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Guides for shifting and central fixation? - Printable Version
Eyesight Improvement Forum
Guides for shifting and central fixation? - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: Guides for shifting and central fixation? (/showthread.php?tid=2427)



Guides for shifting and central fixation? - Qlue - 09-02-2013

I think mastering shifting and central fixation is the foundation of eye sight.

I'm looking for a good well written guide on how to improve shifting and central fixation, specifically shifting.

I read that the long swing is good for practicing shifting. Are there any techniques for practicing central fixation?

I tend to have a habit of staring at one point and then it begins to blur, especially when I'm thinking in my head my eyes stop moving. I'm trying to break this habit.

Thanks!


Re: Guides for shifting and central fixation? - Nancy - 09-03-2013

Qlue, I guide my students not to practice central fixation as much as to notice it. It's especially helpful to notice its absence, like catching yourself staring. Bates says to notice how the object not focused on (he wrote "regarded") is less clear, saying that was easier than noticing how the object regarded is clearest, which can lead to trying to make it clear, or straining. If you glance at something, is what's to the side of it less clear? Well congratulations -- that's central fixation! Now see how near the main point and the point to the side can be for you to notice a difference in clarity. Your own practice will teach you as much or more than any book. I hope this is some help.


Re: Guides for shifting and central fixation? - arocarty - 09-03-2013

Nancy Wrote:Qlue, I guide my students not to practice central fixation as much as to notice it. It's especially helpful to notice its absence, like catching yourself staring. Bates says to notice how the object not focused on (he wrote "regarded") is less clear, saying that was easier than noticing how the object regarded is clearest, which can lead to trying to make it clear, or straining.

I agree w/ Nancy, and would just add that central fixation is not something that can be practiced of itself, rather it's something you notice when all is functioning properly, without strain or abnormal tensions. Shifting is one of those main ingredients that contributes to the proper function of the fovea, along with many other things, such as blinking, imagining illusions of normal sight, noticing oppositional movement ('swing'), noticing that you see best where you are looking, and less clearly as you move into the outer visual field.

You can have shifting without central fixation, but you cannot have central fixation without continuous shifting. It quickly deteriorates when one tries to hold the eye on a single point, represses blinking, concentrates too hard on one point, or one part of something. As central fixation reflects a state of rest without strain or abnormal tensions, anything that you can do to to help in that regard will help with central fixation. As you can probably sense already, staring into space or at some single point is going to influence the clarity of vision. It's a very difficult thing to get out of the habit of thinking vision is based on single snapshots, and trying to eek as much out of each one before we realize that isn't working too well, I should look somewhere else. Central fixation is inseparable from shifting, and is built up from a continuous, streaming series of effortless shifts. When you realize this, you can let your eyes roam freely, all over objects, and you never feel that obligation or compulsion to grab onto a single point and squeeze as much visual data from it as possible, til your eyes sometimes literally hurt. This you can do anywhere, anytime, on any object, scenery, picture, or printed matter, all day long. You will have to provide the conscious impulse, as it's not going to drive itself, until such a time that it becomes more habitual.


Re: Guides for shifting and central fixation? - Qlue - 09-16-2013

arocarty Wrote:
Nancy Wrote:Qlue, I guide my students not to practice central fixation as much as to notice it. It's especially helpful to notice its absence, like catching yourself staring. Bates says to notice how the object not focused on (he wrote "regarded") is less clear, saying that was easier than noticing how the object regarded is clearest, which can lead to trying to make it clear, or straining.

I agree w/ Nancy, and would just add that central fixation is not something that can be practiced of itself, rather it's something you notice when all is functioning properly, without strain or abnormal tensions. Shifting is one of those main ingredients that contributes to the proper function of the fovea, along with many other things, such as blinking, imagining illusions of normal sight, noticing oppositional movement ('swing'), noticing that you see best where you are looking, and less clearly as you move into the outer visual field.

You can have shifting without central fixation, but you cannot have central fixation without continuous shifting. It quickly deteriorates when one tries to hold the eye on a single point, represses blinking, concentrates too hard on one point, or one part of something. As central fixation reflects a state of rest without strain or abnormal tensions, anything that you can do to to help in that regard will help with central fixation. As you can probably sense already, staring into space or at some single point is going to influence the clarity of vision. It's a very difficult thing to get out of the habit of thinking vision is based on single snapshots, and trying to eek as much out of each one before we realize that isn't working too well, I should look somewhere else. Central fixation is inseparable from shifting, and is built up from a continuous, streaming series of effortless shifts. When you realize this, you can let your eyes roam freely, all over objects, and you never feel that obligation or compulsion to grab onto a single point and squeeze as much visual data from it as possible, til your eyes sometimes literally hurt. This you can do anywhere, anytime, on any object, scenery, picture, or printed matter, all day long. You will have to provide the conscious impulse, as it's not going to drive itself, until such a time that it becomes more habitual.

