Eye Exercises: Myth or Cure?
by Irena Castle
Eye health is a huge topic. In most developed countries, up to 60% of people suffer from some symptoms of limited vision and there are places where the numbers are even higher. The subject of vision is therefore of the utmost importance. People need to see.
Conversations about the best solutions to the problem are often passionate, sometimes heated, and full of opposites. The traditional medical approach is solving it through corrective lenses and surgeries. The alternative approach suggests that our eyes are actually meant to see and that more gentle steps can be taken to achieve the same objective, which is clear seeing at all distances.
Those supporting the traditional approach will most likely dismiss the alternative approach because, based on their perception, it consists of eye exercises that do not work. They may have never tried the approach, but without a clear understanding that vision is variable, and therefore it can improve without hundreds of dollars spent on glasses year after year, these people will not give it a second thought.
Those supporting alternative approaches to vision care will point out the ineffectiveness or inability of the traditional approach to cure vision deficiencies. Yes, partial vision clarity is achieved via corrective lenses, but at the cost of distorting the way the world is seen and without the eyes being able to see clearly on their own. Glasses for the correction of nearsightedness make images look smaller. Farsighted lenses make them bigger. All glasses influence the perception of colors. Let alone the fact that each lens can only provide clarity at a specific distance and therefore anything outside its range still leads to blurryness. The famous Lasik surgery provides only a temporary relief, sometimes at a high cost (other than financial).
ARE EYE EXERCISES WORTH LOOKING INTO?
Now, back to the eye exercises. Do they work?
To answer this question, let’s start by defining the meaning of the word “exercise”. Based on the Merriam-Webster online dictionary the word “exercise” is most often used in the following sense. To exercise means to use repeatedly in order to strengthen or physically develop (i.e. a muscle). As a noun, exercise is predominantly defined as bodily exertion for the sake of developing and maintaining physical fitness.
When talking about eye exercises, people automatically assume that strengthening of the eye muscles is necessary to achieve improvement in the way they see. So let’s have a look at the muscles, specifically the ones that move our eye balls (there are other muscles within the eye that we will leave aside).
EYE MUSCLES CAN HOLD BUCKETS OF WATER
The movement of each eye is controlled by 6 extrinsic muscles, of which 2 are oblique muscles and 4 are recti muscles. Based on The Optical Journal, these muscles, relative to the job that they have to do, are the strongest muscles in the human body. They are 100 times more powerful than they need to be. Basically, each of the 6 extraocular eye muscles is plenty strong to hold a small bucket of water. Therefore strengthening these muscles is obviously neither necessary nor useful.
So if it is not their weakness that causes vision deficiency, then where is the problem?
It is the tension of the muscles and imbalance among them that demonstrates itself through various symptoms perceived as poor vision. It is the muscular tension that is responsible for the eyeball shape change, the main cause of nearsightedness and farsightedness. The most obvious example of muscular imbalance is strabismus, where one or both eyes are turned outside of their usual/optimal position, inwards or outwards, or even up or down. The most common example of muscular imbalance is astigmatism, where the tension in some muscles is changing the shape of the sclera and therefore the shape of the attached cornea, which causes vision distortion.
MUSCULAR TENSION AND IMBALANCE IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF SYMPTOMS CLASSIFIED ERRORS OF REFRACTION.
It is the symptoms that are traditionally addressed by prescription glasses (where an artificial lens compensates for the eye shape abnormalities). Muscular imbalance is either addressed by surgery that adjusts the length of certain muscles with the goal of creating a counter force to the existing tension, or it is deemed incurable. No matter which, the cause, the original tension itself, is rarely addressed.
Instead of exercising eye muscles or otherwise altering them, the techniques taught by natural vision programs take an opposite approach. They address the root cause by focussing on the release of the tension through numerous relaxation and other techniques. New balance is achieved by allowing the muscles to regain their natural length and behavior. Strengthening, force and effort (often associated with the idea of eye exercises) can cause further strain, pain and tightening of the eye muscles. That is why methods used in natural vision restoration are referred to as techniques, or practices, not exercises.
DO ALTERNATIVE EYESIGHT DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES BRING RENEWED VISION?
Natural vision improvement techniques involve learning how to look, what to see, and how to interpret visual signals. They put the eyes and the rest of the visual system in sync. Some techniques teach muscle relaxation, some leverage the use of memory and imagination, others yet teach the two eyes to work together, and the brain to correctly interpret the signals it receives. All of them have one thing in common and that is zero tolerance for tension, pain or strain. They all have to be practiced in a way that supports an easy and absolutely relaxed use of the eyes, which at the end teaches them to function the way they are designed - smoothly, automatically, and with no effort made. When this is achieved, the techniques lead to improved vision.
So, you see, the answer is not black and white. While eye exercises, in their traditional meaning, will not lead to vision improvement, the practice of vision improvement techniques will achieve this goal over time. All you need is an open mind and some discipline.
IS THERE A GUARANTEE?
No, there is not. Yet, it is just about certain that eye glasses and contact lenses will not give you your vision back. Lasik surgery is temporary and has numerous side effects.
Natural vision improvement is not a magic pill, but it has worked for many people, so the chance is high that it will work for you. There are no risks. You have nothing to lose to give it a go.
If you are even a bit curious, check out more articles in this blog, learn what natural vision improvement is about, explore our programs, take whatever first step you like to get yourself closer to seeing with no boundaries.
When you are done, give your eyes a good dose of relaxation.
IC
/i-see/
About the author:
Irena Castle is a vision training coach and an innovator in the field of eyesight development, and the founder of Overbound.
She specializes in delivering better eyesight to athletes and individuals who express a burning desire to overcome boundaries of their visual limitations, and to maximize their potential in sports, career or life. In her practice Irena combines vision teachings of Bates with principles of neuro-psychology, and with specialized sports vision techniques.
In addition to her positive impact on her clients' vision improvement journey, Irena's most valuable contribution to the world of natural vision improvement is the invention and introduction of the Overbound Clarity Eyesight Trainer, a vision obstruction system that simplifies the practice of many vision development techniques, and increases their effectiveness. The device is currently helping vision students in nearly 30 countries around the world.
Irena can be contacted via overboundeyesight.com (for natural vision improvement), or overboundathletics.com (for sports vision development).
