What Are Your Eyes Saying?

Eye problems plague society today and have for many years. Many of these problems and ailments can be avoided if we would stop and listen to our eyes. They are the best factors in deciding if we are overworking them. If your eyes are straining and tense, your eyes are being damaged. You wouldn’t continue straining your arm muscles for long periods of time, you would stop when it hurt and take a break. The eyes should be treated the same way.

           

The eyes are full of small muscles that are responsible for shortening or lengthening the lens so we can see clearly. Take a look at your eyes right now. Are they straining to read the words on the page? Are the eyes flowing over the words are staring hard at each word? Are you smiling, frowning, or concentrating too hard?  If you said yes to any of those, your eye muscles need to relax as soon as possible.

           

Thoughts can actually affect our vision. When you are thinking pleasant, happy thoughts the eyes are more relaxed. Relaxed eyes have better focus and allow the eyes to make smooth movements. Negative thoughts cause the eyes to strain. Strained eyes tend to stare and the movements of the eye are jerky causing the eyes to hurt.

           

The eyes don’t lie. If your eyes hurt or you feel tense behind the eyes, they are simply trying to tell you to relax. Feel a headache coming on near the eyes or behind them? You are straining your eyes too much and need to relax.

           

The good news is that it only takes about 15-20 minutes to relax the eyes. Relaxed eyes can focus better and help with comprehension of the things you are reading or looking at. Simply close your eyes and concentrate on the darkness. Forget about the negative stressors going on around you, and think about positive, pleasant things. Picture yourself relaxing on the beach, the waves lapping at your feet, a cold drink in your hand. Keep your thoughts focused on as many pleasant things as you can for the entire 15 minutes. When you open your eyes, you should feel more relaxed and the eyes more focused.

           

Listening to what the eyes are saying and relax them when they are tired. Taking time out to relax, will help your vision for years to come.       

Relaxation for the Eyes

The eyes are chalk full of tiny muscles. The muscles main job is to change the shape of the eyes. The eyes change shape so they can focus and move up, down, and side to side. As with any muscle in the body, without proper exercise and training the muscles can weaken as we age. Most people are forced into artificial lenses because the muscles are too weak to change the shape of the eyes.

           

The lens of the eye hardens with age forcing the muscles to work harder. The eye muscles can be trained to work no matter how hard the lens get. It is the muscles around the eye that control the shape of the eyeballs. Once you learn how to exercise and train these muscles it is easy to put them to good use and avoid the need to ever need glasses.

           

Almost all eye problems are due to mental strain and excess stress on the eyes. Learning how to relax the eye and the eye muscles is the best thing to ensure you will never need artificial lenses. Relaxing your eyes sounds difficult, but it is much easier than you think. We cause our eyes unneeded strain by looking at things that annoy or irritate us. Take some time out to focus your sights on pleasant things. Put photographs on or around the desk at work of things that bring joy and happiness. Look at these pictures when you are feeling especially frustrated or stress and concentrate on relaxing and calming down.

           

Practice relaxation the eyes at night while lying in bed. In the darkness, close your eyes and cover them with a sheet or blanket. Let your mind think about pleasant things such as people, places, or things that bring you joy. Thinking pleasant thoughts helps relax the eyes which make them softer. The softer the eyes are the more easily they fit into their sockets. When the eyes are relaxed, they don’t stare or strain.

           

Practice relaxation techniques until they become more natural. Take the time during the work day to relax the eyes for at least 10-15 minutes. You will find you are more energized and can focus more clearly on your work.

Learn to Manage Stress for Better Vision

The biggest cause of eye problems is stress; whether internal or external. The eyes are full of small muscles that help move them around and lengthen or shorted the lenses. A life full of stress and strain on the eyes can cause some serious problems later in life. The best way to prevent future eye ailments is to learn to manage stress today.

           

The concept of managing stress is much easy to say then to do. While some people are pros at stress management; other people can only take a little bit before they start screaming and pulling out their hair. Stress happens each and every day so learning how to best deal with the stress is an important and necessary step.

           

The first step in managing stress is discovering what it is that is stressing you out. If you have no idea what is causing stress, it is really hard to find solutions to the problems. For almost every problem there is a solution. If you are always late, start setting the clocks ahead 10-15 minutes. If your to do list is overwhelming, cut out the things that are not top priority and deal with them at a later date. If traffic gets you going, take a new route to work that is less crowded. 

