Astigmatism is usually a warp in the cornea at the front of the eye. It can also occur in the lens. The visual effect is akin to looking through an old windowpane that has waves in it, or in a carnival mirror. The changes to eyesight it creates can vary, from warping, graying, doubling or blurring at all distances. Your specific angle will affect what parts of your visual world are
affected in this way.

There are two kinds of astigmatism, regular and irregular. The regular kind occurs at a particular angle and can be corrected with a cylindrical lens ground into glasses or smoothed with Natural Vision activities. Irregular astigmatism is usually due to a disease condition or an accident. Glasses cannot satisfactorily correct it. Whether vision games offer any assistance may depend on the individual situation.

How does it feel?

Astigmatism causes visual blur and tired eyes at all distances. Even a slight amount can result in aching, scratchy eyes after reading for five minutes. Distortion in the distance can be unnoticeable until you have to read a street sign. Those with astigmatism may tend towards headaches.

How does it look?

Astigmatism at a particular angle will warp any lines or objects at that angle, at any distance. For instance if the warp is vertical (90º) then all the upright letters such as E, P, B, T and L will have blurred posts, you will also notice telephone poles and veranda posts will be blurred. If your astigmatism is horizontal, (180º), then the veranda railings and horizontal lines in letters will be blurred and you may not be able to tell an E from an F. If you have astigmatism at 60º, the diagonal portion of the Z in Zebra will be blurred.

Regular astigmatism can be one of the easiest vision problems to resolve because it frequently changes. Your astigmatism may generally remain at the same strength and angle, but it can and does change both at any time. This is one reason why it is best to have astigmatism correction removed from your prescription as soon as possible. You may be able to get rid of your astigmatism quite quickly, but if you put a prescription for it in front of your eyes they will be forced to re-create the astigmatism – or else give you headaches and disorientation.

What do those with Astigmatism Need?

General daily awareness and preparation activities:
• Deep breathing and yawning
• Relaxed neck and shoulders
• Cross-Crawl for full brain activation
• Magic Nose Pencil for increased saccadic movement

Specific Vision games for astigmatism:
• Astigmatism Swings – to smooth out the warp on the lens or cornea
• Sunning – for retinal stimulation
• Palming – to keep your eyes relaxed and supported
• Emotional Healing – to address issues of pain and anger

Expansion Activities can include:
• Reading with the White Glow – for clear easy reading at all distances
• Tromboning – to prevent presbyopia
• Near-Far Swing – to maintain good vision at all distances
• Feather Swing – to maintain relaxation and saccadic motion

You may also need:
• Patching – if your two eyes are different.
• Fusion Games – to help your brain and both eyes work together.

In a natural vision programme you would learn activities to:

• Change habits that maintain tension in the visual system.
• Work directly with the muscles and lens to relax and flex them.
• Address influencing issues like nutrition and how you deal with emotions and stress in your daily life.

Our Personal Eyesight Training Kit (PET) offers a complete guide to improving vision naturally including astigmatism. The Kit includes instruction booklet, audio activity guide and activity charts. Click here for more details on the Personal Eyesight Training Kit.