Hi Sypheren
Welcome to the forum!
If you are looking for a very simple method to see quick improvement, I suggest you to read the 'story of emily' ( <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.iblindness.org/books/perfect-sight-without-glasses/ch28.php">http://www.iblindness.org/books/perfect ... s/ch28.php</a><!-- m --> ).
In her book ( <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.iblindness.org/books/stories-from-the-clinic/">http://www.iblindness.org/books/stories ... he-clinic/</a><!-- m --> )you find more examples of her successful work woth patients.
I use my laptop with the eyechart ( <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.vision-training.com/Download/Eyecharts/Eyechart%20Black%20on%20White.pdf">http://www.vision-training.com/Download ... 0White.pdf</a><!-- m --> - enlarged to 100%)) for practice and the interactive eyechart ( <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.smbs.buffalo.edu/oph/ped/IVAC/IVAC.html">http://www.smbs.buffalo.edu/oph/ped/IVAC/IVAC.html</a><!-- m --> ) for control.
At first I marked the starting point from which I just managed to get letters clear and increased the distance every week a little more.
There you have a lot of opprtunities to try David's very helpful tips and suggestions (I suppose you have read them); it is really very important to practice good seeing habits and not to strain your eyes additionally in order to get quick results with the eye chart.
I wish you a lot of success and enjoy you life without glasses.
Nini
Sypheren Wrote:Another thing I don't quite get is the eye straining, I can't tell if my eyes are being strained or not
Just try to see something very far away - are you not squinting and straining your eyes?
Don't you feel the tension and tiredness in your eyes after a long computer session?
But I think, short sightedness in our modern times is even more than a momentary eye strain.
You could perhaps compare it to someone who is 'overtraining' some muscles of his body and - at the same time - letting their 'counterparts' completely inactive. You could for example imagine a slave, who is forced to do very hard work in a completely bent body position, never being allowed to stretch and walk.
After a few years of this martyrdom, most probably he wouldn't be able to stretch his body to a normal position without pain any more and his leg muscles wouldn't be able to carry the weight of his body walking upright.
If he started right now with stretching and walking exercises, he could restore his original state within a short time.
Maybe you can compare this to the state of most peoples short sightedness at Dr Bates time, when children spent most of their free time playing outside (and not in front of a computer screen); school children who came for a first glass prescription were often cured very quickly.
If - instead of these exercises - you would give this poor person a wheelchair (=glasses), so that he can move easily without pain and at the same time he would continue to train the bending leg muscles for some more years, it will get more and more difficult to enable this person to walk normally again. But it is quite possible, if he is ready to take the trouble and has enough patience and endurance; This is the situation of most short sighted people today;
Sypheren Wrote:I do sometimes squint when trying to focus on something without glasses or contacts (but I've been very careful not to after reading the content of the main website)
And I do have pains in my eyes after having spent a lot of time on the computer.
For my exercises I attempt to read a Snellen chart with both eyes, then separate ones. What other daily tactics should I include in this? It is impossible to read the bottom line (20/16) without being about 10 inches from it.
Read what other people have written before posting or attempting to "practice." You shouldn't be practicing with the Snellen at a distance that's so far that you can't read it, or you're wasting your time. You need to practice at a distance where things are clear or almost clear.
Practicing on things you can't see well is based on the misguided notion that we need to practice manufacturing clarity out of blurry things. You strain plenty looking even at things that are near, and your goal should be to notice how you strain even looking at things you see clearly. Practicing on things that are really blurry involves so much strain that the strain is overwhelming, and it does you no good. I'm telling you this based on personal experience and having wasted lots of time on a Snellen placed at a too-great distance.
If you don't see any improvement within 5 to 10 shifts, you're doing it wrong and wasting your time. PRACTICING ON NEAR THINGS CLEARS UP YOUR DISTANCE VISION.
Eventually, you can practice on farther things, but to do so in the very beginning is to try to do too much, too soon. If you try to take giant steps before taking baby steps, you will have less success than when you only try to take baby steps.
Another option, if you get sick of practicing on objects 5 inches from your face, is to practice while wearing glasses that give you pretty good but imperfect vision, in which case you can then practice on distant things.
Sypheren Wrote:It is impossible to read the bottom line (20/16) without being about 10 inches from it.
