as
with all vision
problems. The eye may be considered too
long, the retina may have
detached, accommodation may be
insufficient. Etc etc etc.
[5.4] what is presbyopia?
Also old age sight. Presbyopia is a
failure in accommodation with the
onset of age. It mostly affects near
vision, but distance vision is
also sometimes affected.
The physiology of presbyopia is considered
to be from change in the
shape and or structure of the lens are
commonly blamed. Less commonly
the strength of the ciliary is at fault.
As with all sight problems this is poorly
understood.
[5.5] what is emmetropia?
Emmetropia is the ideal eye where a
relaxed flattened lens
focuses exactly on the retina. Commonly
emmetropia is another word
for normal sight. The emmetropic eye is
fully rested and display
no signs of stress when looking at the far
point or the near point.
No eye is perfectly emmetropic all of the
time.
The opposite of emmetropia is called
ammetropia.
[5.6] what is strabismus?
Also "cross-eyes" or, less commonly
"squint". A rare condition where
the eye turns in, out, up or down. That
is the eyes are no longer
working as a team. Behavioral optometry
beleives that the cause
being at a cortical level is treatable.
Untreated the condition
lead to many emotive dificulites.
[5.7] what is amblyopia?
Also "lazy eye". A condition where one
eye apparently looses
clear sharp vision which cannot be
compensated for with
corrective lenses. A condition best
diagnosed by a professional.
[5.8] how accurate are visual
measurements?
Not very. Vision changes continuously and
the autorefraction and
subject refraction tests performed by
optometrists and
opthalmologists give only a "snapshot" of
your current accuity.
Autorefraction gives a sort of "at rest"
measurement and
subjective refraction measures your
ability (some people say
"under pressure to perform") to discern
what the eyes present to yourmind. A
score of 20/20 does not include your
acuity at the near
point.
Many other measurements are not covered by
a standard optometry
test.
Eye-movement skills, the ability to
quickly focus from one
object to another.
Eye-teaming skills, converging and
diverging, the ability to turn
the eyes inward and outward in a coherent
way.
Eye focusing skills, the ability to make
rapid and accurate
shifts in visual inspection with
instantaneius clarity and at any
distance. Also the ability to maintain
focus on a an object. Focusing
is about expanding the point of vision not
about forcing or trying
harder. Effects/reflecfs concentration
abilities.
Dynamic visual acuity, the ability the see
sharply while an
object or person is in motion.
Peripheral vision, the ability to use side
horiztonal and
vetical vision. Used to position yourself
in space and time.
Improvements result in better balance and
movement.
Binocular fusion, the ability to
coordinate the eyes precisely so the
brain can "fuse" the input. Dyslexia is a
catch all term to label
crossed and left/right reversal
dificulties. It is about a lack of
co-ordination between the left and right
hemispheres of the brain and
body. Fusion creates depth perception.
Eye-hand co-ordination. Combining the
visual and motor systems, if
the eye movements are jerky then the hand
movements will be too.
Effects sprots performance and even
handwriting.
Visual form perception. Becoming aware of
the shapes features of
sensory information. The ability to
organize images on the
printed page into letters and/or words.
Visualization and visual memory. How you
make and store and
recall visual images and imformation.
Effects you ability to
learn.
[5.9] how do I measure my own acuity?
To measure acuity with an eye chart: stand
back from an eye
chart. Determine the smallest row you can
read. Take the
distance you are standing from the chart
(normally 20 feet or 6
meters) and divide that by the number
printed next to the line. This
ratio is your acuity. The ability to read
black letters on a white
background from twenty feet (6m) is known
as "snellen acuity"
named after the inventor of the eye chart,
and is usually
represented with "20" in the numerator.
Expressed as a percent, it is
your "percent of normal vision". This
percent must not be taken as
an absolute measurement, since one will
have different acuities at
different distances.
To measure amount of myopia in diopters:
measure the furthest
distance you can see the letters
absolutely clear and black (not just
readable). This is your focal length. If
you measure your focal
length in meters, you can compute your
refractive error in diopters by
taking the negative reciprocal. For
example, if things start to
blur out at half a meter, you have a
refractive error of -2.00 d. The
greater the magnitude of this number, the
more your myopia. The
number you come up with by this means
should represent more myopia
than what the eye doctor would give you as
a prescription, since eye
doctors are trained to "under-
prescribe".
