WHAT IS NATURAL VISION IMPROVEMENT?
The term Natural Vision/Eyesight Improvement refers to methods that teach people how to use their eyes in a way that leads to improved performance of their full visual system, and therefore to improved seeing without the need of traditional vision aids, such as eyeglasses or contact lenses, and without the need of surgical intervention. The methods are based on the fact that eyesight is a variable skill. They are able to address all errors of refraction (such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, aging eyesight, etc.), as well as other causes of limited vision.
EYESIGHT IS VARIABLE
While current medical practice treats vision more or less as a constant (for any given distance, a patient gets one set of glasses to wear at all times), eyesight is, in fact, variable. It changes during the course of a day, it changes with one’s mood, with the weather, etc. Most people experience fluctuations of some sort on a daily basis. You know it yourself. Your vision is great in the morning, then, after a day of computer work, you feel like you need a new pair of eyes. Vision can fluctuate so fast, that people who take multiple eye exams during one day can get multiple different prescriptions for glasses. If vision was constant (at least constant for long time periods), how could that be possible?
EYESIGHT IS A SKILL
You may argue that vision can change, but only for the worse. Such thought leads us to the second part of the introductory statement, and that is that vision/eyesight is a skill. A skill, by definition, is something that can be learned, acquired and developed. The person who first dared to call eyesight a skill was Dr. William Bates back in the early 1900. Dr. Bates, a well regarded ophthalmologist, simply could not believe that while our body can develop just about any physical capability and teach itself to deal with new situations, it is unable to use its visual system as anatomically designed. It was hard for him to imagine that one can learn how to use a leg after a partial amputation, but cannot connect the eyes and the brain in a way that produces clear images. This fundamental belief led to decades of work, experimentation and testing, which ended with the birth of what we know as the Bates Method for seeing without glasses.
While quite old, this method and its principles have given foundation to most contemporary natural vision methods and approaches. Over the last century, it has been further tested, implemented and built upon. It has been enhanced by new findings and modalities. Yet the main principles prevail.
HOW DOES EYESIGHT IMPROVEMENT WORK?
The purpose of natural vision improvement methods is to teach activity (related to eyesight) under relaxed conditions by which the eye and the mind coordinate normally.
By design, vision is not a conscious activity. Seeing happens automatically. Visual accommodation, that is responsible for clarity of vision, is driven by the involuntary muscle system in the eyes. So, in order to see, one does not have to think about seeing.
It is when automatic seeing is intercepted by the involvement of the voluntary extrinsic muscles, that people start to strain, accommodation suffers, and other errors of refraction develop.
Natural vision improvement techniques teach and train the visual system to let go of the voluntary intervention, to return the function of seeing to the involuntary muscle system, and thus permit vision to take place.
TECHNIQUES VS. EXERCISES
There is a fundamental difference between techniques and exercises.
Exercises usually refer to purely physical (and often mindless) movement of which the purpose is to strengthen a weak element in the body, usually a set of muscles. The eyes do not require that. While the correct functioning of the visual system relies on the many muscles within and around the eyes, none of the muscles need to be strengthened. All 6 of the extra-ocular muscles are strong enough to hold a bucket of water each, therefore, moving the eye is a non-issue. This is true in all cases, including situations like strabismus (squint), where one or both eyes are turned into an unnatural position.
Techniques, on the other hand, do not rely on muscle strenghtening. Instead, they rely on the correction of interpretation of the visual signals captured by the eyes and received by the brain. They leverage relaxation of the muscles, and release of tension and strain in combination with visual memory and imagination. Do they involve physical activity? Some of them do, but such activity is introduced under the condition of mental presence, curiosity and ease.
IS EYESIGHT IMPROVEMENT FOR ME?
THINK YOGA
What yoga does for the full body (creates balance of the mind and the body), natural vision improvement does for your eyes (balances the connection of the eyes with the brain). Natural eyesight development is a non-invasive vision restoration and expansion method that is suitable for those experiencing symptoms of limited vision. It is also an effective approach for prevention of vision deterioration. There is no age limit, up or down. There are no pre-conditions, no matter how long it has been since you last saw clearly, or how strong your glasses are.
