I had a discussion with optometrist Bryan Smith the other day, in which he mentioned the concept of ‘maladaptation’ in reference to eyesight. In which people who are using their eyes at close distances on a fairly constant basis (computers of all sizes, phones, deskwork, TV etc) are developing distance blur. So if we are using our eyes for a limited range of distances, they begin to adapt, or in this case ‘maladapt’ (where the change is not beneficial) to that usage, that specific type of function, and begin to lose the wider ranges of function they originally had.

This really illustrates the importance of maintaining a balance of activities and of using the eyes at a variety of distances on a regular basis. This is easy to say, but how do we make the shift from almost never to consistent practice in daily life? In order to make this happen, we need to start with good thinking habits. Because the decisions to actually do the things that keep your eyes in balance will start with your brain, and your mind.

I feel it is important to remember the particular way the brain operates, as this influences our perceptions about being able to change our thinking habits. If we think of ‘the way that we respond to things’ as being an entirely inevitable part of ‘ourselves’, it may give us the idea that our thinking habits cannot be changed. But we are discovering that the brain is changeable, it can form new connections. This can help us to understand that many of our responses are habitual, not inherent.

The brain utilizes neural ‘pathways’, so if you think a particular thought, then you will fall into the pathway that is your regular journey from that thought. So if you notice, ‘My eyes feel a bit strained’ (say after hours at the computer), the question is, do you have a habitual pathway from there that says ‘I will stop and do 5 minutes of Near Far Swing and a bit of Palming’, or do you have a thought pathway that says ‘I will just keep pushing on until the day is over’?

If you have the first habitual thinking pathway, then you probably are maintaining your eyes reasonably or very well. If you have the second, then you may find yourself with increasing eye strain and needing increasingly stronger prescriptions to compensate for the tension in the visual system.

Changing these pathways is a matter firstly of becoming aware of your habits, then making a conscious choice to do something different. This difference then needs to be maintained on a consistent basis in order for the new pathway to become established, and then become the pathway that is automatically taken.

Body habits will follow these thinking habits quite naturally. When you are out and about, if you practice visually sketching off into the distance deliberately and consciously at regular intervals (rather than just focusing on things close to you), then with consistent practice your eyes will start to do this without you having to think about it. Remember to blink, breathe and stay relaxed with this practice.

Even aside from having a schedule which allows for some regular vision activities at various times of the day, there are a number of ways that vision students find it useful to remind themselves to keep reinforcing their good vision habits throughout each day.

One technique is to use notes to yourself posted in important places. They can be as simple as reminders to breathe, to blink, to ‘sketch’ rather than stare, to let the neck and shoulders be soft.

It may also be beneficial to have these reminders in two formats. The form of written words, which will activate the left side of the brain where new learning takes place, and the form of pictures (say of a face with a Magic Nose Pencil on it) to activate the right hemisphere of the brain, where long term habits live. They can be placed around the computer monitor, on the refrigerator and on the dashboard of the car, anywhere that you may find useful.

It may also be important to change the notes and locations regularly so they don’t become part of the unnoticed ‘furniture’ of your visual spaces.

Just as you need to balance your long periods of sitting at the computer with physical exercise to keep good function in the whole body, you also need to balance the bulk of near work of your eyes with relaxed use at various distances. One of my favourite ways to combine these two is with outdoor walks where you can delight your eyes with long vistas, and ‘dance’ them around trees, flowers and whatever else you can find to keep them, and yourself, interested and moving.

Tell us how you help yourself to remember your good vision habits and maintain the balance of use and function for your eyes.

What kind of vision goals do we want to set?  We know that overall improvement is the desired outcome, but what about the short term goals that help to get us there and maintain our motivation for the regular commitment? We want to notice changes in order to feel inspired to devote time to vision games.  What kinds of changes might these be?

How vision improves will vary for different people of course, and depending on what and how much they are doing for their vision activities.  However one of the obstacles to inspiration can be not giving awareness to the slow, incremental change that is not as noticeable on a day to day basis as a dramatic shift.  However, this is often the type of change that gives us our best long term permanent improvement.

The idea is similar to that of a slow and steady weight loss that is the result of lifestyle changes rather than spurts of dieting or exercise.  The body and mind have changed long term habits for the better, and this gives long term stability to the improvements.

One way that long term incremental changes can be noticed is by self assessment on the eye charts at intervals.  However this needs to be done with awareness of particular factors.  Firstly, it is not just being able to read further down on the close or distant chart that indicates improvement, it is also achieving greater ease and sharper clarity on the lines that can currently be read.

While self assessment is a ‘softer’ process than assessment by an optometrist, it still needs to be done with attention to creating conditions that are as consistent as possible.  Lighting is very important, but also how you are feeling can have an effect on your vision in those few moments.  When doing self assessment it’s always important to make detailed notes such as;

• time of day,
• lighting conditions,
• how you are feeling (physically and emotionally)

This is in addition to your assessment notes of what line or letters you can read to, and very importantly, also what is clear or ‘sharp’.

This type of assessment is also used to monitor if your transition glasses are becoming too strong, and therefore that it is time to return to your OD to get a new pair.  (You can also keep an eye on this in your general use of the lenses.) Do be aware that self-assessment on a chart can become a trigger for placing pressure on yourself, and you may not wish to do it more often than every 6 – 8 weeks.