[5.10] what is average daily vision?
A subjective measurement of how your
vision faired during the
day. It is easy to get a good idea of the
state of your vision by
using a set of daily landmarks or signs to
judge its current state.
You will also find vision varies quite a
bit during the day, so you
need to take this in consideration when
making your evaluation.
Many people find that vision is directly
related to their current state
of alertness and health. As you become
tired during a typical day or
are ill your vision reflects this.
[5.11] what is peak daily vision?
Peak daily vision is defined as the "best"
subjective point of
clarity throughout the day. Most people
are surprised to find just
how good the peak point of vision during
the day actually is.
[5.12] should I keep track of peak and
average daily vision in a
diary?
Yes. While this is not mandatory, it
helps you see long term
trends, and gives more reliable feedback
as you experiment with
changes to your lifestyle and undertake
various remedies for your
vision. Changes over weeks and months are
difficult to notice until
they reach a large threshold. It is much
easier to note down the
state of your vision each day, whether you
had any clear flashes and
what duration they were, rather than to
rely on your memory. Include
as much detail as you feel necessary. You
would also be surpised at how
quickly you adjust to better eyesight and
forget what poor vision
was like. Some people improve without
realising they have improved.
------------------------------------------
-----------------------
[6.0] lets go!
The following sections will lead you on a
journey that cover all
aspects of vision. Massage, passive
vision, active vision,
mental vision, behavioral optometry,
emotions and vision,
eastern aproach, diet & light. Its
one thing to know how to
correct something, its another think to,
like the great god nike
said, "just do it!".
[7.0] massage
[7.1] what are the signs of tension and
strain?
Sight problems are almost always
accompanied by patterns of
muscle tension and weakness.
For example myopes tend to have pronounced
tension in the
forehead, jaw neck, shoulders upper arms,
lower back and often in the
calves.
Better results are gained quicker when the
body is treated in a
holistic fashion, and the tension in the
body and mind is seen to as
well as the problems with the eyes.
[7.2] how do I relax strain in the body?
Massage is an excellent way. Begin with
the face, and notice
which areas are the most tense. Next the
do neck massage and
shoulder rotations. And with the aid of
someone have back
massaged and your legs and calves if you
have tension in these
areas.
[7.3] how do I massage my face?
Warm your fingers by rubing them together
and begin with your
jaw. Always begin very gently and spend a
couple of minutes on each
area noticing what you feel and what
effect it is having on you.
Work outward from the point of your chin
under and behind the ears.
The point directly under the ears is often
very tight. Opening and
closing the jaw is a good idea as well as
yawning. Work from the
bridge of the nose outward over the
cheekbones and up toward the
temples. Use circular strokes on the
temples. Continue on the
eyebrows, working outward from the center
using long strokes. Use
your fingertips to strech out the brow,
and alternate with picking up
the brow with your thumb and forefinger
and stretching it out.
Often a point between the brow is very
tense use small circular motions
on this area. Another delicate point is
in the indentation outside
the bridge of the nose on the inner edge
of the eyebrows. Work above
and below the brows and finaly use long
strokes on the forhead.
Notice how your face feels and youe eyes
feel. You will find you have
your own pattern of tension which you can
subsequently pay sepecial
attention to.
[7.4] how do I massage my neck?
Turn your head to one side, feel along
from behind the ear down to
your chest you will find the side neck
flexor or
sternocleidomastoid. This muscle can
become tighter than any
other muscle in the body. Some people
have mistaken this muscle for a
bone. Gently at first till it warms up,
palpate, tap and stroke
it. Do each side, then massage the back
of the neck working out
from the spine. The top of the spine at
the very base of the
skull is often quite tight. Finally
finish by doing head rotations.
Start with small rotations, in each
direction do a dozen circles
gradualy expanding to your full range of
motion. Always do rotations
slowly and deliberately
[7.5] how often should I massage my neck
and face?
Spend a few minutes at least once or twice
a day. Lunch time or
evening is always a good opportunity.
[7.6] how do I stretch the muscles of the
eye?
Close both eyes tightly, hold your lids
shut firmly, squeezing and
open them suddenly, arching your brows and
stretching your face.
