07-26-2010, 09:50 AM
I received a PM asking about this key principle of Peter Grunwald's Eyebody method, and thought I'd answer it here so everyone else could benefit as well. For those not familiar with Peter or his work, he grew up in Germany myopic with a severe stutter and slumped posture. He somehow forced his vision to get worse and worse so he wouldn't have to serve in the military and it declined to -10, and then was very disappointed to find he wasn't considered fit to serve in any other way either, as many handicapped people did. He took Alexander Technique lessons to correct his stutter and posture, then Bates lessons with Janet Goodrich before she died to correct his eyesight. He doesn't wear glasses at all now and travels worldwide leading workshops on his Eyebody Method of vision improvement, which is firmly grounded in the Alexander Technique of awareness of bodily "use of self", inhibiting the wrong movement or use, and directing the proper use.
Since Peter's myopia was so severe when he started NVI, his work really drew me -- many other authors and teachers I encountered, including my behavioral optometrist, only had about -2 myopia which to me seemed like nothing. I've attended 2 week-long workshops with Peter, one a month ago and the first at the same time last year. I've written extensively about my experiences and learning on my blog (link at the end of this post) -- if you're really curious about it you may wish to seek out the posts I made a year ago as well as the recent ones, since my understanding of Peter's work is still growing. About conscious depth perception, it's well understood in most NVI circles that glasses flatten one's view, and as vision improves depth becomes deeper. The purpose of conscious depth perception is to "wake up" the peripheral retinal photo-receptors which haven't been used much. This is especially true if the person has been wearing strong glasses that only focus the light right in the middle of the retina, where most of the cones (for seeing clarity and color) are. When I'm outside now I pay particular attention to depth, in the clouds above and the houses and foliage around me. Remember shifting practice is far and near as well as up and down and left and right -- myopes often neglect the Z direction. I've noticed it's easier to be aware of depth at night when there's no sharp clarity or color to distract me, but I try to remain aware of it at all times. It's really just about being present and aware (Peter's central principle), and focusing on the depth, deeper and deeper, in the scene around you. Hope that helps. The more you look, the more you'll see!
Since Peter's myopia was so severe when he started NVI, his work really drew me -- many other authors and teachers I encountered, including my behavioral optometrist, only had about -2 myopia which to me seemed like nothing. I've attended 2 week-long workshops with Peter, one a month ago and the first at the same time last year. I've written extensively about my experiences and learning on my blog (link at the end of this post) -- if you're really curious about it you may wish to seek out the posts I made a year ago as well as the recent ones, since my understanding of Peter's work is still growing. About conscious depth perception, it's well understood in most NVI circles that glasses flatten one's view, and as vision improves depth becomes deeper. The purpose of conscious depth perception is to "wake up" the peripheral retinal photo-receptors which haven't been used much. This is especially true if the person has been wearing strong glasses that only focus the light right in the middle of the retina, where most of the cones (for seeing clarity and color) are. When I'm outside now I pay particular attention to depth, in the clouds above and the houses and foliage around me. Remember shifting practice is far and near as well as up and down and left and right -- myopes often neglect the Z direction. I've noticed it's easier to be aware of depth at night when there's no sharp clarity or color to distract me, but I try to remain aware of it at all times. It's really just about being present and aware (Peter's central principle), and focusing on the depth, deeper and deeper, in the scene around you. Hope that helps. The more you look, the more you'll see!