           

Work is almost always the number one stressor in people’s lives. Most people feel overwhelmed with the amount of work they always have, but never ask for help and always take on more. Learn to say no. Saying no isn’t going to get your fired; it tells your boss you are aware of your limits and you have just reached them. It is better to complete five amazing projects, then seven or eight mediocre ones. If the work load is too much, talk to your boss or co-workers and let them know you need help.

           

Simple relaxation techniques can help reduce the stress in your live. Take deep breaths. Close your eyes for a few moments and allow them to relax. Look around and away from the computer a three or four times an hour. Too much strain or stress on the eyes will only cause vision problems later.

The Bates Method

Dr. William Bates spend years studying vision problems. He attended and graduated from Cornell University and became a teacher and researcher of ophthalmology in the New York area. Bates created many vision improvement methods and believed that anyone can see without glasses. His methods were developed teach the eyes ways to improve and heal themselves.

           

The Bates Method was developed to help school age children absorb more knowledge without straining their eyes. Dr. Bates learned that most bad habits and eye problems begin in school age children. Children have a natural curiosity to learn new things. However, when material is constantly shoved down their throats and they are forced to memorize tons of uninteresting information, the mind gets tired and the eyes start to strain.

           

Likewise, looking at new information causes the eyes to strain in order to commit it to memory. All day, every day children are forced to absorb new material, whether it interests them or not. They are not given a chance to allow the eyes to relax or take a break. This is where the Bates Method comes in.

           

Bates’ Method is actually quite simple. He created a large chart full of common shapes and letters. The chart was placed on the wall in the front of the classroom and the children were encouraged to look over at the chart whenever they felt overwhelmed. Even looking at the chart for three minutes a day, takes the strain away from the eyes.

           

The Bates Method was implemented in a few schools and the teachers noticed a vast improvement in concentration and progress. The eyes were able to relax and the strain was removed. Unfortunately, the school board felt the method was too distracting and the method is no longer in practice. In fact, China is the only country that teaches students vision training.

           

The Bates Method can be used by just about anyone though. You could create your own chart and place it in your office. Glance at the card several times during the day to keep the eyes relaxed and alleviated the strain on the eyes. Training your eyes to relax will help improve vision today and for the rest of your life.

Diet and Vision

Did you know that eating a better is not only good for your health but can help improve vision too? Well, it does. A healthy diet and exercise is good for your health which in turn will keep your eyes working properly.

           

A healthy diet includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, proteins, and dairy products. For proteins try to add more fish into your diet, it has the essential Omega-3 fatty acids that are great for the brain and mental focus. Dairy products are good but stay away from pasteurized and homogenized milk because they tend to clog arteries and limit the eye circulation. The best vegetables are carrots, spinach, bean sprouts, endive, celery, and cucumber.

           

Everyone feels the need to splurge every once in a while, but too much processed and deep-fried foods can cause serious complications on eyesight and health.  Stick with foods that are high in vitamins A, B, C, D, and E as they are all just the nutrients the body craves. Some other treats that are high in nutrients are sunflower seeds, raisins, pecans, soy beans, liver, and apricots.

           

The body comes complete with its own pH balance system to keep an equal amount of acid and alkaline. Too much acid causes uric crystals to develop around the joints leading to arthritis. The acid also damages the muscles around the eyes. The body needs fruits, vegetables, grains, and animal products to maintain the balance. Fruits and vegetables reduce the amount of acid in the body; grains and animal products increase the acid. The goal is to find the perfect balance between the two. Most people don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, so to find balance start there.

           

Finding a good mix to the foods you eat together can help the body break down foods and digest nutrients properly. Too many carbohydrates taken with protein, like meat and potatoes, can be hard for the body to break down leaving you feeling as if food is just sitting on the gut. Proteins should be mixed with vegetables, meat and a salad. The body will be able to break it down easily and the proper amount of nutrients will be absorbed.

           

Eat to your health and to better eyesight.