Repeat several times.
Look up as far as possible, look down as
far as possible, inhale on
up, and exhale on down. The blink rapidly
a dozen or so times. Look as
far right as possible, look as far left as
possible and blink
rapidly again. Look diagonaly up to left,
down to right, up to right,
down to left, and blink rapidily. Attempt
to look in back of yourself.
Full range of motion eye rotations.
Rotate your eyes around the
periphery of your vision. Always do these
slowly and
deliberatly. Concentrate on one eye at a
time, then try both. Go
around a dozen or so times then go around
the other direction the same
number of times. Try rotations with your
eyes shut.
[7.7] how often should I stretch the
muscles of the eye?
Whenever you feel them to be tight or
constricted or having a
limited range of motion. At least several
times a day. Some
people find that after they have been
wearing glasses or contacts and
remove them the muscle of the eye are
especial "sticky", and dont move
freely.
------------------------------------------
-----------------------
[8.0] passive vision
[8.1] what is passive vision?
Passive vision is the act of seeing
without strain as displayed by
the emmotropic eye. To develop passive
vision a series of
non-exercises have been developed to
reduce strain and
sensitivity.
Dr. William bates found that mypoia is in
fact always associated with
a strain to see distant objects, and that
hypermetropia is always
associated with a strain to see at the
near point. Primarily
the strain to see is a strain of the
mind.
By straining to see at near or far objects
the eye can pass
through various stages from emmetropia, in
which the eye is
spherical, to hypermetropia, in which it
is flattened, and if
these changes take place unsymmetrically,
astigamatism. Bates found
that myopia could be induced in dogs by
forcing them to strain to
to see a distant object.
Bates's remedy is not to avoid either near
work or distant vision but
to get rid of the mental strain which
underlies the imperfect
functioning of the eye at both points.
The ways in which people
strain are infinite, and the methods used
to relieve strain must be
almost equally varied.
[8.2] does sleep help reduce strain?
Yes and no. If a person is under mental
strain during the day, then
this will carry over into sleep. Even
during sleep, eyes can still
be very active during a period know as
rem, or rapid eye movement, a
phase of sleep during which dreaming takes
place.
Some people find their vision is best in
the morning, certainly the
result of sleep -- while others find it
markedly worse! The effect
sleep has on your eyesight may be affected
by the tension your eyes
are under before you go to sleep, the
amount of light in the room while
you're sleeping, what you ate before going
to sleep, etc. In
general, though, if you are able to
achieve complete relaxation
before you lie down, the effect on your
eyes the next morning will be
positive.
Unconscious patterns of muscular tension
are however generally not
cured by sleep, nor are muscular
weaknesses.
[8.3] what do I do if my sight is worse in
the mornings?
A few people strain their eyes during
sleep causing poor vision in
the morning. A program of passive vision
non-exercises before bed will
help to relieve this condition. Also look
into the emotional
side of your lifestyle and how this may
relate to your night time
stress.
[8.4] how often should I wear glasses or
contacts?
Wear them only when your safety (or the
law) requires it. The less
you wear glasses the quicker you can
improve.
[8.5] should I go cold turkey and stop
wearing glasses
altogether?
If you can then yes. You still nead to
wear glasses were you
_need_ to see perfectly clearly. (note it
is illegal in most
countries to drive without glasses if it
is indicated on your
license)
in some situations you can get by with a
fitness pair of glasses
correcting to 20/40. In situations were
you don't neet glasses dont
wear them.
Remember glasses only compensate for
vision problems and dont
improve them. Many people complain that
their eyes feels "tight" or
tense and tired when they wear glasses,
indicating a possible negative
action on the eyes from the lenses.
[8.6] what are functional or fitness
glasses?
Glasses which undercorrect an error of
refraction. The lowest an
optometrist is legaly allowed to prescribe
for your sight, this
varies from country to country. In most
countries it is illegal to
prescribe glasses that correct vision
worse than 20/40.
[8.7] how long before I become accustomed
to not wearing glasses?
If you have worn corrective lenses for a
while then the
transition might not be easy. The first
week is usually the
hardest, but you will probably be
surprised how quickly you
adjust.
