Restore Your Eyesight Naturally
/Restore Your Eyesight Naturally
Restore Your Eyesight Naturally
I used to wear glasses for driving when I was in my late twenties. After following the Bates Method for better eyesight, my vision improved naturally. When my eyes were retested to renew my driver’s license, I was told I no longer needed glasses for driving.
The Bates Method was created in 1891 by Dr William Bates, an American physician and ophthalmologist, who was a pioneer in natural eye vision improvement. He wrote the book “Perfect Sight Without Glasses”, based on his own theory of eye health and his extensive clinical research.
Weak eyesight, according to Bates, is caused by stress or mental strain, poor vision habits and wearing glasses.
Bates discovered that the cause of poor eyesight is not genetic or age-related and that our emotional state has a major impact on the state of our eyes. He went on to formulate eye exercises, and helped his patients to improve their eye sight naturally so that they were no longer dependent on glasses .
Unlike his peers, Bates was more interested in the root cause of eye vision problems, rather than just treating the symptoms.
His research showed that stress, poor vision habits and eye strain change the shape of your eyeballs. Letting go of tension helps the eyeballs to return to their normal state and vision improves.
Relaxation is the key factor for improving your vision. When you close your eyes or rest them, vision improves naturally. If your mind is at ease, nothing can tire the eyes.
People with normal eyesight tend to shift their gaze or blink. In contrast, those with poor vision have the habit of staring or not moving their head - leading to tension in the neck, eyes or shoulders.
Bates also believed glasses make the eyes weaker and lazier, not stronger. If glasses improved your eyes, you would require weaker prescriptions over time, not stronger ones, as is the usual case.
Unsurprisingly, Bates ideas were not popular in mainstream ophthalmology. Corrective eyewear, in the 1800’s, had already become a highly lucrative industry. Fueled by the industrial revolution, eyewear had transitioned from a niche luxury item to a mass marketing product, worth over $150 billion today.
Yet, Bates’ unique vision method continues to be popular among holistic circles.. Bates inspired a worldwide network of natural vision practitioners, who specialise in his vision methods and eye exercises.
One of Bates’ greatest advocates is the renowned British author Aldous Huxley, who wrote “The Art of Seeing”. Huxley writes about how he improved his severe visual impairment by adopting Bates method. After suffering from an eye disease at the age of 16, leaving him almost blind for two years, his vision recovered enough to read with thick glasses, a magnifying glass and Braille. But his eyesight continued to deteriorate over the next 28 years until he studied with a Bates teacher in California. Within two months of doing Bates’ eye exercises, his vision improved and for the first time in almost three decades, he was able to read without glasses.
Huxley improved his eyesight using eye exercises like palming - a method that involves resting the eyes with your palms to reduce mental and physical eye strain. Huxley practiced natural sunlight exposure over closed eyes, as well blinking and shifting to help release eye tension.
“Learn to combine relaxation with activity; learn to do what you have to do without strain; work hard but never under tension”, writes Aldous Huxley.
In “Stress and Vision”, Dr Elliot Forest explains how an overtaxed sympathetic nervous system affects the dilation of pupils in the eyes, which can lead to myopia or blurred vision.
Forest stresses the importance of becoming more aware of your emotions and giving yourself permission to express your feelings. Don’t allow glasses to block you from connecting with your true self.
Thomas Quackenbook is a vision educator who helps his clients to re-educate their eyes using Bates method. His book, “Relearning to see” is based on adopting better vision habits that loosen the eye, neck and head muscles.
He warned against the negative habit of trying to force clarity. Staring strains the eyes. Constantly moving your attention from one point to another is better than locking your eyes onto an object. He teaches ‘centralisation’, which is the practice of looking at one small point at a time rather than taking in a large area at once.
“Whenever you become aware of staring, contracting your body or holding your breath, blink your eyes rapidly and take two big breaths.”
Nine Tips for Better Eyesight
Anybody, regardless of age, can improve their eyesight naturally by following these nine tips.
1. Reduce your reliance on glasses as much as you can. As your eyes continue to get stronger, you will find you need your eyeglasses less.
Start with spending the first half hour after waking and the last half hour before bed – without glasses. Increase your time without glasses gradually -until you no longer need them.
2. Avoid eye strain. Use blinking and eye palming to reduce eye tension. Take breaks as often as needed. Massage your eyes.
3. Spend time outdoors, gazing into the distance. Focusing on a point in the distance helps your eyes to relax and improves your distance vision. Viewing natural landscapes- like mountains, bushland or oceans - are relaxing for the eyes.
4. When you read, move your head and eyes across the sentence - from left to right. Make sure you blink frequently and breathe abdominally. If you are tired, take a break or focus on a point in the distance.
5. You can improve farsightedness with a daily practice of reading fine print, as close to the eyes as possible. You can also practice by reading a Snellen chart regularly.
6. Sunrise and sunset gazing can be a powerful tonic for the eyes. Five minutes is all you need. You can also try gazing at a candle.
7. Avoid wearing sunglasses outdoors because they cause the pupils to dilate unnaturally. Wear hats instead. Regular exposure to outdoor light without glasses will make your eyes less sensitive to light. Contact lens make you more sensitive to light.
8. Introduce daily relaxation habits into your routine, like deep breathwork, yoga and meditation. Spend time out in nature. Get up early to capture the first light of the day. Walk barefoot outdoors.
9. Get in touch with your feelings. What are you not wanting to see? Journalling can be a handy tool to process your emotions. Pay attention to your dreams as your subconscious often speaks to you during sleep.
Believing is Seeing
The time it takes to improve your eyesight can vary. Results can happen instantly or within months. Your age, length of time you have worn glasses, and your commitment to doing eye exercises will determine how quickly you progress. Children and those who have never worn glasses generally improve faster than others. If you believe your eyesight will improve, it will. The secret is to persist until you succeed.
Sources:
How I Healed My Eyesight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4tQ2riIywo
Perfect Sight Without Glasses – Bates, William, Central Fixation Publishing Co, 1920
Relearning to See – Quackenbook, Thomas, North Atlantic Books, 1996
Stress and Vision – Forest, Elliot, Optometric Extension Program, 1988
The Art of Seeing – Huxley, Aldous, Harper and Brothers, 1942