Throw Away the Glasses - Heal Glaucoma Naturally

Everyone has heard of Glaucoma, but what is it exactly? Glaucoma is a condition caused by excess pressure to the eyeballs. Although it sounds painful, most people have no idea they even have it. Glaucoma is scary because by the time the first symptoms show up it is too late to do anything about it. Once the downhill spiral begins, there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.

           

The first symptoms of Glaucoma are tunnel vision and the narrowing in the field of vision. This quickly moves into the final stages of Glaucoma which is permanent blindness.

           

The main causes of Glaucoma are poor circulation around the eyes, plugged channels, and poor drainage. These symptoms are caused by too much stress, strain, outside stressors, and too many toxins in the body.

           

The only cure for Glaucoma is to give medication for the tension or to drain the fluid from the eyes. These are both quick fixes and they only work to relive the symptoms, not the problem. Most people will still end up with blindness. These fixes just prolong the inevitable for awhile longer.

           

Glaucoma is usually caused by stress and once diagnosed with the disease the stress doesn’t stop. In most cases, the stress only becomes worse. Now people are anxious and nervous and scared of the blindness. Fear of the unknown and worry starts to consume their daily life, only adding to the stress and strain on the eyes. In the end, they are only making the symptoms worse instead of taking steps to try and fix the issue.

           

Anyone who suffers from Glaucoma should seek medical attention because if left undetected permanent blindness will happen. However, you can take steps to cure your eye ailments yourself by learning to relax the eyes. Take the time each night to fully relax before going to sleep. While lying in bed with your eyes closed, picture your muscles relaxing from your head down to your toes. Concentrate especially on relaxing those muscles around the eyes. Fully relaxing before falling asleep will ensure a better night’s sleep and waking up refreshed.

           

Glaucoma may be a scary thought, but by learning to relax the eyes you can take natural steps to cure the ailment.  

Glasses, Vision & The Mind

Vision plays a large part in the memory’s process. The better an image is processed the easier it is to recall later. The more relaxed the eyes are, the better they can absorb an image. Too much stress and strain on the eyes are the main causes of most eye problems and ailments.

           

The brain and the eyes work closely as a team. The eyes have to first capture an image and focus on the shape, size, and colors. The mind needs to interpret that information which is seen and then store it for recall later. Images that we see daily take mere seconds to interpret and remember. New images take a little bit longer. The more focused the eyes are on an image the more strong the memory will become. When looking at new object, pay attention to the lines around it, the borders, colors, size, shape, and anything else that will make recall easier later. Of course, the more relaxed the eyes are the quicker the mind can process and memorize new objects.

           

Concentrating too hard or focusing on images that doesn’t interest us causes unneeded strain and it will be difficult to remember them later. In order to maximize the memory, the image must first be viewed in a calm and relaxed manner. Below is a short exercise to try in order to get the mind and eyes to relax and work together properly.

           

First find a comfortable position, this could be sitting in your favorite chair or lying on the floor. Whichever your preference, make sure the spine is straight and the hands are relaxed at your side. Next, close your eyes and picture the number 5 down to 0 in your mind. Exhaling, really see the 5 in your mind. Let the eyes follow the black lines of the 5 and really picture the number. Relax and exhale completely by letting all the air out of your lungs until you naturally take the next breath.

           

Allow the lungs to fill completely with air and then picture the number 4. Again, picture the number completely while you exhale. Really see the lines, the black color, the shape; don’t stop picturing the number until all the air has left your lungs and the next breath comes naturally. Do this all the way down to 0.

           

In time you should be able to visualize images in the mind more clearly and feel more relaxed in the processed.

Exercises for the Eyes

Staring and straining or the worse things you can do to your eyes. After a long day at work, the eyes are tired and need to relax and renew to improve vision. The constant strain day in and day out does nothing but damage the eyes. Below are three exercises design to remove the eye strain.

The first exercise is the Dot exercise. To do this find a period or comma on the page and focus on making it as clear as possible. Stare at the period until it comes into focus. Chances are after a few seconds the period will actually became less clear and blurry.

           

Try relaxing your eyes. Close them for a minute and let them relax. Now look at the period without straining. Don’t stare; instead, let your eyes slowly move around the page, over and around the period. Don’t focus only on the period, the eyes need movement. Make sure to blink a bit. Try closing your eyes and picturing the dot and then look at it again. Once the eyes are relaxed it should be easier to see the period.           