However, our eyesight is so much more than just perceiving the black print on white paper that this type of assessment provides.  Therefore our eyesight can often improve in other ways before the reading of print shows strong changes.

Keeping a journal can help you to monitor changes to other elements of your eyesight, including;

• colour and contrast perception
• depth perception (3 dimensional vision)
• ease of accommodation (how quickly we can change focus from one distance to another)
• adaptation to different light levels
• eye comfort in various situations.

It can happen that students begin to feel they are not noticing much change in their vision, but if they read back to detailed accounts of how their perception was from an earlier time, they are reminded of how it really was then, and that it actually is different now.

It’s funny how our brains usually like variety, and can be easily bored, yet the body likes nothing better than steady routines for the purpose of maintenance.  But when changes are desired, we need a regular commitment, but also a variation in the activities we do.  This is true for building and maintaining the fitness of our whole body, and also for the eyes.

Therefore the exploration of the best vision activities programme for you will include regular time, and regular activities, but also providing variation in the duration and type of activities done within your programme.  The eyes are like toddlers and need to be attracted and stimulated as well as relaxed.  In addition to changing up your programme, do use a variety of attractive objects in your vision games and do change up your venues and music to keep it all interesting!

When you return to previous toys, locations and activities, this will also be when you might observe changes in your ease of vision and in your perception.

Remember to always do the portion of the activities that calls for the eyes to be closed and to be imagining the objects of interest and your visual interaction with them.  This is an important element for brain stimulation and integration of the visual system.  It is after doing the eyes closed portion and returning to eyes open that students most often notice changes in their perception.

Goal setting to dates and numbers is not always the most helpful concept when dealing with functions that are affected by stress.  While of course there is always the goal to reduce the diopters in a prescription, and we want to think it will happen soon and we can move on to something else, having the ‘pressure to perform’ to do this in a specific time frame may actually add to the stress levels of the individual, and therefore have an adverse affect on their ability to fully relax with their vision programme and activities.

Instead I think it is ideal to have a goal of nurturing our eyesight to the best of our ability.  To decide that we will set aside the time to do the vision activities with full attention and relaxation. That we will undertake to observe our vision, what affects it and what assists it, and observe ourselves and what helps us to relax and care for ourselves.  And that we will continue to explore how best we can support our eyesight for ourselves as individuals within the framework of our daily lives.

This concept will lead us understanding and doing more of the activities and lifestyle changes that bring about the steady long term changes that we seek.  These are also the conditions most likely to bring about those ‘flashes of clarity’ that give us a moment of joy and further inspiration.

It’s important for those embarking on the journey of improving eyesight to know you are not alone in the hurdles that must be overcome, and in the joyful acknowledgement of celebrating milestones.

In the ‘old days’ natural vision improvement was frequently taught in group classes on a local basis.  While more technology now gives us the advantage of sharing these techniques with a wider audience, those using the home products may miss the connection with other students that is such an important gift in terms of motivation and inspiration.

It can be so supportive to know that there are others who have the same goals, fears, desires and inner obstacles as us.  We benefit from hearing about their positive outcomes, and we would like to bring some inspiration to you in this article by sharing stories from students starting out on the vision improvement process.

Remember you can also visit our website testimonials page to read more student comments about their vision changes.

We would also love to hear from you, with your vision improvement story.  Tell us about the changes you have experienced;

• in your eyesight and perception,
• in yourself and your visual habits,
• and wherever possible, your optometric measurements

since embarking on a programme of natural vision improvement. We would also love to know

• how much you are practicing the activities,
• and whether you feel you are applying the principles to your daily and emotional life.

Please go to our feedback page below to share your story, and do include whether or not we can share your comments with others to help inspire and motivate them.

http://www.janetgoodrichmethod.com/contact-us/feedback/

It was my great pleasure this past month to meet up once more with Denise Hofstetter, a retired vision improvement teacher who trained with Janet Goodrich many years ago. Denise first used Janet’s book and then attended a seminar to improve her own sight. Through her vision improvement activities she was able to rid herself of her contact lenses for distant vision, and at 82 is delighted with the eyesight she retains.

After her teacher training Denise taught classes to many students and has been kind enough to share some of their stories with us.  We hope you enjoy reading these inspirational anecdotes.

Student stories from class series’ with JGM trained teacher Denise Hofstetter

—–

I enjoy doing my ‘games’ during odd moments and find them very easy to incorporate into my daily life. I was a little frightened of driving without my glasses – being a myope from way back. I can now confidently drive without them and enjoy looking into the distance.

I was interested in the psychological make-up of a myope & realized I had to do work on myself as a whole person – not just my eyes.

Ben McNeill

—–

My first positive beginning of improvement actually began before I started this class when I experimented one day alternately Palming & Sunning and found that my vision was definitely clear if only for a brief time.

During the second evening of this course I had several flashes of clear vision when Denise (her face actually) become very clear. The rest has been more subtle as I have only realized gradually that I rely less and less on my glasses. I now no longer require glasses to eat, watch TV, drive. I am aware that my distance vision is generally much clearer.

