* DO NOT READ THIS IF YOUR DOING GREAT RESTORING YOUR EYESIGHT I DO NOT WANT TO BRING DOWN ANYONE WITH ME *
hi, i've been doing these exercises for uhmm...about 11 months now, throughtout this time i saw great improvement and today i went to the optimetrist to get my eyes checked up. I was so confident that i have improved once i took my turn i was told that my eyesight decreased 1 diapter, i felt so disgusted with my self and ashamed, everything that i done in the exercises was perfect i always felt good throughtout the exercises and in exercises where i closed my eyes i always always imagened having clear vision i thought i was seeing improvement..ha..more like worse vision, its sad how every organ in the body heals it self exepct the eyes, no one in my family wears glasses exepct me , i did my best in the exercises and can't do any better and there fore i know i really cant restore my eyesight, i feel so upset because i was looking forward to it because im still young i guess and want to live without glasses ( im 15 btw ) i was -o.50 now im -1.50 both eyes, guys what do i do now? why did this happen to me i did all the exercises everyday 500 swings palmed for 15 mins 5x a day for 9-11 months i did everything even face massage and always felt good about myself when im not exercises i did long swings everything that you can imagen i did to my best potential why did this happen?
Don't be discouraged by an optometrist opinion, maybe you already has made some progress at some extent, but you need to change your approach since it's not working at all, you can measure your progress at your home, relaxed, put diopters numbers away. Since if you keep focusing on numbers it will frustrate you. check this thread:
radiation15,
I've been working at improving my lifelong strong myopia for 10 years now (I should say "former strong myopia") and while I can't see 20/20 most of the time, have made wonderful progress, especially in the past few years. You couldn't discourage me, even if you were an optometrist! You said you saw "great improvement" and I can feel how positive and enthusiastic you were about your vision -- don't let the optometrist take this away from you. Unless he or she had perfect vision, this is not a good vision guide for you. All he/she was trained for is to measure visual acuity with the eye chart and other tools, and prescribe lenses to give you super-sharp 20/20 vision at the moment. If you've read the Bates work you know vision fluctuates with your emotions and the conditions, so if you were straining, your acuity would have measured worse, and then the too-strong glasses prescribed would lock that strain in, NOT what you want!
Get yourself a Snellen chart and work with it daily, and do without your glasses as much as possible. Take back your visual power into your own hands. (Yes, palming may help, too.) If some licensed doctor told you you had some rare terminal disease, would you blindly(!) accept it? Learn to know your own body. Yes, you must have some strain, or you wouldn't have measured with a stronger prescription, so keep practicing the Bates Method and you can do something about this. Good luck, and don't give up. Keep using this forum, which is a great resource.
Hey, I've been doing this for 11 months also and I have seen some great improvement but it still looks the same sometimes and I started with -4.75. I'd say I decreased it by .50 or so sometimes. Sometimes my vision is great, sometimes it's not. I don't test my numbers, every once in a while I look at the snellen chart. I don't go to the eye doctor anymore. All you have to do is relax, it seems simple but it isn't. Just put yourself in a relaxed state as often as you can. Like if you feel like you're straining under the eyes, like I do, I try to relieve it as much as possible. I don't care how long it takes to get 20/20, I just know I'm never going to give up and I hope you don't give up either.
Im on two years, my prescription has gone up from 20/25 to 20/50 - you say your 15, thats when I started, so you've got 11 months on me
Your vision changes loads even throughout the day - some days I have 20/70, when I am really tired, some days I can get down to the 20/30 ish line, so thats a huge flucatuation. I always think that it is going to be easier to improve my eyesight when I finish school - mine got loads better in the summer when I was 15/16, so just keep at it
I think one reason people are 'seeing' no improvement after many months of performing the Bates Methods is that they don't really know what they're looking to accomplish. What they first may need to do is to learn about and think about exactly how the 'visual system' works, and pay particular attention to the things which journalism and/or optometric science ignores or glosses over when relaying info to us 'laymen'. To wit:
1. The retina of each eye is sort of divided in half, with the optic nerve blilndspot being at the midpoint. The macula/fovea is located slightly above and to the outside/earside of that optic nerve blindspot.