HELPS WITH MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS OF LIMITED VISION
MYOPIA (nearsightedness)
HYPEROPIA (farsightedness)
PRESBYOPIA (aging eyesight)
ASTIGMATISM (distorted vision)
AMBLYOPIA (lazy eye)
STRABISMUS (squint)
and other common causes of limited vision
MAIN PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL VISION IMPROVEMENT
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Do not be mistaken, laying on the couch is neither required nor recommended! The term “Relaxation” is used in the sense of the proper active use of the visual system and the body. Vision relaxation techniques enable the release of eye strain and allow better vision to take place.
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Being in the moment, looking with curiosity provides great conditions for clear seeing. Any past and future images are purely the work of your imagination.
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The majority of seeing is done by the brain, not the eyes. The eyes simply take in a signal and send it on, through the optic nerve to the visual cortex. Therefore, learning how to engage the whole visual system (not just how to fix the eyes) is what drives progress. Leveraging memory and imagination greatly benefits the process of vision restoration.
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Each eye is its own entity. In order for the two eyes to work in harmony, each eye individually has to be fully engaged in the act of seeing and have a solid connection with the visual cortex. During the process of natural vision improvement much of this is accomplished by leveraging selective vision obstruction, such as the one provided by the Overbound Clarity Eyesight Trainer.
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In order for clear seeing to happen, there must be no staring. Test it for yourself. Look at something intensely and note that instead of the point coming to clarity, it becomes progressively more blurry. To achieve clarity, the human eyes must constantly move. While they move, a relative movement of all objects within their visual field happens.
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“Looking and receiving” visual signals brings improvement, while “trying to see” slows the progress down or reverses it. As with any other skill, having an end goal in mind helps with defining the course of actions. It is, however, the engagement with the method, the commitment to repetitive practice, that brings the results.
Respecting the above principles (and more), natural vision improvement methods address the root cause (sometimes multiple causes) of the symptoms of limited vision through techniques that lead to building new neural pathways between the eyes and the visual cortex. Taking advantage of imagination, neuroplasticity, and physical movement, they teach the eyes how to look, and the brain how to correctly interpret visual signals supplied by the eyes. When the process is completed, the client has learned to understand the way their visual system works, and can freely accommodate at any distance (or improved distance), and therefore see the world in a brand new way.
WHAT DOES IT REALLY TAKE TO SEE BETTER?
GOOD EYESIGHT IS A COMBINATION OF GOOD VISUAL HABITS AND WELL DEVELOPED VISUAL SKILLS.
Therefore, getting there takes only 3 steps applied over time.
Step 1: Question status quo
No matter what you have been told and for how long, eyesight is not a constant. Eyesight is a variable skill. It changes throughout the day and over time, for the worst, but also for the better. So the first thing you need to do is to accept the possibility that your eyes are capable of seeing much better than what you are experiencing right now. To help you wrap your mind around it, check this out.
Step 2: Use your eyes as designed
There is the right way and the wrong way of using just about anything - cars, appliances, smart phones ... and your eyes. However, given your eyes did not come with a user’s manual and given good eye habits are not taught in schools, it may be a bit tricky to know what the right way of using your vision is. For this purpose we have published a guide to the Nine Essential Habits for Better Vision that you are welcome to download and follow for free.
Once your habitual behavior has been checked (or adjusted), there is only one step left.
Step 3: Retrain your eyesight / gain new visual skills
As indicated before, good vision is simply a result of the visual system being skilled in seeing, a sensorial activity that is the result of a combination of individual visual skills applied in a correct sequence. The skills may be learned from books and ample online videos, but you will most likely be more successful following a well designed program. Just like with any other skills, it is better to learn from those who are proficient in your desired skills and their teaching, who understand the intricacies of the process, the order in which individual skills should be learned, and who can provide tips, watch out and help.
At Overbound we offer a variety of courses, workshops and memberships, to suit your particular needs. Click here to choose a program that is best for you.