Today I amazed myself as I read a whole chapter of my Natural Vision text without glasses and actually found a name listed in the telephone directory (first time in several years).

Mary Lou Bennett

—–

• Eyes more relaxed after Sunning & Palming
• Near Far swing – able to read advertisement in bus
• Colour sharper
• Clearer vision in early morning.

Fiona Mitchell

—–

I can see colours in my bathroom clearer in the mornings.

The ceiling rose on the centre light shows its curves clearer as each week goes by. I read my book outside this afternoon without my glasses. I can see what I am writing right now, whereas a month ago it would have been a big blur.

Fay O’Regan

—–

From the first lesson I started to get used to not wearing the glasses I’d been wearing for (mostly) astigmatism for the last 12 years. Two activities helped the most, namely Palming and the Long Swing. Combined with yawning and the Nose Pencil I have managed to do without my glasses completely from week 2. At the end of a busy workday I begin to have some trouble focusing on small print however five minutes of Palming and relaxation and I can read again.

Harvey Porter

—–

Being able to take off my glasses and try to do without them, without feeling guilty about it. Driving the car without wearing glasses is sometimes very relaxing & enjoyable.

I have had a ‘dry eye’ condition for quite some time, but have found that since doing the course, the tears are back – and I don’t need to use drops.

It’s very relaxing doing the Long Swing and I can feel the eye muscles changing and working. I don’t feel depressed about ‘failing eyesight’ and very hopeful about regaining my vision.

Marie Graham

—–

I was Sunning my eyes while sitting on the garden deck and after doing some Near Far Swings and Palming, I looked at the book lying open on my lap – to my astonishment I could read the print quite clearly.

J.S. Lamprecht

—–

Last night I found that I could thread a needle without using my glasses. I have also become more aware of patterns and the contrasts of black & white in pictures.

Francis McGuire

—–

When doing the bodily exercise such as cross-crawling before going to bed at night I feel very relaxed before sleeping. After having done other eye exercises I feel that my eyes do have flashes of clarity and that the exercise is good for them.

Cathy

—–

Each lesson Denise’s face has been clearer. Tonight the pattern of the carpet is much more obvious – (ie; the colour is stronger and the different tones of brown are standing out).

The third day of my recent trip to Brisbane by car I was able to read clearly all the writing on the road side signs and on the shop fronts for some considerable time.

Today when I was walking the dog the street names at the top of our street and the car number plates were properly in focus.

I notice that there is an all round improvement most of the time.

Pat Smith

—–

Without my glasses on I was holding a heavy book at arm’s length with one hand. This was an occasion after I had been to the first two or three lessons – I had been reasonably diligent in following the programme during the days in between lessons.

For a moment my attention was distracted, the weight of the book caused my arm to bend to relieve the strain and so I brought the book closer into a range where previously the print would have been a blur. When my attention returned to the book I continued to read it!! It was some moments before I realized I wasn’t wearing my glasses!! Wow!!!

Trevor K

—–

I have noticed that I look at things in detail now, instead of just at them, and I enjoy more looking at the colours, depths and shadows of varying objects. In fact I just enjoy seeing more.

I feel that the world is brighter (perhaps my eyes were dim before) and the world looks more clear & colourful.

When driving at night I have noticed that the glare of headlights doesn’t worry me anymore and my eyes seem more relaxed and calm. If I Trombone before reading, the print looks clearer. Yawning, the Long Swing make me feel more relaxed, and cross-crawling makes me feel ‘brighter’.

Jan Mann

This month while Carina is out giving presentations at our local libraries, we thought we would share with you some office and eye care recommendations from the US Office of Research Services (Division of Occupational Health and Safety) at the USA National Institute of Health.

So many of us are working long hours in offices and/or at computers and noticing the effects on our bodies and eyes.  It’s important to give attention to the placement of your keyboard, monitor and chair to maintain body comfort and spinal health in the long term.  In addition to this, giving your eyes balancing activities and relaxation at regular intervals is vital for visual health and comfort.

As you will see when you visit the ORS website link below, to this end they now recommend blinking, palming, yawning,  natural light for the eyes and other vision supporting practices in the workplace….

Correct palming posture

The suggestions do not always perfectly follow the techniques we teach (ie: we prefer the fingers crossed over each other above the bridge of the nose in Palming, this gives a more comfortable fit). However it is fantastic to see a more holistic view being taken – where prevention of problems through daily care practices is advocated.

This link takes you directly to the eye care section, but do scroll up if you want to see how your desk, chair and computer placement fits in with their recommendations.
NIH Eye Exercises Article

After the success of these sessions earlier this year we have decided to run them again in conjunction with the Sunshine Coast Council.

The eye fitness sessions will be run from October 10th through until early November at nine libraries in Southeast Queensland, Australia. (See dates below.)

Sunshine Coast Daily

How to regain and maintain clear eyesight without prescriptions or surgery.

Do you have visual blur now, or expect to after age 40? Most people take poor eyesight for granted even if in good health in every other way. Learn how your eyesight can change for the better, whether you are short-sighted, long-sighted, have astigmatism or ‘mature-age’ reading blur.