2. Our goal is to get what we're looking at focused onto the macula/fovea in each eye.
3. The optic nerves leave the eye, carrying the retinal fiber impulses, and join together behind the eyes at the optic chiasm, forming a cross before heading back to the right and left occipital lobes where the mind has to unify the images.
4. At that optic chiasm, the nasal side retinal fibers of each eye physically cross over to the other optic nerve where they join with the ear side retinal fibers of the opposite eye (where the macula/fovea exists for clear vision and distance eyesight), before heading back to that same side occipital lobe.
5. For some strange reason(s), evident in right-left eye dominance and in differing prescriptions for each eye, that crossing over and joining together of right macula/fovea with left nasal non-macula/foveal fibers, and of left macula/fovea with right nasal non-macula/foveal fibers is out of whack. and is not operating normally, either from a skewed development from birth or some other reason.
6. Without a normally operating optic chiasm, we can't see clearly.
7. Test the optic chiasm by selecting something or some area you want to see in the short distance and then slowly turning your face to the right until your left eye is pointed at it and your right eye is blocked by your nosebone. Then slowly turn your face to the left until your right eye is pointed at it and your left eye is blocked by your nosebone. Then return to the centerpoint so that both eyes are looking at it again.
8. Swinging and shifting should be done with this in mind.
This is only one of the things that we have to teach ourselves. Others include not unconsciously squeezing our eyebrows, cheeks, and eyelids, creating a myopic ('closed eye') effect. Another is not blinking incorrectly which disturbs our focusing tearfilm. Another is learning to stop ridgidly freezing up with our whole bodies, and to raise ourselves up for optimal viewing angles.
I'm going to have to disagree with you there, in fact.I would go as far as to say that the reason people spend so much time at.improving there vision is that they try far too much, and copy the left brain soceity habits of soceity to put in time to learn the habits, and the anatomy of the eye and every detail about what Bates said.
conversley I was reading about a woman who lived with a Peruvian tribe for a year - they didn't wear glasses so neither did she. They had no electricity so neither did she. She copied their way of life and after the year she had 20/20 vision. Then she found the Bates method, after her improvement. Babies don't know about the anatomy of the eye yet still they start of with an error of refraction and improve it to 20/20.
I think that sometimes knowing too much can hinder.your progress.
JWLBOYCE Wrote:@jmartinc4 I'm going to have to disagree with you there, in fact.I would go as far as to say that the reason people spend so much time at.improving there vision is that they try far too much, and copy the left brain soceity habits of soceity to put in time to learn the habits, and the anatomy of the eye and every detail about what Bates said.
conversley I was reading about a woman who lived with a Peruvian tribe for a year - they didn't wear glasses so neither did she. They had no electricity so neither did she. She copied their way of life and after the year she had 20/20 vision. Then she found the Bates method, after her improvement. Babies don't know about the anatomy of the eye yet still they start of with an error of refraction and improve it to 20/20. I think that sometimes knowing too much can hinder.your progress. James
That's a nice story but simply unworkable in our modern civilization - the only civilization with any hope of discovering other livable planets in the universe and a means to safely get to them in a reasonable amount of time.
I don't think you understand me.
If I didn't know how to ride a bicycle, and only saw people while they were riding - never saw anyone actually start riding - I would not know where to put my hands, where to put my feet, how to put the whole thing in motion, how to keep it going, etcetera.
If, everytime I tried to use it, some authority figure constantly interrupted me and said I wasn't doing something perfectly, or just told me my overall performance was some negative bad number, I could easily get stuck and never figure it out.
Going to the bike analogy:
You could figure out where to put your hands and feet by observing other people who can ride the bike.
In the same way, people that have the need for corrective lenses can observe how people with normal vision see.
