Hi, the other night I was sitting in a train on my way home from work, I kept my eyes closed and letting the eyes go to relax them, rolling the eyes lightly and feeling the strain on the top portion right eye (somewhere towards the right near the eyelids). Suddenly, that strain disappears, and I felt a slight heaviness on the right bottom of the eye. Kept the eyes closed and rolled them lightly for a little while more to make sure the strain is gone. When I open my eyes the scene around me seem brighter in terms of colors.
However, when I test my sight at the eyechart at my usual distance, there is no improvement, and I can only read the same number of lines as I do normally. What types of relaxation is related to eyesight improvement? Or is there something else I have to do to see clearly after the release of strain?
Quote:However, when I test my sight at the eyechart at my usual distance, there is no improvement, and I can only read the same number of lines as I do normally. What types of relaxation is related to eyesight improvement? Or is there something else I have to do to see clearly after the release of strain?
You are doing good work here. Snellen clearing is a slow process -- but
you have made a start.
Could you tell us which line you can read 1/2 the letters
correctly?
At 20 feet, the 20/60 line is 1 inch high. (Or at 6 meters,
2.54 cm high).
That will help us understand your progress when it develops.
I usually check the acuity 6ft from the chart as my eyesight is really bad. I can read up to the 50 line, but all the edges of the letter are in multiples, probably due to astigmatism. I had been stuck at this line for months now. I wear a reduce prescription and can only remove the glasses after work and weekends. Guess I still have a long way to go before I could discard the glasses.
Did your eyes feel as relaxed while you were looking at the chart as they did while your eyes were closed? That's something that usually happens - people with blurry vision can have their vision vary quite a bit when they are not paying attention, so it isn't noted, but as soon as they pay attention they have a habit, practically a reflex, of straining to see, because that's the only way they know how to see. So you're probably started straining the instant you decided to look at something, or especially when you looked at the chart that you might associate even more strongly with anxiety and strain. This is why the "flashing" method can be helpful, alternating palming for several minutes and glancing at the chart, to get you to get glimpses of vision before you start straining. It doesn't always work, but sometimes a person is slow enough to strain that the initially clear vision can occasionally be noted, and continued practice of immediately closing the eyes and palming again before the picture blurs helps to eventually prolong it and stop the strain from being manifested.
David
Site Administrator
"Half of our funny, heathen lives, we are bent double to gather things we have tossed away." - George Meredith
Dave, did you mean pay attention to what a person is currently seeing(inducing the effort to see) or pay attention to the strain that exist? I wonder if the latter creates more strain?? tq.
Did your eyes feel as relaxed while you were looking at the chart as they did while your eyes were closed? That's something that usually happens - people with blurry vision can have their vision vary quite a bit when they are not paying attention, so it isn't noted, but as soon as they pay attention they have a habit, practically a reflex, of straining to see, because that's the only way they know how to see. .......This is why the "flashing" method can be helpful, alternating palming for several minutes and glancing at the chart, to get you to get glimpses of vision before you start straining. It doesn't always work, but sometimes a person is slow enough to strain that the initially clear vision can occasionally be noted, and continued practice of immediately closing the eyes and palming again before the picture blurs helps to eventually prolong it and stop the strain from being manifested.
David
The release of strain felt as if a very tight muscle is suddenly relax, and the tightness is gone. Was thinking maybe that particular muscle has got nothing to do with sight but I was not very sure.
I have my doubts about palming, since it only works on such rare occasion, I could not remember what I did or think to gain the clarity. Perhaps I had placed the eyechart to far away to notice any difference. Bates' did mention that if all else fails, flashing is the way to go. Will try that someday when I figure out how to palm properly.
After this experience, I've decided to shelf my eyechart for a while, since the disappointment of not clearing additional line for two months seem to be causing some strain. I will practice and be conscious of the strain at all times, and take out the eyechart again after 2 months.
roger89 Wrote:Dave, did you mean pay attention to what a person is currently seeing(inducing the effort to see) or pay attention to the strain that exist? I wonder if the latter creates more strain?? tq.
The first one, paying attention to what's seen. That's where people have a strong habit of equating "looking" with "straining" - two things that they have to learn to separate so that they can look without straining.
David
Site Administrator
"Half of our funny, heathen lives, we are bent double to gather things we have tossed away." - George Meredith
David,
I have a question. I realise at times when I'm thinking of some things, daydreaming, probably when sitting in car as a passenger(ofcourse), or when not doing much, I tend to be not aware of what I'm seeing in my visual field while paying attention to my imagination. This also happens when I am casually looking at things. I tend to have a 'lazy eye', if u get what i mean. Maybe this lazyness of not looking where I'm looking is a form of 'trying to see all things at once(strain)'?
Perhaps when I don't pay attention to what I'm seeing that is not central fixation? Should I try be more conscious of it and try to pay attention to what I'm seeing and less of what is in my peripheral field?
In my opinion, when you day dream or focus on something in your mind, your concentration is elsewhere. I don't see a problem with "ignoring your eyes"; that can be a good thing. Also, it would be a bit tough to fix that because you can't focus your attention on your thought AND your eyes at the same time (that in itself is the opposite of the central fixation concept).
That's my opinion, maybe someone else has a better one.
David Wrote:Yeah, nothing wrong with daydreaming per se.
Lazy eye is supposed to mean amblyopia, but many people mean strabismus. Either way, it's a misnomer.
David
David, I didn't mean that lazy eye condition. But what I mean is, being lazy to pay attention to what I'm currently seeing. I simply look around without knowing what I'm seeing. Maybe it's like I don't look at one point.
yes, I notice the same thing. I often don't see what I'm looking at. It's like I'm trying to be aware of everything at the same time. In another thread I read about speed-reading NOT being about seeing all the words clearly. In fact trying to do so will decrease your vision. The trouble is I have the same wrong idea about peripheral vision. I believe peripheral vision is all about seeing everything at once. How can you be aware of everything in peripheral vision without straining.
∓quot;brent"\ Wrote:I often don't see what I'm looking at.
<snip>
I believe peripheral vision is all about seeing everything at once. How can you be aware of everything in peripheral vision without straining.
Staring without seeing is a common problem of myopes (I've never met anyone with myopia who doesn't blankly stare on a regular basis). The vision is usually diffused and centralisation is lost.
Regarding your question about your peripheral vision, instead of trying to see everything equally at the same time it might be helpful to focus on (or remind yourself of) what your body is capable of. Even if you could be equally aware of everything in your vision at the same time you are physically incapable of seeing everything in the visual field equally well. Most of your attention should be on the clearest part right in the centre (fovea) with progressively less attention as your vision gets progressively worse. The periphery is particularly sensitive to movement so you don't have to worry about not noticing something.