Topics discussed at the sessions will include:

• Causes of visual blur
• What prescription numbers mean
• Vision types
• Activities for good eyesight
• Reversing reading blur
• Caring for your vision.

Eye fitness session dates and locations:

Bookings are essential, call 1300 542 7279

For over 3 decades we have been teaching vision improvement students the importance of moderate amounts of sunlight for the eyes and general health, with some of this information based on Dr William Bates work going back nearly 100 years.  While in the past few decades there has been a great deal of vital information about skin cancer and the need to protect the skin, recently medical doctors and scientists are discovering that we may be taking that fear of the sun too far.

This month in Readers’ Digest, they discuss the fact that the campaign to have people avoid exposure to sunlight has been so successful that now many people are experiencing the health issues that come as a result of vitamin D deficiency.  Natural sunlight on the skin is one our main sources of this vital nutrient.

In June 2012 the Medical Journal of Australia reported that inadequate vitamin D intake is an increasing health issue, affecting an estimated 31% of adults, and more than 50 percent of women during winter and spring. It was also indicated that although sunscreens interfere with the skin synthesizing vitamin D, it is believed that not getting out into the sun was more the issue.

Why is Vitamin D important?  It plays a significant role in the growth and health of our bones. It also helps to optimise muscle function. Vitamin D is essential for growing children to prevent rickets (softening of the bones during childhood). It is vital throughout our adult lives as well, to prevent osteomalacia (softening of the bones in adults which causes pain in bones, joints and muscles), and osteoporosis (porous bones).

Where we have an aging population who may be housebound, lack of sunlight on the skin can mean an increase in bone related injuries and a poor healing rate that affects the independence of our elderly.

It is also suggested that vitamin D is important for immunity and infection control. It has a role in the production of infection fighting amino acids which means it helps to fight flu and other respiratory infections. Some association has also been made between vitamin D deficiency and increased risks of certain types of cancers.

In one study, low levels of vitamin D have been linked with depression, however there is a stronger correlation between moods and sunlight that may be based on the stimulating action of UV light on specific glands in the brain, and therefore hormone regulation.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is an issue that affects moods during the colder and darker seasons.  Especially in those who live in locations with frequent cloud cover and/or very short days in winter time.  Also known as ‘Winter Depression’ this is treated with bright light, natural where possible but artificial if necessary.

Sunlight helps reverse and prevent refractive error

The Sunning activity is one of those we teach for all types of visual blur, including myopia, hyperopia and presbyopia.  As more medical studies are done, we are able to read in the press about the modern appreciation for the role that sunlight can play in our eyesight.

Last year The Week online magazine cited a University of Cambridge study about the importance of outdoor play in preventing myopia in children.

Dr Anthony Khawaja, the ophthalmologist who presented the study, said that their research of over 10,000 children and adolescents found that for each additional hour children spent outdoors each week, their risk of developing nearsightedness fell by 2 percent.  As they are unclear on the causes of myopia themselves, they are not sure why being outside helps, but indicate it could be the increased exposure to ultraviolet light, which helps control the length of the eye.

In Natural Vision Improvement training we are taught that UV light stimulates the cells of the retina, resulting in increased colour and detail perception.  This stimulation also results in increased light tolerance (and the more light the eyes can receive and use, the more and better they can see).

Sunning can also help to improve night vision, and is the antidote to addiction to sunglasses. This dependence on sunglasses can occur from their regular use and the reduction in light tolerance that results.

As your eyesight can be affected by the state of your general health, the benefits of UV light on other areas of the body from Sunning may also increase the health and functionality of your visual system in general.

Everything in moderation

So we need to place sunlight into the category of ‘essential in moderation, avoid in overdose’ along with a number of other nutrients in our lives. (Vitamin A being another example.)

The Sunning activity involves turning your face towards the sun, with eyes closed, and moving your head so as to draw a circle around the face of the sun, for a short time. We do this in the early morning or late afternoon, when the sun is comfortably low and moderate in strength.  How long we do it for is based on our personal tolerance and affected by location, season, skin pigment, previous practice and comfort.

Those who are starting out may begin with just a couple of minutes, even with the back to the sun or even in the outdoor shade, and slowly build their tolerance to moving into the direct sunlight for short periods.  We never Sun for longer than our personal skin tolerance and comfort indicates and generally will do it for less than 10 minutes at a time even after regular practice.

For vitamin D production, while exposure to bare (no sunscreen) face, hands and arms is useful, the best results are achieved by sunlight on the skin of the torso, back and front.

The Medical Journal of Australia indicates that for moderately fair-skinned people, a walk with arms exposed for 6–7 minutes mid morning or mid afternoon in summer, and with as much bare skin exposed as feasible for 7–40 minutes (depending on latitude) at noon in winter, on most days, is likely to be helpful in maintaining adequate vitamin D levels in the body.

Those with dark skin are likely to require 3 -6 times more exposure to achieve similar levels of Vitamin D production, due to the higher levels of protective melanin in the skin.

Of course over time your tolerance will increase, and you can build a gentle tan which is the skin’s natural protection against damage from the UV light.  But you must be careful to never sunburn your skin, as this creates scar tissue which may help to create a cancer friendly environment.