Granted, even if you knew where to put your hands and feet you wouldn't be able to ride the bike, so you practice how to ride it.
In the same way, people that are unable to see clearly just need to practice how to see.
If someone tells you that how you are riding your bike is wrong, then you can make tiny changes and keep on with the practice.
In the same way, if people tell you that how you are practicing vision habits is wrong, you make tiny changes and carry on practicing.
What I am trying to put across is that you don't need to know about all the intricate details of how the eye works, you just need the simple fact that if you never stare, look at one thing at a time, and don't try to see, you will eventually be able to see.
In the same way, you don't need to know how Newton's Laws work whilst you are learning to ride a bike, thats just overcomplicating the fact that if you push the pedals and point in the direction you want to go, with practice you will get to your destination.
Most children who are learning to ride bikes will have probably have never even considered that the reason why they move is that when they are pushing with a forward force, the ground pushes back with a backwards force, and the Force = Mass x Acceleration.
Indeed, babies who are able to see 20/20 don't consider the fact that they have cells in their eyes - they are unable to. Maybe we should copy this fact, and just soley rely on the facts that if we move our eyes, centralise our vision and relax, we will be able to see.
JWLBOYCE Wrote:Going to the bike analogy:
You could figure out where to put your hands and feet by observing other people who can ride the bike.
Wrong. People put their hands and feet all over the place while riding.
JWLBOYCE Wrote:In the same way, people that have the need for corrective lenses can observe how people with normal vision see. Granted, even if you knew where to put your hands and feet you wouldn't be able to ride the bike, so you practice how to ride it.
Wrong. My nearsighted three sisters and brother and I spent thousands of hours observing and interacting with our normal sighted mother and many normal sighted friends and it never had any effect on our nearsightedness. Same for my wife.
JWLBOYCE Wrote:In the same way, people that are unable to see clearly just need to practice how to see.If someone tells you that how you are riding your bike is wrong, then you can make tiny changes and keep on with the practice. In the same way, if people tell you that how you are practicing vision habits is wrong, you make tiny changes and carry on practicing.
????
JWLBOYCE Wrote:What I am trying to put across is that you don't need to know about all the intricate details of how the eye works, you just need the simple fact that if you never stare, look at one thing at a time, and don't try to see, you will eventually be able to see.
Wrong. The very first thing Dr. Bates and his early followers as well as most NVI teachers nowadays do is explain how the visual system works. My point is that they are leaving out a few very important facts which are incredibly helpful to know when trying to (re)develop clear eyesight.
JWLBOYCE Wrote:In the same way, you don't need to know how Newton's Laws work whilst you are learning to ride a bike, thats just overcomplicating the fact that if you push the pedals and point in the direction you want to go, with practice you will get to your destination.
Wrong. Science works. Ignorance doesn't.
JWLBOYCE Wrote:Most children who are learning to ride bikes will have probably have never even considered that the reason why they move is that when they are pushing with a forward force, the ground pushes back with a backwards force, and the Force = Mass x Acceleration.
Indeed, babies who are able to see 20/20 don't consider the fact that they have cells in their eyes - they are unable to. Maybe we should copy this fact, and just soley rely on the facts that if we move our eyes, centralise our vision and relax, we will be able to see. James
Wrong. We can 'move our eyes, centralise our vision and relax' all we want for a million years but if we don't get and keep the light focused onto the maculae/fovea we'll be as blurry as we ever were.
