Natural vision improvement includes various methods of improving vision through eye exercises. The movement was started by Dr. William Bates, who wrote Perfect Sight Without Glasses in 1920. Most teachers of natural vision improvement use techniques from the Bates Method. Medical Science of his day, and still today, deny some of his key theories. I tend to side with medical science in most of those cases. However, it is possible to improve your eyesight through exercises. Even though Bates’ theories may have been wrong, his techniques often bring substantial results. And if natural vision improvement works at all, then medical science needs to re-look at some of their own theories.
Like other parts of our bodies, improving our vision involves strength, flexibility, and relaxation of the muscles involved. And, as with enhancing other areas of performance there is a mental aspect to it as well. If you can imagine yourself seeing better, you can learn to see better. To get started on improving your vision, try doing the following exercises, and read my post on eyestrain.
-
Swinging: Stand with your legs about 2 feet apart. Begin to swing your body from right to left, turning as far as you can comfortably. As you shift your weight onto your right foot, turn toward the right, and as you shift over to the left foot turn to the left. As you swing your body let your gaze become relaxed. Do not focus on anything. It should seem as if the world is turning around you, and not you turning. Do this exercise for about two minutes.
-
Palming: Warm your palms by rubbing them together briskly. Then close your eyes and place your palms over them. Allow your eyes to relax into the warmth and blackness. Do this for about 5 minutes.
-
Shifting: Hold your finger in front of you at a comfortable distance to look at. Shift your gaze back and forth, between your finger and something in the distance, as far as you can comfortable focus. You may also want to look at something in the middle distance, shifting your gaze between all three. Do this for about 1 minute.
-
Drawing the world:Imagine you have a long pencil attached to your nose. Trace the outline of all the objects you can see. IF you feel that your gaze moves jerkily, this is an important one for you. You should be able to move your head and eyes smoothly as you follow the lines. Do this for 1 or 2 minutes
-
Reading the spaces: As you read, focus on the white space between the letters instead of the letters. Imagine the white is glowing. This one is particularly good for farsightedness.
-
Yawning: Practice nice wide deep yawns, regularly. This helps to relax the eyes and flush the tear ducts.
About a month after I first started doing eye exercises, I yawned one day and suddenly my vision was crystal clear. I was amazed. It only lasted a few seconds, but I am sure I had 20/20 vision at that time. That continued to occur, more regularly and for longer periods of time. However, like many people I got lazy and stopped doing the exercises. It really is quite a commitment, doing them every single day. My vision did improve, somewhat. I think I went from a 2.5 diopter to a 2.0 diopter lens. I spend most of my time without my glasses now, though I need them to drive. I am also much less prone to eyestrain now, and I am more comfortable in bright sunlight.
If you want to read a book on improving your eyesight, I recommend Natural Vision Improvement by Janet Goodrich.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks Ed,
this is great. I’m finding I can’t read for as long as I used to (and I like to read lots).
I’m hoping to avoid needing glasses, so this summary is exactly what I’ve been looking for.
Many thanks indeed.
Evan
I can’t remember exactly when — but way back when I was in elementary school we were screened for vision problems and I was flagged. Went to the optometrist and I was mildly nearsighted. He had me exercise with a stereoscope with pictures at the far end of it so I had to strain to focus. I hated it, but it made my vision test back in the normal range after a couple of months on the program which my mother made sure I stuck to. When I turned the stereoscope device back in he instructed that I continue to exercise daily, I think I was supposed to do 15 minutes a day. You did not need the device, just intentionally pick objects in a range far enough away to need some work to focus, and focus and hold, relax, focus nearer, relax, repeat on another object. I suspect if you were farsighted it would be the opposite. Anyway I stopped doing the exercises, and ended up being permanently nearsighted. I think you could probably do exercises to improve if you had the patience and perseverence to stick with it. From time to time I’ve seen books that describe about the same process and they all involve sticking with it — as they say a lifestyle change (regular eye exercise) or else it just slips back eventually.
By the way this is a great site!
That’s an interesting experience, Mike. I’ve heard that it is much easier to treat both nearsightedness and farsightedness if caught early. For some, the early exercises hold. I guess you weren’t one of the lucky ones. Apparently in Asia, teens with early nearsightedness are treated successfully with acupuncture. I havenot heard of it being used in the West.
Leave a Comment