The second exercise is the Word exercise. Find a word on the page that is five or more letters long. Stare at the word so that all the letters are in view, but don’t move the eyes. Focus entirely on the whole word trying to get the best image in your head. Again, staring and concentrating hard is going to cause the word to blur.

           

Now, relax your eyes and allow them to move slowly over, around, and across each letter of the word. Blink. Allow the eyes to lead you; don’t force them to look at what you want. The word should be clearer when you look at it again. Letter the eyes move around is what will help them work best without the strain.

           

The third exercise is the Double Vision exercise. This exercise is meant to get your eyes to work together as a team. Most people use one eye to look at an object, while the other eye does its own thing. Squinting can help bring an object into focus with both eyes, but this causes unnecessary stress.  The trick is to relax the eyes, focus on the object in a calm way, and allow both eyes to focus together.

           

Learning exercises to relax the eyes is a great way to develop lasting habits and ensure great eyesight for years to come.

Better Vision for Greater Memory

To keep the memory sharp, it is important to maintain vision. Relaxation is the key to maintain vision for many years. Vision and mental focus go hand in hand and both don’t do well with strain and stress. Relaxation and inner peace is important in remembering things. All these things rely on each other to work properly.

           

A great way to test the condition of the eyes is a mental memory exercise. In this exercise, the goal is to maintain a visual image for as long as possible. To start, cover one eye and glance quickly at a letter on the page with the other eye. Close your eyes and hold the image of the letter in your mind as long as possible. Count how many seconds the image stays in your mind before fading away to darkness. Take note of this number. Do the same thing for the other eye and compare the results.

           

Now relax the eyes and try again. One way to relax the eyes is to close them and concentrate only on pleasant thoughts and good memories. Allow your eyes to focus on the darkness and forget everything around you. Open your eyes and try the exercise again. Hopefully the results are different and the image stayed longer the second time around. If not, you may need to find some eye relaxing exercises and work on removing the strain.

           

Vision affects memory. We need the vision to see the image. The more clearly we see the image the more detail we can recall on later. Focusing on the positive events will help keep the mind relaxed and the eyes free of strain.

           

The following exercise will help you relax and improve your memory. Try it tonight. While lying in bed tonight focus on all the positive things that happened throughout the day. Picture the events of the in as much detail and color as possible. Try picturing your lunch or the clothes the person who complimented you was wearing. Focusing on the positive will clear your mind, relax the body, and give you a better night’s sleep.

           

Removing the strain from the eyes will not only improve your vision it will also improve your memory.

Improving Your Vision - A New Way of Learning

The worst thing we can do to our eyes is strain them. Too much mental strain and focus can actually harm our eyesight and cause the eyes permanent damage. Bad habits start from childhood, especially once school starts. These bad habits carry over into adulthood and cause damage to the eyes. Most of eye problems and ailments are simply caused by the bad habits learned in our youth.

           

Children have a natural curiosity to learn new things. Ask any kindergartener or first grader if they are excited for school and they will almost always say yes with genuine enthusiasm. Ask the same question of a junior high or high school student and they will moan at the thought of going back to school for another year. 

Why the huge difference between the two? School is too disciplined and children are forced to spend hours each day learning and memorizing things that don’t interest them. Any subject that is uninteresting causes more concentration and the eyes to strain through. Not every person enjoys the same subjects, yet all children are forced to memorize and learn things in an uninteresting way.

The eyes strain when forced to concentrate on images that don’t interest us. Like numbers on an analytical report for work isn’t going to interest all the employees, mathematics, science, and English won’t interest every student. This doesn’t mean that have a well-rounded education should be thrown out the window. It simply means there needs to be a change in how children are educated.

The Bates Method was discovered by Dr. William Bates, a famous eye doctor. In his method, Dr. Bates put together a large, poster-sized card covered in common shapes and letters familiar to most school age children. The card was hung at the front on the classroom and offered the students something to look at when they were feeling tired or overwhelmed. The purpose of the card was to give the children a chance to relax their eyes. Looking at new material puts strain on the eyes, but familiar objects allow the eyes to relax.

Teaching children not to strain their eyes from a young age will help keep their vision sharp for years to follow.