Those who may have individual or medical reasons for staying out of the sun entirely can do their Sunning in the shade on a bright day, and should discuss their situation and the possibility of vitamin D supplementation with their doctor.

Remember, do not wear sunglasses while Sunning or sunbathing.  The UV light through your closed eyes (or under your hat) is what tells your brain that the body is in the sun and that it’s time to respond with pigment (melanin) to the skin for protection, and to absorb the many benefits of the natural sunlight on the skin.

So, for better eyesight, sturdier bones, stronger immune system and happier moods, make sure you get your moderate but regular doses of sunlight!

References for this article:

• MJA Journal
• The Week.com

Last month we shared with you the important Tromboning activity, in which I illustrated the need to do the activity separately with each eye, and to do it with each eye for the same amount of time. This is to maintain both eyes at the same level of acuity, and the same progression of vision improvement.

But what if you are one of the many people who has more blur in one eye than in the other? And how do you know?

In this article you will learn how to check if your two eyes are different, and some of the important things to know about if they are.

What does it mean when your eyes are different from each other?

Depending on how different they are, having less acuity in one eye can have dramatic effects on the way your visual system works, although many people can be in this situation and yet not be aware of it. The reason for this is that the brain is extremely good at compensating for any visual differences. 

Where there is a reasonably significant difference, this can result in a loss of fusion.  Fusion is the function whereby the brain takes the images from both eyes and fuses them into one single image -which is what we expect to see and live with every day.  Where the input from the two eyes differs more than a little, the images can be too different to fuse, and the brain stops using the input from the blurrier eye.

When we don’t have fusion, we lose our true three dimensional vision. It is true 3D vision that gives us the actual perception of depth provided by two receptors at a distance from each other.  But again, the brain is so good at guessing and extrapolating information that we can be in this position of using the input from only one eye, and be so accustomed to it that we are not aware of the lack.  We can gauge depths and distances enough to step up stairs, catch a ball and other spatial tasks, without being aware of the lack of true visual depth perception. Until it is regained, that is, and blows our minds.

While this amazing flexibility of the brain is of great benefit, it does use up lots of visual system energy. The brain is evolved to use the input from both eyes seamlessly to provide the best images for daily function.  Where fusion is lacking the visual system has to use additional energy to block out the image from the blurrier eye as well as compensate for its lack.  Our goal is to bring actual function more into alignment with ideal function in order that all the energy used by the visual system contributes to good vision and clear easy seeing at all distances.

How to check if your eyes have the same acuity.

While we always recommend having your eyesight assessed by a medical professional , there are some simple ways to determine how your eyes are tending.

If you do have a recent prescription, look at the sphere and cylinder sections for each eye, if the numbers in these sections are different from eye to eye, this tells you that the acuity in each eye is different.

These assessments are easy to do if you have reading and distant eye charts as we supply with our kits, but otherwise you can use materials you have at home. Do these assessments without your glasses, as of course the prescription will be compensating for any difference.

Close eye check: Choose an item with clear black on white text that you can hold in your hand, even better if you can have a choice of various sizes of text.

Find a standard distance to check both eyes at.  The best distance for this is the length of your forearm from the first knuckles of your closed fist to your elbow.  This is your personal reading distance. (If you need to hold a book or menu further away than this distance to read it, this is the start of presbyopia.)

Use your forearm, with the first knuckles on your nose, to find your personal standard reading distance.

Cover your left eye with your cupped palm. (Don’t press your fingertips onto the eyelid.) Now holding your reading item at your distance, observe how the print looks. Is it clear or blurry? If it is blurry, is it just a little bit, or too blurry to read?  It’s good to make a note of the outcome.

Now holding the reading item at that distance, bring your hand to cup over your eye.

Bring your hands down and swap, covering your right eye with your cupped palm and ensuring the reading item is at the same distance before observing with your left eye.  Does it look the same, sharper or blurrier? Make a note of its appearance.  If you have some items with different sized text, follow the same procedure with each size. Mainly what you are looking for here is a comparison, with observation as to whether the difference is small or large.

Distant eye check:

Find text, or images with strong definition at a distance of several meters (six meters/ twenty feet is the standard testing difference, but you can do it at other distances as long as you use the same distance for both eyes.)

Cup your palm over your left eye and make a note of how the text or image appears with the right eye.

Cup your palm over the right eye and repeat your observation with the left eye.

Now you should have a sense as to whether your two eyes see the same or different, for both up close and in the distance, and which one you may be using the most if they are different.

The next step is to check if you have fusion. As fusion takes place in the very adaptable brain, it can be surprising at times, in that some people with a strong difference may still have fusion, while someone with good vision in both eyes may not.  Everybody benefits from doing fusion activities, but they are essential for those with a difference in their two eyes or who lack fusion for any other reason.  To assess your fusion please visit our article on fusion here: Fun with Fusion

What to do about differing acuity

If you have found that there is a difference in what your two eyes are seeing, you can balance this with a variety of eyesight improvement activities.  If the difference is slight and mainly up close, simply doing a little bit more Tromboning with the blurrier eye may be sufficient.