radiation15 Wrote:* DO NOT READ THIS IF YOUR DOING GREAT RESTORING YOUR EYESIGHT I DO NOT WANT TO BRING DOWN ANYONE WITH ME *
hi, i've been doing these exercises for uhmm...about 11 months now, throughtout this time i saw great improvement and today i went to the optimetrist to get my eyes checked up. I was so confident that i have improved once i took my turn i was told that my eyesight decreased 1 diapter, i felt so disgusted with my self and ashamed, everything that i done in the exercises was perfect i always felt good throughtout the exercises and in exercises where i closed my eyes i always always imagened having clear vision i thought i was seeing improvement..ha..more like worse vision, its sad how every organ in the body heals it self exepct the eyes, no one in my family wears glasses exepct me , i did my best in the exercises and can't do any better and there fore i know i really cant restore my eyesight, i feel so upset because i was looking forward to it because im still young i guess and want to live without glasses ( im 15 btw ) i was -o.50 now im -1.50 both eyes, guys what do i do now? why did this happen to me i did all the exercises everyday 500 swings palmed for 15 mins 5x a day for 9-11 months i did everything even face massage and always felt good about myself when im not exercises i did long swings everything that you can imagen i did to my best potential why did this happen?
Who cares about what the "doctor" says?
He didn't examined you right after you had finished doing the exercises, and if your mind is familiar with his office, is absolutely natural to produce the same crappy vision or worst.
No, i am not trying to keep you in anyway. Trial and error is the way we learn. If you decided that there is no way this method can work for you, then you made the right choice quiting. But before you start blaming yourself, society, God, the Illuminati, etc, you can give yourself some time and then make your final judgment. I mean, do you really read and understood everything from Bates' book, and you did everything exactly the way you had to do it, and you responded in the way intended 100%? Do not prejudge. Put the facts down and examine the possibility that something wasn't executed as intended. If you are sure you did everything 100% correct and you had an increase, them my friend, i must ask you to let me know, so i can arrange for a Lasik opperation.
JWLBOYCE Wrote:@jmartinc4
... Babies ... start of[f] with an error of refraction and improve it to 20/20. I think that sometimes knowing too much can hinder.your progress. James
LIE! MYTH! COMPLETE FABRICATION! Why haven't you read Appendix C of the 1989 study on Myopia: Prevalence and Progression by the National Science Foundation's commission cited in my signature?
at: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1420">http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1420</a><!-- m -->
Normal babies have normal eyes with normal eyesight at birth!!! Perhaps 10% might be FARSIGHTED and at most 5% Nearsighted!!!! Ignorance of the facts is no excuse for promulgating lies and myths.
It seems that we have a.complete difference in opinion and when posting on a forum, an online area where one may share opinions, I do not appreciate being told I am wrong. As a minimalist in all wakes of life I am merely suggesting that it may be helpful if a program was developed for minimalist people.
There are however a few.ponts that I cannot leave without further enquiries.
1. Because you are interacting with your mother, it does not mean that your eyesight will improve - you need to copy her vision habits.
2.Just because I am of the opinion that you don't need to know the anatomy of the eye to improve your eyesight, it doesn't make me wrong. Granted, Bates did give lessons about the anatomy of the eye , but you only say that so do most natural vision therapists - this indicates there are some that don't - are they still sucessful?
3. You say that science works, ignorance doesn't. I think you'll find that the study of the eyes.is a.science.
4. If you move, centralise and relax for a million years, congratulations you are the oldest person onthe planet, and comisserations, you haven't been practicing the habits properly if you haven't seen amy vision improvement. After all, isn't central fixation the act of focusing the light rays.on the retina?
5. Quite frankly no, I have not read your 1989 myopia report, because as someone who is quite distinguished in the music world, I would consider my time to be better spent in other ways.
The factthat you have made 3 posts against me whilst I sleep and the fact.that you cannot even consider a different point of view to yours shows your inability to let go of emotions - a left brain activity. As I am sure you are aware, myopia is a left brain activity. Maybe.you should work on this to acheive mental relaxation.
Faithfully,
James.
Ps. You mention that people put their hands and feet all over the place when riding bikes. I have yet to see someone who has their head on the seat and pedals with their arms. Please enlighten me.
I disagree completely with JMartinC4, and I do with most of his posts, I think no one agree with him, so don't worry about that.
Of course, we all have differents points of views but he is arguing about his THEORY again and again every time he post something on the forum. :