Did you enlarge it to 100%? If not, it will be only 40% and the letters are too small.
I put the laptop at a distance, where the letters start yo become blurry, but by relaxing the eyes and concentrating on small details they would become clear.
In the beginning I also used the 'three point exercise' (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.eorama.com/en/3_point_exercise.html">http://www.eorama.com/en/3_point_exercise.html</a><!-- m -->), which I found rather helpful.
In this case, I suppose you should better follow Sean's advice and practice with things you see clearly or almost clearly. You should also read the other posts of his thread to get more tips.
Before I started the eye chart practice, I did not wear glasses or contact lenses for more than 2 months (after operation); I think, during this time my eyes already improved and got a bit used to focus on details in the blurr - maybe for this reason it was easier for me.
Good news everyone (from futurama if youve watched that) my 'eye floaters' have stopped moving, and the larger ameoba like ones have now fade slightly or become smaller specks (circles with a darker outline)
This means the eye relaxation techniques are working.
I still have some doubt in this, but seeing this has definatley given me some morale!
Sypheren, I thought, some more useres would give you suggestions from their experience, but as there are no more answers, I'll tell you at least, what helps me most to find relaxation ( and improved eyesight) while palming.
One reason could be, that you don't palm long enough (I usually don't either...)
If you read E. Lierman's book you will find, that she always let the patients palm for at least 15 - 20 minutes before she started training.
In the introduction to her book:
Quote:12. Palming is a help, and I suggest that you palm for a few minutes many times during the day, at least ten times. At night just before retiring, it is well to palm for half an hour or longer.
( <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.iblindness.org/books/stories-from-the-clinic/intro.php">http://www.iblindness.org/books/stories ... /intro.php</a><!-- m --> )
I find it very helpful to imagine total black while palming; my favorit 'imaginations' for this are:
1) the center of a black hole in the universe.
I feel that it also empties my mind of unnecessary thoughts and takes a weight off my eyes.
2) the center of glowing charcoal.
I feel relaxation and at the same time my eyes filled with energy.
You can also combine the 2 'pictures', first get rid of everything that prevents your eyes from full relaxation and then fill them with new energy and get them 'centered' to a small point.
Keep the last imagination in mind, when you look at the letters of the eye chart (or with whatever you are practising) and imagine the the very center of the black hole or the coal (a point as small as possible) in one corner of the letter you want to see clearly.
When I do this usually the whole letter will clear up eventually
Nini Wrote:Sypheren, I thought, some more useres would give you suggestions from their experience, but as there are no more answers, I'll tell you at least, what helps me most to find relaxation ( and improved eyesight) while palming. One reason could be, that you don't palm long enough (I usually don't either...) If you read E. Lierman's book you will find, that she always let the patients palm for at least 15 - 20 minutes before she started training. In the introduction to her book:
Quote:12. Palming is a help, and I suggest that you palm for a few minutes many times during the day, at least ten times. At night just before retiring, it is well to palm for half an hour or longer.
( <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.iblindness.org/books/stories-from-the-clinic/intro.php">http://www.iblindness.org/books/stories ... /intro.php</a><!-- m --> )
I find it very helpful to imagine total black while palming; my favorit 'imaginations' for this are:
1) the center of a black hole in the universe. I feel that it also empties my mind of unnecessary thoughts and takes a weight off my eyes.
2) the center of glowing charcoal. I feel relaxation and at the same time my eyes filled with energy.
You can also combine the 2 'pictures', first get rid of everything that prevents your eyes from full relaxation and then fill them with new energy and get them 'centered' to a small point. Keep the last imagination in mind, when you look at the letters of the eye chart (or with whatever you are practising) and imagine the the very center of the black hole or the coal (a point as small as possible) in one corner of the letter you want to see clearly. When I do this usually the whole letter will clear up eventually
Since Nini is calling us out, I will chime in. I agree with everything Nini and Sean_Augensicht have suggested. But since it sounds like you have never experienced clear distance eyesight, I will go them one better with the following:
1. Within 60 minutes after your birth, your eyes were treated, one at a time with some seconds delay between them, with some form of (almost certainly unnecessary) antibiotic ointment (or, God forbid, a 1% solution of silver nitrate).
2. If you will simply try and keep that thought in mind while you perform any of the Bates Methods, you should have better and quicker results.
