Hi,
I found in the Internet the following tip for restoring central fixation:
"How do I restore central fixation?
Bates often used an eye chart for this purpose. This exercise however does not require an eye chart and can be easily slotted 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 scrutinity 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 between where you are looking and where your point of greatest clarity will become shorter and eventually return at the macula."
(the site is <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.naturalvision.net">www.naturalvision.net</a><!-- w -->)
What do you think, is this explanation good? I tried, but I couldn't find my point of central fixation.Does someone know a better method?
It doesn't really make sense to me. The central fixation chapter of Dr. Bates's book is really good actually. I would recommend starting with that.
Basically, it goes like this: hold up two thing. Look at the one on the left. Now look at the one on the right. Just when you look at the right one, notice that you now see the one on the left less clear than before (when you were looking at it). You may also notice that you see the one on the right better than the one on the left when you are looking at the right one. Move the objects closer together as long as you can continue to observe this.
It is useful to practice long swings or palming for 10 minutes or so before and after shifting or central fixation practice to keep the eyes relaxed and not staring.
Having not heard of central fixation until recently or practiced until yesterday, I would say that the eye exercises I have been doing bring this ability back automatically because my eyesight has improved despite not consciously doing central fixation exercises. Obviously, there's no harm in shifting especially since my vision is clearer as it will be much easier than if I'd started doing it from day one.
Bates observed that ANYTHING which rested the eye helped restore the power of central fixation. Yes, for some people consciously practicing it is one of the quickest and easiest ways, but not necessarily for everyone.
Personally, other things have proven to be more effective for me. I would just tense up too much when trying to practice it consciously, and I gave it a chance for waaaaaay too long before I realized other techniques could be just as effective. Then CF just became more natural, hardly have to think about it. (in terms of seeing point A better, point B worse, etc.) Everyone should give it a fair chance and diligent effort (not employing effort, of course), but not get hung up on it or worried if it isn't meeting their expectation. We all will have to arrive at it, but for some that might be by means of a slightly different route.
Indeed. Once I'd nailed all the different 3 cups exercises I was amazed at the effect they had compared to the other exercises I was doing.
One thing that I think has been holding me back is my dominant right eye, which according to my prescription is the weaker eye. Things have got a bit clearer while I have been typing this message and it felt like my right eye was pointing inwards more than the left, which felt stationary in comparison. I want to avoid forcing my eyes into a particular configuration though.
These days I began to realize what the central fixation is and how to do it in practice. This happened after reading several books, going to some seminars, surfing the internet, reading the Bates" book, writing in this forum (all the participants here gave me good advise) and so on.
I understood that the key word is relaxation. Everybody knows how to relax in general - by a good sleep, sport, listening to your favorite music, going to different places, meeting friends....Especially for the eyes, I may relax by doing palming, solarisation, even by closing them for a while or by a single soft blink or rinsing them with water.
Central fixation is possible only when mind and body are relaxed.Then we can concentrate on a little specific detail, after that- to look at another one. Afterwards we begin to look at smaller ans smaller details.
Everything should be done without any effort,as lightly as possible and must be adapted to the individual needs in the moment. By the way, I personally did the exercise with the tree cups and it did not help me at this moment.
That"s what I understood until today.I hope it to be useful for you and other people here in the forum.
Regards,
Kalina
