My Vision Journey
I first came across natural vision improvement in 2020. I was listening to a yoga podcast and heard Nathan Oxenfeld talk about his experience of improving his eyesight naturally....I was surprised and fascinated.
Early Eyesight Challenges
Since being a teenager, I had Myopia (short sightedness) and wore glasses and contact lenses. My eyesight got steadily worse over the years and ended up with quite a severe myopia with astigmatism. This meant that I could only see half a metre in front of me and everything in the distance was completely blurred. I never thought there was anything you could do to correct this, except for maybe laser surgery which never appealed to me.
I knew that there is a high possibility of getting presbyopia (long sightedness for old people) because of my age. This really worried me as I wouldn’t be able to see at all at any distance. I also heard that multifocal lenses are expensive and can be difficult to adjust to.
Beginning Natural Vision Improvement
I decided to give natural vision improvement a go. I was sceptical at first, but as I was in lockdown and had plenty of spare time to experiment with the techniques.
I had no idea what to do, so I read several books on natural vision improvement and signed up to some online courses. I learnt that the work originated from the Bates Method. Dr Bates (1860–1931) was a renowned physician who was interested in why people’s eyesight got gradually worse by wearing glasses. During research, he found that people’s eyesight varied from moment to moment and that our mind played an essential role in seeing. He proclaimed that relaxation was the key component in improving people’s eyesight.
During his lifetime he had fantastic results with his patients and helped recover the eyesight of many people. Unfortunately, he’s findings were never accepted by Ophthalmologists, but he inspired people like Aldous Huxley and contemporary vision teachers like Margaret Corbett to continue with his teachings.
I wondered why I never questioned the established orthodoxy that eyes cannot heal. I’ve had personal experience of healing my body naturally and understood the concept of neuroplasticity, so if my body and mind can heal, why can’t my eyes?
The basic principles are simple, but I found them hard to put in practice. Nevertheless, I persisted, because Dr Bates theory on the importance of relaxation coincided with my understanding of therapeutic practice and I really wanted to find out if it was possible.
Overcoming the Obstacles
I thought that relaxation would come naturally, since I’ve been practicing yoga for a long time, but I found it challenging to feel into my eyes. I’ve worn contact lenses since I was young, and my eyes were dry and insensitive. I wanted to spend as much time as possible without contact lenses to bring awareness back to my eyes, but I wasn’t used to wearing glasses and hated using them. I found It annoying doing yoga or walking in the rain, and even eating or drinking made the lenses steam up! Because of this, I spent quite a lot of time without wearing anything and only used my glasses when it was necessary.
It probably helped that we were in lockdown as, at the beginning, it was tricky and scary to even go outside without lenses. First, I trained to be comfortable around the house and gradually added more activities like cooking and cleaning. It felt like I was re-learning to do everything again. I noticed that I could see better on certain days, (like on a bright sunny day) and other times, it felt like I was back to square one. Thise instability was incredibly frustrating but ironically being upset or angry made my vision worse. It was a real lesson on mindfulness and patience.
What kept me going was the clear flashes that I had, which initially only lasted a moment or two, when I would see everything clearly.
This gave me confidence to know that there was nothing wrong with my eyes, and that there is a possibility to see well. Very slowly and gradually, I started to be able to see a little better and my confidence developed enough to explore going outside.
Vision Improved
It’s now been four years since starting on my natural vision improvement journey and I can do pretty much everything without any visual aid.
I’ve gone travelling abroad and even went kayaking and snorkelling. When I used to wear contact lenses, swimming and any water activities used to be a real hassle and it’s liberating no longer having to worry.
It’s been amazing experience, but I gained so much more than better eyesight. I’ve developed the ability to truly relax my eyes, mind and body. I know myself better and it’s given me clarity in all levels, not just my eyes.
Vision can be improved; the secret is relaxation of the mind and eyes.
– Margaret Corbett
