Quite often we take things for granted. One of them – a need to wear glasses or lenses. Once we become short-sighted, we are accept it as inevitable and unchangeable. Mostly because experts in the field – opticians tell this way. However, how come all other body parts can be trained and change the shape? Perhaps if we exercise eyes the same way we train body in the gym, we can change the vision.

Once upon a time, my eyes became sore and soon enough I had to uncomfortably move from the farthest seat in the class to the closest. As many of us, initially we pretend our eyes are fine and reasons to move closer to the whiteboard are unrelated to sight. At some point, however, we go to the eyes doctor and receive a diagnosis – short sight. I though all is lost, but is it really lost?

When I was 14 years old, my eyes were perfect – I could see better than requirement, even proud to see two lines below the level one. My family or relatives had no glasses, except some had age related reading glasses. So to be a black duck was not very comfortable. It was embarrassed to wear glasses in the school and especially in the street.

I do remember clearly the place and the time eyes became sore, but did not make any conclusion back then, thought it will pass. I was 16 years old at university attending Saturday off curriculum computer lessons at Young Computerist School. I was so excited to use the computer (we did not have at home back then), that I spent 12 hours non-stop doing tasks on the old-fashioned, bended and with low-frequency refreshing rate computer screen. No rest or break. Don’t care about the monitor, full focus to use time at maximum! What a natural consequence to get glasses afterwards!

As time passed, it was more and more comfortable to wear the glasses, up to a point that I can not imagine myself without them. Also, I believe I created a certain image to my friend, since I never wear lenses (eyes are too sore and red, do not accept). Of course i dreamed that at some point, maybe older, my eyes will get better. As one friend (also short-sighted) hypothesised for fun, perhaps it is possible with the age to get back the vision, since long-sight will compensate short-sight.

The perspective have changed after reading a book The Experience of a Fool Who Had An Epiphany About How To Get Rid of His Glasses. It ignited a thought of possibility to change the sight. I was still very sceptical at a time (it is difficult to change such a fundamental belief, when opticians never mention possibility, plus the author’s style of talking about the eyes is very rough – all glass wearers are fools!) and had no time or conditions to practice the methods, so it got forgotten.

However, my mother once brought back the topic saying her colleague got rid of the glasses doing some exercises. I still haven’t seen that colleague, and still can not verify whether it is true, but started to think about the sight again more intensively. Even though it is not possible to revert to the normal eyes sight, it is still worth to exercise the eyes. It is like going to the gym to build muscles to become stronger and more fit, why should it not be the same with the eyes? Like running in the morning keeps your stamina better and in time your body changes physically, why should it not be the same with the eyes? An eye is also a muscle and perhaps needs training or maintenance as much as other body parts.

This time i decided to implement the same exercises in my daily routine that mother’s colleague did. Exercises last only about 4 minutes and it is advised to do 2-3 times per day. Since i am already doing 10 min morning meditation, where i have to focus on physical sensations to be more present, this could be a good extra activity, almost like another meditation, since i would have to focus again on the physical sensation – vision. I decided also to do in the end of the day, to have two times. Three times would be too difficult, since focus in the middle of the day is on many other things.

exercise eyes - Credit: developingmoneyideas.com
exercise eyes – Credit: developingmoneyideas.com

The eye exercise includes these steps:

  • Rub the palms to get the warm.
  • Place palms on the eyes to warm eyes
  • Blink several times to get fresh sights
  • Take a look not moving head 3 times upwards, as much as you can and 3 times downwards
  • Blink again. Take a look to the left and then go to the right side, this is one cycle, do three cycles.
  • Blink again. Take a look to the upper right corner, then move the vision of eyes to the lower left corner. Come back to the initial position. This is one cycle. Do three cycles. Then start from the left upper corner and move vision to the bottom right corner and come back. Again do three cycles
  • Blink again. Move the vision clockwise in a small circle three times. Move the vision counterclockwise in a small circle again three times. Do the same thing in a large circle. Let your vision reach the furthest circle you can.
  • Blink again. Move the vision clockwise in a small square three times. Move the vision counterclockwise in a small square again three times. Do the same thing in a large square. Let your vision reach the furthest corners you can.
  • Blink again. Start from the left side and look up and down, slowly coming to the middle. As you go to the middle, increase the length of the up/down movement. After crossing middle, slowly decrease the length of the up/down movement, till you reach he farthest right. Return. This is one cycle and you need three of them.

Please let me know if you started this practice and what are the results? I have been doing this only for 2 weeks.