If the difference is more marked and/or in the distance, then you may need to utilise an eyepatch to help balance things out.  By wearing an eyepatch over the clearer seeing eye, you give the blurrier eye a chance to become more active, and the brain gains more practice in again utilizing the information from that eye.  We use the eyepatch while doing the specific activities needed for that eye’s refractive error (whether it is short-sighted, long-sighted, has astigmatism or over -40’s reading blur). This means that the student will do some activities with both eyes, then put on the patch and do some further activities with just the one eye. Everyone can start this process with the Magic Nose Pencil activity.

In addition to this, you can simply wear the eyepatch for a period of time each day while doing simple household tasks.

When using a patch it is important to assess the vision regularly and reduce the use of the patch as the blurrier eye improves.  Once the eyes are at a similar level of acuity, then the use of the patch stops and the practice of fusion games can increase even more.

Remember that patching can be a challenge, both physically and emotionally, and it is important to nurture yourself through this process. Use the patch only in a safe and familiar environment in the beginning, and allow yourself to express and move through any emotions that may arise when experiencing the vision of only your ‘underdog’ eye.

How to get a comfortable eyepatch

When using an eyepatch on a regular basis to improve the vision in one eye, it is important that your eyepatch is comfortable to wear and easy to take on and off.  For this reason we supply cloth eyepatches with an elastic band, in both adult’s and children’s sizes. While we include an eyepatch with each Personal Eyesight Training Kit, we are now making these important tools available for individual purchase from our website for the first time.   Visit: eyepatches.

These videos teach you one of the top four most important activities for regaining clear close vision for presbyopes (over-40′s
reading blur).

Myopes and hyperopes also benefit from the movement and relaxation gained in the lens and muscles of the eye.

This activity is essential for everyone who wants to prevent ever needing reading glassses.

Video 1 – Introduction and important points to remember when doing Tromboning.

Video 2- Full guided tromboning activity. Follow along with Carina and learn how to do this fantastic eye improvement activity.

As the incidence of pathological eyes diseases increase, it’s good to learn about some of the ways that you can help to support your eye health with the food you eat.  With the long term effects of diseases such as macular degeneration becoming common in larger numbers of the population, especially as we age, we hope that preventive measures can become better known.

Macular degeneration is a disease affecting the light receiving retinal cells of the area behind the pupil called the macula lutea.  The retinal cells in this area die off, resulting in a loss of the central area of our vision that provides our coloured, detailed and sharp eyesight.  As you read you will see that to prevent this disease (and others) we must provide the nutrients needed for cellular integrity and immune strength.

Feast Your Eyes, a book by Sydney doctor Minas Coroneo, discusses his discoveries from working in a clinic he set up in an old people’s home in Greece.  The greatly reduced number of incidences of macular degeneration he saw there compared to Australia, along with other similar studies, show that elements in the traditional Mediterranean diet may help to protect against developing macular degeneration.

Those who eat a serving of omega-3 rich fish every week appear 30% less likely to develop the disease, the same is applicable to those eating one or two serves of nuts each week.  Olive oil has recently come under view as not being suitable for frying foods in, due to its low burning point, however those who eat about 7tbsp of olive oil per week reduced the likelihood of developing the severe form of the disease by 50%.

Extra virgin olive oil can be added to salads and other foods once they are on the plate, in the same way that we have learned to use other sensitive yet highly nutritious oils such as linseed (flaxseed) oil.

Green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits also help to fight macular degeneration, providing a wide range of both vitamins and minerals essential to eye health and the immune system.

Low –GI foods also help to reduce the risk of macular degeneration as well as helping to sustain a balanced blood sugar level.  Choose foods with the lowest level of processing possible, ie whole grain foods over white flour foods, and preferably whole grains over breads, pastas etc.

These nutritional studies illustrate once more the important of not just elimination ‘bad fats’ from the diet, but also how vital it is to include ‘good fats’ on a regular basis.  Good fats are essential to cellular health and good nerve function, and therefore to healthy functioning today – and also to maintaining that good function over time, and preventing future illness.

So some reminders about important elements of nutritional care for your eyes and body include:

• Eat a regular supply of good fats, preferably from unprocessed food sources such as fish, nuts and avocados.
• When using oils, ensure they are cold-pressed, organic if possible, and are stored in opaque, not clear, glass bottles. Buy small quantities and use them up within 3 weeks.  Store them in a cool, dark place. Remember that heat, air and light all transform good oils into bad oils.
• Remember that you cannot always tell by taste or smell if an oil has gone rancid.
• First choice for foods is raw, next is steamed, then last choice is cooked with oil.  If you choose the last option, cook with small amounts of oils that have a high heat tolerance, such as coconut oil.
• If using linseed oil, ensure you purchase it refrigerated, and in a dark bottle or box, and keep it that way, removing it only to pour your serving onto your food on the plate (never heat it!) and then return immediately to the fridge.  Write the opening date on the bottle and discard according to the usage suggestion on the bottle.
• Vary your ‘good fat’ foods to ensure you get the widest spread of nutrients possible.
• The same applies to the rest of your fresh foods – vary your fruits and vegetables to obtain the greatest spread of nutrients.  The colours in fruits and vegetables give some indications of what nutrients they are high in ie; red and orange colouration indicate good levels of vitamin C.
• Remember that cooking foods can destroy some nutrients, such as vitamin C, so also ensure you eat the same foods both raw and sometimes cooked, to unlock all the nutrients.