The first problem is a psychological one,
most people immediately
exclaim, "i cant see!", when in fact what
they mean is "i cant see
clearly". Mental vision now becomes the
first priority, that is,
learning to differentiate and become aware
of what exactly it is you do
see.
Once you develop this sense of your vision
you will be able to
instantly tell the state of your sight.
Some people can tell you their
snellen acuity just by looking at any
patch of black. Simply
because they have learned that with blur,
blacks become grey, and the
degree of grey indicates the current state
of their sight. Become
curious about just what is it your are
seeing. How is it different from
what you want to see? Are lines sharper
in one orientation? Are
you seeing double or more images? Which
part of your visual field is
clearer? How do your eyes compare to each
other, is one stronger
than the other, does this change? How
does your vision change during
the day?
[8.8] what is palming?
Relief of mental strain is the cornerstone
of the bates method.
Bates found that closing the eyes gives
them and the mind a break which
can temporarily restore sight. He futher
expanded this principle
with the non-exercise of palming, which
actually comes from the hatha
yoga tradition.
Do not wear glasses or contacts while
palming.
To palm, cover your closed eyes with the
cupped palms of the hand with
the fingers overlaping in the center of
the forehead. Do not touch or
put any pressure on the eyes. Then
meditate over something
pleasant and relax. Some people like to
warm up the palms first by
rubing them briskly together.
Palming relaxes the optic nerves, enhances
blood circulation, and
relieves muscular rigidity in the eyes.
At first most people find they see a
myriad of patterns lights and
colors etc. When a high degree of
relaxation is attained these tend
to give way to just black. Bates advised
to just imagine black
to encourage this process, however if this
proves difficult then to
just rest while palming.
The first thing you will notice when you
have finished palming is the
sense of peace, relaxation and warmth in
the eyes and the muscles
around the eyes. The second is an
increase in clarity, which
slowly reverts back to your abnormal
sight. Permanent sight
improvement is based on the cumulative
beneficial effects of these
temporary improvements.
[8.9] how often should I palm?
30 minutes a day is a good goal. If you
have busy schedule then
break it up into lots of 5 minutes. You
can mix palming with a quick
facial massage.
[8.10] can I do too much palming?
No. Even if you do one or more hours a
day, bates found this still
produced beneficial results.
[8.11] what is sunning?
Bates advocated sunning as an important
component of vision
therapy. Sunning simply involves being in
the sun, closing the eyes
and just moving the head from the side to
side while allowing
the sun to shine on the closed lids. Do
not wear contacts or
lenses while sunning. As you become
accustomed to light you can
stretch out your eyelid and allow more
light through the
tranculecent skin.
Looking directly at the sun is of course
never recomended. If you have
a high sensitivity, work mostly indoors
under fluorescents or wear
sunglasses often, then you might find that
normal daylight hurts
your eyes. Sunning is an excellent way of
reducing any light
sensitivity.
Once you are used to light sunning will
give a soft, warm,
pleasant and very relaxed feeling to the
eyes.
If direct sunlight isn't availlable,
artifical full-spectrum
lights can be used.
[8.12] what is skying?
Skying is milder form of sunning when the
sensitivity to light is
great or no sun is availlable. Instead of
looking at the sun use a
poriton of the sky with no sun. Once this
has been mastered then
graduate to sunning.
[8.13] how much sunning should I do?
As much as you can. Start of with a few
minutes per day and build up
to half an hour, or break sunning up into
smaller chunks if time is
pressing. Eating lunch outdoors is a good
time for sunning
provided you dont live under the hole in
the ozone layer or in the
tropics.
[8.14] is sunning safe?
There are contra indications to sunning.
If you are albino or have
certain skin diseases or any problems in
or around your eyes, then
consult your doctor. But if your healthy
then the answer is
yes. As it is, many people don't get
enough sun, which can be a
factor in causing depression, vitamin d
deficiency, and calcium
absorption problems.
If you are concerned about exposing
yourself to too much uv
light, there are things you can do.
First, always sun with your eyes
closed. Also, keep in mind: all
frequencies of light are less
intense in late afternoon or early morning
-- you can do your
sunning then. And, if you feel you need
to, you can always wear a sun
block on your face (don't forget your
eyelids!).
