Eyes and Eyesight

As I love the subject of natural vision improvement I am constantly on the lookout for new ways and technologies for natural vision improvement. When I came across the “EyeRelax” I was immediately struck with disbelief. Here is what they say about themselves:

EyeRelax is an award winning visual-spectrum medical device clinically programmed to improve shortsightedness or myopia commonly cause by tired eyes.

Its patented light-spectrum technology stimules the retina cells and vision nerves to improve the photosensitivity of the eyes. It is also enhanced with visual near-far stimulation to effectively prevent and control myopia caused by tired ciliary muscle.

EyeRelax is the most effective, safe, non-invasive, non-medicinal device for the control of myopia.

National University of Malaysia (UKM) and SIM University Singapore, have just successfully concluded a study on the effectiveness of EyeRelax therapy.

I will have to investigate this a lot more, and at the price of $580 USD a LOT of research would have to be done before you purchased it. If it does work then it is cheaper than laser eye surgery. Find out more from their website.

How else would you monitor the progress of your natural vision exercises than test them with the Snellen eye chart. There are many sites out there that have printable examples of this chart, but the best one I have come across is from I-See.org. This site has many versions of the chart, and the beauty of the thing is that it is free! The downloads section of the site has a printable PDF version of the chart as well as postscript. Enjoy!

When you think about improving your eyesight, natural therapies are not usually the first thing that springs to mind. Most people make an appointment with their optician and either opt for glasses or contact lenses.

We know that the eyes have a lot of undue stress, causing muscles to strain and stress, whilst other muscles become weak, which in turn has an effect on the eyeball. This misshaped eyeball effect is what causes refractive errors i.e. poor eyesight. Therefore, if the muscles can become weak, then they too can be strengthened and protected by exercise. These vision improvement exercises are used to correct many types of vision problems, including lazy eye (amblyopia), crossed eyes (strabismus), near or far sightedness, and ageing vision.

It is estimated that there are over two hundred different eye exercises available to treat a variety of vision problems. A lot of these eye exercises are simple and easy to fit into your daily routine. Natural eye exercises may not be the total solution, but they can help you prevent further vision deterioration.

Glasses have been around for centuries to help improve and provide clearer vision. More modern methods of vision correction such as contact lenses and eye surgery are more advanced, but actually treat the symptoms rather than the cause, just as glasses do. Even pinhole glasses have been used to focus light rays on the retina.

It is believed that glasses promote further deterioration of the eyes, and prevent natural healing. Glasses put additional strain on the eyes. Natural vision coaches recommend their clients stop wearing, or at least get a reduced prescription, when using natural vision correction methods. Natural vision coaches teach that if the eyes are relaxed and reconditioned, vision will improve. Eye exercises are used to train coordination and flexibility for muscles in and around the eye. They strengthen the muscles and nerves in the brain and vision system to help correct vision.

Relaxed central vision is a key to natural eyesight improvement according to the natural vision coaches, or Bates Method practitioners. However there is some debate whether natural vision correction is valid. For example it is not recognized by the American Optometric Association.

People that practice natural vision correction usually are not licensed professionals however; some licensed professionals may practice natural correction on the side.

The benefits of natural vision correction are that it is a non-invasive, natural, and holistic method that can be used alongside other vision aids such as glasses and contact lenses. There is no risk involved whilst trying natural vision correction methods. The downside is that it can take time to notice any benefits.

When one mentions “vision correction” there’s a tendency to think there’s something wrong with the eyes. However, the eyes are not the ones actually doing the “seeing”? They are merely apertures through which light rays pass through.

These light rays stimulate the eye and turn the light into brain signals which are sent to the visual cortex (the part of your brain that processes these signals). The brain then decodes those signals and generates the images that you see.

In trying to correct their vision, most people try to fix the eyes themselves. After all, we’ve often been told that because the window is wrong, light rays landed on the wrong part of the eye. Right?

But the truth is, your brain is the one that causes the window to be wrong in the first place. Why? Because it adapts to the environment you’re in. If you’re spending most of your time doing close range work, and you’re always under a lot of stress, then your brain will adapt and send signals to your eyes to make it myopic.

The key to natural vision correction, therefore, is not in correcting the eyes. It’s in correcting the brain. For starters, here’s what you can do:

• As much as possible, get rid of stress. People who are stressed have higher incidence of eye problems.
• Try to focus on one task at a time. Studies have shown that multi-tasking decreases productivity and places unnecessary strain on your eyes.
• Again, use the 10-10-10 rule