Notice what foods come out locally and seasonally and endeavour to include fresh seasonal foods where possible in your diet.  Generally these will offer good nutritional support to your body for the coming weather conditions.

Although our ability to obtain foods from distant climates in our supermarkets does make seasonal availability less obvious, keep an eye out for produce available in quantity and at lower prices than the rest of the year, and ask what is sourced locally.   It’s a great way to eat healthy and economically too!

You can also ask your green grocer what is coming in freshly harvested, and what has been in long term cold storage before being offered.  While they may appear fresh, foods that have been stored for long periods also will have decay in their nutritional value.

Nutritional studies over the years tend to show us the same basic principles: eating food as fresh, unprocessed and varied as possible.  Are you eating something ‘off the vine’ ie; in its natural unaltered state, every day?

Last month I gave a series of talks at the Sunshine Coast libraries. It was wonderful to be working with people in person again after several years of working at a distance due to being home with Zinnia (my little girl who is now 2 ½). I noticed a number of interesting things while discovering more about each group of attendees. They came from all walks of life, but had so much in common in regards to eyesight.

Unlike giving talks in previous decades, a significant number of people had already heard of the concept that eyesight can improve.  Yet only one person had ever heard of important eyesight functions such as saccadic movement, and he heard about it from attending a seminar with Janet Goodrich years ago.

At the talks I spoke about the history of Natural Vision Improvement, from the origins in Dr Bates’ clinic in New York nearly 100 years ago, through the years of Margaret Corbett and her group of instructors in Los Angeles. Then on to Janet Goodrich who studied with the youngest of the Corbett teachers, and used Reichian therapy and the Bates method for her own vision. Janet worked for many years in international practice and then trained me 16 years ago, bringing us to our modern practice of vision improvement.

Dr William Bates

Margaret Corbett

Dr Janet Goodrich

Discussing what the numbers on a prescription mean is a very important start for those learning about their eyesight.  We need to know what our eyesight is doing right now in order to know where to go, so I always cover what it means when there are numbers in the sphere, cylinder, axis and add sections of a prescription and what this means for an individual’s eyesight.

Anatomy is also important so I illustrated the six large exterior muscles of the eye and their positions.  These muscles work in pairs and one muscle in each eye passes through the trochlea, a cartilage structure connected to the skull bones.  This configuration means that skull bone alignment can play a role in turning eyes.

The Six Large Exterior Eye Muscles

The eye has seven muscles in total so we also looked at the seventh muscle, the interior ciliary muscle, which surrounds the lens in a circular ring (seen in cross-section below) and is responsible for changing the shape of the lens for focusing up close.

I covered a basic overview of the common refractive errors, emphasizing this particular label.  I find the phrase ‘refractive error’ very important.  When we describe eyesight, what we are describing is a process of the refraction of light. Light enters the pupil, passes through the lens, and must be perfectly refracted onto the fovea centralis (a tiny area of the retina packed with detail and colour receiving cone cells).

Good refraction equals good eyesight. With the blur of the common eyesight problems, we have the same physical structures – no damage, no deformity, no disease…but  the lens and eyeball are not making the correct shape to refract the light perfectly onto the fovea, and so we get refractive error – short-sightedness, long-sightedness, astigmatism and over-40’s reading blur.  So in general these are an error of function, not a condition of disease or damage.  This is the concept that led Bates to want to discover the underlying causes and correct the functional error, rather than just offer a physical crutch (such as prescription lenses) to compensate. I will touch on refractive error more later in this article.

I am always surprised that we are not taught these interesting features of the visual system in school

When explaining how vision improvement activities can change the way we use our eyes, I have to explain a few interesting facts about how eyesight works.  I find saccadic motion endlessly fascinating.  It’s the most important thing your eyes do in order to see anything at all, yet it is something that we never learn about in the course of our daily lives.

We know that light needs to get inside the eyeball in order for us to see, but we don’t think about the implications of the fact that the pupil is a very, very small opening. Saccadic motion is the tiny vibrational movement that the eyes make to ‘scoop’ light into the pupil and inside the eyeball onto the retina.

Alfred Yarbus, a Russian biophysicist, demonstrated that if saccadic motion were to stop, an ‘empty field’ would be created within one to three seconds. No saccadic motion means no light into the eyes, meaning no sight at all.  Conversely, the faster the saccadic movement, the more light enters the eye and the better eyesight can be.  Tension in the visual system and eye muscles slows down saccadic motion, thereby playing an important role in visual blur.  This is why we say ‘the eyes must move to see’.

This principle is the opposite of the tense and still ‘staring’ habit that comes with refractive error.

Central vision and everybody has a night blind spot

Another interesting fact has to do with the cells of the retina. We have two types of retinal cells, rod cells and cone cells.  Rod cells give us vision in low light, monochrome and not very sharp or detailed.  The rod cells cover the peripheral areas of the retina, and reduce in number towards the back of the eyeball, especially in the important areas directly behind the pupil.