Always start with as brief a period that
you are comfortabale with
and slowly extend this to the desired
time. Remember in controled
short periods of exposure the sun can only
do good, and its only
when you haven't built up exposure or
haven't spent extended time in
the sun that problems can occur as a
result of sun-hypersensitivity.
Do however take extra care if you live
under the holes in the
ozone layer or in the tropics.
[8.15] should I stop wearing sunglasses?
Yes. The lens of the eye filters out uv
light on its own accord.
Sunglasses are really only useful in high
glare situations. If you
need sunglasses use top-quality
full-spectrum neutral gray as
manufactured by keystone optical
laboratory or enviromental
lighting concepts. If you find daylight
or strong light
painful this may be an aspect of your
vision dysfunction.
[8.16] how much blinking should I be
doing?
Remember to blink and blink often. People
with refractive errors tend
to blink much less than the average 20
blinks a minute. Reduced
blinking leads to staring or squinting, so
remember to blink
often. Deliberate blinking momentarily
rests the eyes, stretches
the extra occular muscles, massages the
eye balls and forces the
pupil to contract and expand.
Working with computer video displays tends
to dry out the eyes and
blinking is even more important in these
situations to help return
much needed moisture to the eye. Some
people like to put up a small
note to remind themselves to blink
frequently.
[8.17] should I be yawning?
Yes. Deliberate or exagerated yawning
relaxes all the facial
muscles, encouraging fuller breathing and
oxygenates the blood. Yawn
frequently, especially when tired. Many
people report greatly
enhanced clarity while deep yawning.
[8.18] how should I be breathing?
The eyes use one third as much oxygen as
the heart. If your
breathing is shallow or weak than you
should look into aerobic
exercises.
John selby devised an exercise that
combines breathing, mental
imagery, relaxation and awareness of your
eyes in a single
practice called eye breathing. Sit
comfortably in a chair close your
eyes, back straight, body relaxed.
Breathe calmly through the nose
and imagine that your eye is inhaling and
exhaling air as part of
this same rhythmic cycle of the breath, as
if your eyes have become
lungs. Also imagine that health,
vitality, healing, relaxtion
flow into your eyes with every breath.
[8.19] what are some breathing
exercesise?
John selby devised an exercise that
combines breathing,
mental imagery, relaxation and awareness
of your eyes in a single
practice called eye breathing. Sit
comfortably in a chair close your
eyes, back straight, body relaxed.
Breathe calmly through the nose
and imagine that your eye are inhaling and
exhaling air as part
of this same rhythmic cycle of the breath,
as if your eyes have
become lungs. Also imagine that health,
vitality, healing,
relaxtion flow into your eyes with every
breath.
Yoga breathing exrecise.
Cool breathing. Open oyur mouth to make
an 'o' shape with your
lips, and stick your tongue out over your
teeth and past your lips.
Inhale over the tongue, then after a full
inhale. Close your mouth
and block your right nostril and breath
out as slowly you can through
your left. Repeat alternating nostrils.
Subtle energy breathing. Close your eyes.
Start with your left eye.
Become aware of tis sensation, and try to
bring it alive with
feeling. Imagine your left eye is capable
of breathing in
prana/energy as you breath in through your
nose. As you breath out,
imagine the energy being transfered into
your right out. Aternate
for five minutes.
Breathing with the grain. Stimulates the
parasympathietic system and
calms the sympathetic system. Hold your
breath for 10 seconds.
Block the left nostril with your left
index finger and partially
block the right with your right index
finger. Exhale long and slwoly
through the right nostril. Inhale long
and deeply through both
nostrils, and reapeat the above but swap
nostrils. Practice 8-10
cycles.
[8.20] what am I seeing?
This is your starting point. Become aware
of what you see,
without judging its relative merits.
Simply note the degree of
bluriness, whether you see a single image,
or double or more
images. How uniform is your field of
vision? What happens if you stare
at point too long? Are lines clearer in
any one direction? Is one
eye clearer then the other? Do you see
the same colour through your
eyes? How does your vision change during
the day? How is your
vision related to mood and general
health?
Become really curious about your sight.
------------------------------------------
-----------------------
[9.0] active vision
[9.1] what is orphoptics?
Orthoptics is a system of exercises that
work the muscles
involved in the visual system, especially
with stereo viewers.
Orthoptics has been mostly superseded by
behavioral optometry.
