I am new. I'm a 34 year old woman who was seriously considering either Lasik/Epi-Lasik/Intralase but it feels wrong! I am a strong believer in the effects of emotions on health. Then I heard that there might be a natural way to improve my vision. I'm nearsighted (my glasses RX is -5.5 -4.50. I've worn glasses since age 11 and contacts since age 15. I have been wearing my old glasses for a couple of weeks now and still have to find an optometrist who's willing to under-prescribe for me as I improve, but I am sure I will find someone.
I now have a few books from the library and I have heard of a few more programs. As anyone had any success with any of the following? I know the exercises are basically the same, but some tell you to do things more often than others, and the like.
-The Program for Better Vision by Martin Sussman : he doesn't ask you to do much, but seems approachable. am trying the CDs too
-Relearning to See by Thomas R. Quackenbush : seems to be thorough
-The Natural Vision Improvement Kit by Meir Schneider : hardcore approach it seems, and the guy was blind - pretty cool.
- HypnoVision by Lisette Scholl : I love hypnosis, but I'm not sure this alone will help
I also just found "Rebuild Your Vision" by Orlin Sorensen (a pricey program that I would buy if it was significantly more effective)
I've also seen some subliminal CDs, etc.
I'm open to any and all! Bates and Huxley are okay but a little harder to apply to today's computers (I think?) I have been trying to do all of these programs at once and am getting overwhelmed. I also have some marital stress at the moment that is distracting but I am determined and am trying to be compassionate towards myself.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to anyone who can give me their 2 cents.
-Jennifer
From my point of view the book that you should read into is the original 'perfect sight without glasses' by William Bates. That is the mother book in which all the other books on natural vision improvement came from. Relearning to see by Thomas Quackenbush would be the second best book. It breaks the Bates method down so it's easier to understand. It is important not think about this method as a mechanical approach. Your not excercising nothing. The Bates method is designed to relax the mind and in doing so relaxes the eye muscles so the eye can return to normal shape. It also teaches how to use your eyes correctly so you stay in that relaxed state.That is the way your suppose to use your eyes all your life if you want to see clear. Remember perfect sight means perfect relaxation, no effort. You can find Bates original book here, on this website.
If you are interested in clearing your Snellen, then this is an
excellent site to learn how to do it. :o
I would also suggest reding this "Library" (all for FREE) for
more detailed information (Snellens, opinions, science, facts)
to continue your research.
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My sister and I have both been trying the Bates method for some months now (we started with -8 glasses) and have both seen improvement. There are many programs, books, and ideas out there on how to implement the Bates techniques. Donât get discouraged that you donât have time to understand or implement them all. Itâs not about trying to improve your eyes with exercises, itâs about learning to see in a relaxed way. So, how to do that? Let yourself explore, start slowly. On my blog (link below) I wrote about how I went through many steps before going without my glasses. It started with a few minutes a day, and now I spend hours every day without glasses: cooking, cleaning, walking to work, taking breaks. First I had to learn to be comfortable with this and just to relax. Only from breathing deeply, blinking softly, and relaxing, I saw dramatic improvements to my eyesight.
When youâre looking for somewhere to learn the Bates method (NOT exercises!) then I would say you have to look inside yourself first. Do you understand better from learning from others? Find an interested group of people to learn this together. One on one? Find a Bates teacher in your area (this iblindness.org website has a special page with links for this). Do you learn better from reading? I suggest going straight to the source and reading what Bates wrote, slowly. He wrote a book which is on this website and many others for free. He wrote years worth of magazines of which most are free on central-fixation.com or you can buy the printed version from Thomas Quackenbush or the unedited .pdf version from this website.
I take one idea (whether imagination, memory,swinging, palming, sunning, etc) at a time and try to incorporate what I learn from using that technique into my daily life. For example, when trying to improve or be interested in my memory, one common Bates technique is to look at a letter, close your eyes, remember it, let it sway in your mind. Then open your eyes and look again. You will see a much better description in his writings. The point Iâm making is, that is his âmethodâ, but itâs not just restricted to looking at a Snellen chart or looking at letters. When I walk around and pass people in the street I look with interest at their faces and then turn and look somewhere else or close my eyes and let my memory reconstruct their faces. In this way I perceive much much more detail now than I did before, and Iâm beginning to be able to see peopleâs faces from further and further distances without glasses.
Donât forget, whatever you do and whatever techniques you try, keep it fun. If you feel you are âtryingâ to see or âtrying to get the exercise to work then stop and do something else. Itâs not about trying, itâs about letting! Letting go, letting yourself relax, letting your eyes see. In Davidâs experience (the creator of this website) he continuously mentions that âtryingâ to improve the eyesight is the biggest mistake people make!
One last thing, donât get caught up with reducing your prescription. Yes, itâs important to have a slight reduction so that you arenât overstraining your eyes. But the fact is, the improvement comes when you arenât wearing any glasses. When you are wearing glasses, itâs to see for a job or driving, and if you are severely undercorrected here, then it is more of a strain to see with these reduced glasses than with a higher prescription. I have corresponded with many people who improved their eyesight now, and have learned (also from personal experience) that as the eye improves without glasses, you can still put on your old pair and see perfectly as well. For example, I have improved my eyesight from 20/800 to around 20/100, but I can still wear my -7 or -6.25 glasses and I donât feel a strain! In many cases I see better without glasses than with my -6.25 reduced pair! This is all just to say, reduce them a bit (so that you see 20/40 or so) where you are comfortable, and then just donât worry, explore more without glasses than with reduced prescriptions.