Here is where we find the macula lutea, with a higher concentration of cone cells, those that give us sharp, detailed, colour eyesight.  At a point at the centre of the macula lutea is the fovea centralis, a small area packed only with cone cells in their millions. This leads to a couple of visual effects that you may not have previously been aware of.

Firstly, it means that our only area of actual clear, sharp eyesight is the tiny circle provided by the fovea centralis area of the retina.  This tiny circle moves so smoothly and effortlessly along with wherever your attention and gaze goes that we generally never notice that everything outside this small circle, (everything else being our peripheral vision), is actually blurry.

Check this out for yourself by looking at one object and noticing that while that object is clear, everything peripheral is blurry.  Move your gaze and the clear circle moves with it, bringing the light bouncing off the new object to fall onto your fovea and give clarity there.

The other effect of this physiology of the retina is that in conditions of very dim light, where the cone cells are not responsive, we must use our peripheral vision to function. And where there are no rod cells to provide this low light vision, we have a blank spot.  So in the area where there are only cone cells, at the centre of our vision, we can actually have a blank space in our vision in low light conditions.  The light may be low enough that we don’t actually notice this unless we are looking for it.

You can check this effect for yourself by going outside at night time, and finding a dim light in the distance.  If you look directly at it, it will disappear. Only by looking slightly to one side of the light will you get those light beams falling onto rod cells to one side of the fovea, and get a response such that you can see the dim light once again.

Fun tools for eyesight

Another benefit of working in person with people is that they get to try out the pinhole glasses.  The amazing effect of these in making eyesight clear without any prescription can really only be appreciated by experiencing it.  Pass a pair of pinholes around the room and the same lenses will amaze all refractive error types with the clarity they achieve whether up close or in the distance.

If you have blur and haven’t yet tried a pair of pinholes, you can get a similar effect by taking a piece of black card or paper and poking a clean hole in it with a pin.  Looking through this hole will demonstrate the effect.  Play with the size of the whole depending on if you want it to work better for close or distant vision.

Pinholes work by cutting out the scattered beams of light, allowing only straight beams into the pupil, through the lens and onto the retina, in effect eliminating the need for refraction.  This is why they work for all refractive error types.

We love students to use pinholes wherever possible in their daily life as a substitute for prescription lenses, even transition glasses(see definition below), to keep the stress in the eyes down while still giving clarity for reading, TV and other daily tasks (but not driving.)

Refractive Error Overview -

Those with over 40’s reading blur (presbyopia) are a bit off the hook when it comes to the emotional stress side of refractive error, as it does relate most strongly to physical aspects of aging. Attendees at the talks found it makes a great deal of sense to acknowledge that the lens and muscles of the eye can stiffen with age, just like other parts of the body, and just like other parts of the body, they can also be maintained in good health and flexibility with the right input.

In standard myopia, the eyeballs have the same structures as normal eyeballs, and they have the capability to obtain clarity as evidenced by clear flashes in those doing vision improvement activities. In myopia, physically the eyeball is maintaining a shape that is too long, and the light is refracted to a point in front of the retina rather than on it.

Visually this makes objects in the distance blurry. Physical usage of the eyes can play an important role in developing myopia, most usually in combination with other factors including tension in the visual system relating to underlying emotional stress. The emotion of fear is strongly relevant here, as illustrated by some of the common emotional traits of myopes;  anxiety, worry, perfectionism and so on. 

I love to discuss that while myopes may consider these traits to be an inherent part of their personality, in fact they are greatly to do with the condition of myopia when looked at holistically, and therefore can be changed when the condition is worked with holistically.  This means myopes can become more relaxed and easy-going in their daily lives.

For hyperopia the principles are the same except the eyes are holding a shape where the eyeball is too short, and the focal point falls behind the retina rather than on it. This makes close objects blurry.  The underlying emotional stress here is usually related to anger; some common traits include temper, trouble with intimacy and similar. The same applies in terms of working holistically, meaning hyperopes can become generally more peaceful and relaxed about closeness.

Astigmatism can be described in similar terms, but this warp across the cornea giving blur at specific angles is very changeable – which is why we ask that correction for it come out of transition glasses as soon as possible.  (Transition glasses being reduced lenses that give vision improvement student’s eyes room to improve) Astigmatism has been found to relate to pain and anger combined.

Learning and practicing vision improvement activities is the best way to experience how vision can change for the better, and to personally understand how our daily habits and underlying stresses affect our eyesight. So for those at the talks I taught the Magic Nose Pencil activity to assist with regaining faster saccadic movement and improving vision habit awareness.  You can revisit this activity by watching our video lesson here:

Solid Foundations to Improve Eyesight Video

I also guided the groups through the Tromboning activity, good for everyone but also one of the four most important activities for preventing and reversing over-40’s reading blur.  This activity is outlined in our book and kits and I hope to create a free video version very soon.  We will keep you posted on that.

I hope you have enjoyed this overview of my latest lectures, and perhaps even gained a fact or two about eyesight that you hadn’t been aware of before. Remember there are still a small number of places available to work with me in person next month on the Sunshine Coast or by distance education. (See our website products page for the May 2012 Weekend Seminar and International Teleclass details).