[9.2] what is active vision?
Vision that involves the use of muscles
and muscular
coordination. Active vision exercises
build up muscular strength and
coordination and help stretch tight and
constricted muscles. Almost
all visual use comes under the category of
active vision, but for the
purpose of this faq, active vision is
defined as deliberate use of
the eyes for the purpose of enhancing
vision.
Always perform visual exercises without
glasses or contacts
unless otherwise stated.
[9.3] what is central fixation?
Unlike a camera, the retina, the light
sensitive area at the back of
the eye has a central point of maximum
sensitivity, called the fovea
centralis, literally the "central pit".
The retina itself is highlycomplex and has
many layers, one of which is composed of
rod and cone
like cells which vary in distribution.
The rod cells function
mainly in vision under conditions of low
light intensity (scotopic
vision) and the cone cells function under
conditions of high light
intensity. In the center of the retina is
a small circular
elevation known as the macula lutea,
literally the "yellow
spot". In the center of this spot is the
fovea, a deep depression of
darker color. In the center of this
depression there are few
rods and the cones are pressed very close
together. As we withdraw
from this spot the acuteness of the visual
perceptions rapidly
decreases.
The eye with normal vision, therefore sees
one part of everything it
looks at best, and all other parts not as
well, in proportion to their
distance from the point of maximum vision,
and it is an invariable
symptom of all abnormal conditions of the
eyes that this central
fixation is lost.
Contrary to what is generally believed the
part seen best when the
sight is normal is extremely small.
Textbooks say that at twenty
feet an area having a diameter of half an
inch can be seen with
maximum vision. When building up an image
the mind places the eye in
constant motion over an object, giving us
the illusion of very wide
clarity.
When the eye possesses central fixation,
it not only possesses
impecable sight but is perfectly at rest
and can be used
indefinitely without fatigue. It is open
and quiet, no nervous
movements are observable, and when it
regards a point at a
distance the visual axes are parallel. In
other words ther are no
muscular insufficiencies. The muscles of
the face and of the whole
body are also at rest, and when the
condition is habitual there are
no wrinkles or dark circles around the
eyes.
In most cases of eccentric fixation, on
the contrary, the eye
tires quickly and its appearance, is
expressive of effort and
strain. The eyeball moves at irregular
intervals, in all
directions. Nervous movements of the
eyelids may also be noted,
either by ordinary inspection or by
lightly toucing the lid of one
eye while the regards an object at the
near point or the
distance.The visual axes are are never
parallel, and redness of the
conjunctiva and of the margins of the
lids, wrinkles around the eyes,
dark cirlce beneath them, and the tearing
are other symptoms of
eccentric fixation.
The bates method of central fixation has
two parts. Firstly to find
where in the visual field you are seeing
clearest and with some simple
games to retrain this point back onto the
macula.
Secondly by learning to concentrate on as
small a point as
possible to develop overall clarity.
Trying to make a large area clear
is to struggle against the natural
focusing mechanisms. By focusing
on as small a detail as possible this will
allow the overall greater
clarity to start returning.
[9.4] how do I restore central fixation?
Bates often used an eye chart for this
purpose. This exercise
however does not require an eyechart and
can be easily sloted in to
your daily routine with virtually any
object. Practice one eye at a
time, then do both.
When looking at the top of the largest
letter on an eye chart, the
bottom of that letter should be less clear
than the top. In visual
problems this is rarely the case.
Look around the letter and find the point
at which you look which will
make the top of the largest letter
clearer. Some people find that by
still looking at the a point and moving
their head around they can
find a location which makes this
noticeable. A few people find that
the point of central fixation looking at
an eye chart twenty feet away
is displaced by several feet!
Learning to be aware of what you see is a
fundamental skill in
restoring perfect vision. Some people
find that everything they see
is equally indistinct, which cannot be the
case. The subtle
distinctions in the visual field requires
close srutinity with the
mind. In this case it is simply a matter
of learning to enhance
mental vision first.
Once you locate this point of greatest
clarity then shift your gaze
back and forward to the top of the largest
letter and your current
point of maximum clarity. Do this a half
a dozen times and palm for
a minute or so, then repeat as many times
as you are comfortable with.