Thanks for the response. When I blink and I have clear vision in some parts I try to hold onto it, by not blinking again and by holding onto that point. Is that what you mean but what we shouldn't do?

I'll try to stop it, everytime I catch myself trying to hold onto clear vision I'll blink and continue shifting.


Re: Guides for shifting and central fixation? - arocarty - 09-19-2013

Qlue Wrote:and by holding onto that point. Is that what you mean but what we shouldn't do?

I'll try to stop it, everytime I catch myself trying to hold onto clear vision I'll blink and continue shifting.

Right, you'll never be able to sustain clarity if you don't keep moving off the point, and allowing yourself to blink naturally, not suppressing it. If you want to hold onto clear vision, you have to be able to let it go. The myopes first instinct is to not do that, which leads to continual strain.


Re: Guides for shifting and central fixation? - clarknight - 09-19-2013

I have always thought that the tiniest point in the exact center of the fovea, the part that has many cones and sees the smallest details clear picks up one tiny central light ray that focuses upon that tiny point in the fovea as the eyes (visual attention) 'shift' move over a tiny detail of a object.
Thinking in this way relaxes my mind, eyes and I can see tiny details clear close and far. Like when looking at a part of a letter of microscopic print, a speck of a piece of pollen on a flower or part of a leaf on a distant tree. Moving to one part at a time, eyes continually shifting = very relaxed mind and eyes.

I understand that there are many other rays focusing on the fovea, macula and some people like to call all of these central rays and have told me to be aware of the peripheral too, all rays, not to have tunnel vision. I tired this and it caused diffusion, tension, very tight, uncomfortable, headache and my eyes felt pain. I lost the detailed perfect central vision.
Then I went back to only thinking of one point at a time, only one light ray from the tiny part of the object landing on the tiny center of fovea, letting the visual attention exact center of fovea, (central field) move upon the flower to see the details of the flower and relaxation returned, sight clear.

I understand that there are many rays focusing on the macula, fovea but I am speaking of the fovea's pit and the center of that pit; I find that thinking there is one light ray from the point you are looking at landing in that exact fovea center is true central-fixation. I find it easier to think of the rays around the center of the fovea to be peripheral, though very close to being central. The exact center of the fovea has the central ray in my opinion.

Bates speaks of the area of the eyechart at 20 feet that the macula produces being about the size of a small letter, (forgot which one) and he says it can go smaller and smaller to a mathematical... point and the vision becomes clearer. Place two tiny periods .. side by side and shift back and forth on them; notice that the one the eyes are looking at is clearest, has the central rays and with perfect central-fixation the eyes can shift on the period and see one part of the period best, clearest with the one exact central ray. How small can this go? Like a microscope and beyond?

As the eyes continually shift point to point, each point (detail) the center of the fovea looks at throws out the central ray which the center of the fovea picks up.

The eyes (visual attention) continually moves upon the object and from object to object. I do not think about point to point all day long (But I do practice it to get that very clear sight) ; I just look at what I want relaxed and the eyes, brain take care of all the detailed stuff, central and peripheral. I don't concentrate on the peripheral. I let the brain, peripheral do there own thing. The entire visual field is at max clarity when I use my central field; just face the object I want to see and move from part to part. If I want details, I can bring my attention to that, and the eyes do that automatically anyway. Blink, relax.

Any suggestions? Any ophthalmology books that can clarity this one central ray thing? I thought I read them all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eye-diagram_no_circles_border.svg

https://www.google.com/search?q=human+eye,+light+rays&rlz=1T4GGNI_enUS539US539&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0u06UpjOKoOG9QTioIH4BA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1600&bih=718&dpr=1


Re: Guides for shifting and central fixation? - arocarty - 09-20-2013

clarknight Wrote:Any suggestions? Any ophthalmology books that can clarity this one central ray thing? I thought I read them all.

Under the most ideal conditions, it takes about 6-9 photons of light hitting the retina, to be detected, some 50% of the time. And that is on a dense area of rods, vastly more sensitive to light rays than anywhere on the fovea/cones. It takes a significant amount more for the cones to create a response, so it's probably not even worth comparing. Maximum acuity isn't influenced solely by where they rays land, but by many other factors:
-diffraction
-retinal cone spacing
-refractive error
-size of the pupil
-illumination
-time of exposure of the target
-area of the retina stimulated
-state of adaptation of the eye
-eye movement

As conditions are usually always changing, so will acuity. When measuring visual acuity improvement, it is best to try to keep the conditions are similar as possible. Otherwise, varying results can occur.


Re: Guides for shifting and central fixation? - clarknight - 09-20-2013

Now that's a thinker!