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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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. 

  • “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.

READY TO GET STARTED?

 

Eyesight has no boundaries, no matter what its current state is. Natural vision improvement techniques have the ability to improve nearly any visual limitations, that is, if you use the right tools, and if you are willing to invest your time and mind into getting there.

At Overbound we offer a variety of courses, workshops and memberships, including a free program, to suit your particular needs. Click here to choose a program that is best for you.