Gradually the distance bewteen where you
are looking and where your
point of greatest clarity will become
shorter and eventually return at
the macula.
An important aspect of central fixation is
that allowing the
larger visual field to be indisctinct
creates greater relaxation which
will be rewarded with greater clarity in
the overall visual field.
In some difficult cases bates used a point
of light instead of text
to greater attract the attention of the
mind. If your seeing
everything with the same degree of blur
and not having much
success finding your point of greatest
clarity then you could try
this approach.
In high degrees of mypoia, it is sometimes
best to attempt to
locate the point of maximum clarity at the
near point by looking at a
page of text. When looking straight ahead
at a letter, you may
notice another letter in the line above or
below or in an adjacent
word jumping out at you.
[9.5] what is shifting?
Conscious, slow-motion versions of
saccadic movements. If you
improve your ability to shift consciously,
you will improve your
saccadic movements.
[9.6] what are saccadic movements?
Tiny movements of the eye used to survey
the current mental point of
interest. The eye can move up to 70 times
a second when building
up a complex imagine in the visual cortex.
If you get up close to
someone with normal vision you can see the
eye is in constant motion,
this give the eye the appearance of
sparkling energy and is a sign
that clear vision is happening.
In imperfect sight the saccades are slow,
jerky and the
excurisons are wider and made with more
apparent effort.
It is imposible for the eye to fix a point
longer than a fraction of a
second without a noticeable decrease in
acuity. An easy test is to fix
the gaze at an object, it will quickly
blur or even disappear and
sometimes even produce pain.
Most of the time we are not aware of these
tiny high speed
movements of the eye.
Normal sight is impossible without
saccadic motion. A person with
imperfect sight tries to do the impossible
and stares at one point for
an extended length of time in order to see
it better. One of the
best methods of improving sight is to
retrain this unconscious
shifting. During a shift the point just
departed should be less
clear than the point arrived at and a
swing or motion of the object
should occur in the opposite direction of
the motion of the eye. At
first these may be difficult to notice,
but with a combination of
palming and shifting, they will reassert
themselves. The speed
at wich one should shift is dependent on
the state of the vision.
The aim is to stay relaxed while shifting
and swinging, so at first
this can be done slowly, and as
improvement is made it can be done
quicker.
[9.7] what is swinging?
When a normal eye shifts over an object
such as a letter in a
direction the letter will be seen to move
in the opposite
direction. This is what bates called
swinging.
When the sight or saccade is imperfect
this swinging is
irregular. Depending on the problem,
moving the eye is one
direction will make the object either not
move or move in the same
direction as the eye.
[9.8] how do I exercise shifting?
Examine the following exercises and adapt
them to suit your daily
routine. Shifting can be practised at any
time with any object.
Eye chart. Look at a letter on the eye
chart. Shift on the same line
so the first is seen less clearly. Shift
back to the first so the
second is seen less clearly. Alternate
for half a dozen shifts.
Notice if the letter seem to move in the
opposite direction to the
eye. Also notice if both letters improve
after half a dozen shifts. If
any strain or effort is involved in
causing the letters to
swing in the oposite direction to the eye
then rest and palm for a few
minutes, then try again. Shifting is
often very much sucessful
when combined with palming. Variations:
if the point shifted to does
not leave the point departed less clear
then try a larger shift. You
may need to shift across lines or even
away from the chart. Again pay
attention to the swing in the letters. In
myopes this exercise can
be first attempted at the near point,
where vision better. If the
shift doesnt cause a coresponding opposite
swing in a few
attempts, then rest and palm. With
practive the shift is made
progressively shorter and quicker,
yielding a corresponding
improvement in overall clarity
edging. Developed by lisette scholl. Sit
comfortably without
lenses, and identify an object just
outside your range of seeing
clearly. Slowly and precisely trace the
edges of the object,
following its contours. Use your nose a
pointer and move your head
naturaly as you trace out objects. Then
back trace the object, if
you traced clockwise then retrate
counter-clockwise.
Books, newspapers, magazines. Developed
by meir schneider. Take a book
and turn it upside down and edge the
letters. Dont try to recognise
the letters just follow contours. Blink
frequently and breath
constantly.
Nose drawing. Imagine there is a long
pencil attached to your nose
and edge moving your entire head.
Gener
