Improve Your Vision Naturally with Eye Exercises

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Try it . . . and see!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Books on this subject include Visionetics by Lisette Scholl (available for $5.95 with shipping and handling billed later, from Doubleday & Company, Inc., Dept. TMEN, 501 Franklin Avenue, Garden City, New York 11530) . . . Total Vision by Richard S. Kavner, O.D. and Lorraine Dusky (available for $5.95 plus $1.25 for shipping and handling from MOTHER'S BOOKSHELF , 105 Stoney Mountain Road, Hendersonville, North Carolina 28791) . . . and Dr. Bates's own book, The Bates Method for Better Eyesight Without Glasses (available for $3.95 plus $1.00 shipping and handling from Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Dept. TMEN, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017).

THANK YOU, DR. BATES!

Jeanne Malmgren

The year 1980 showed every indication that it was going to be a good one far me. A brand-new decade had begun. 1 had high hopes and positive plans for my life, and was looking happily ahead, when-seemingly for no reason at all-I developed a problem with my eyesight that I could neither explain nor deal with. Over a period of several months, my eyes rapidly became more and more sensitive to light, until it reached the point that I couldn't venture outside without sunglasses . . . even on a dark, cloudy day! Actually, harsh indoor lighting bothered me just as much, and-as my inflamed eyes continued to become more photophobic-it pained me to even look upward.

Not only was my condition uncomfortable and inconvenient, it soon became downright embarrassing! My eyes were constantly itching and watering, making it difficult to sustain: any direct eye contact with my friends or co-workers. The only relief was to stay in semi-darkness and keep my eyes lowered to the floor.

Worse still, daylight driving-because of my constant blinking and straining to see in the blinding light-was an experience of intermittent anger at my growing helplessness and sheer terror. After more "close calls" than I care to remember, one sunny day 1 drove my car straight into a row of wooden construction barricades placed across the roadway . . . and realized that no longer could 1 let this strange malady disturb (or endanger!) my life.

During the next year, 1 visited ophthalmologists all over my part of the country. Although each one thoroughly tested my eyes with every single piece of equipment available (as well as prescribing countless eyedrops and salves), no one ever found any organic dysfunction. Discouraged, weary, and frightened by the power this condition had gained over me, 1 finally visited the eye clinic at Emory University's renowned medical school in Atlanta, Georgia. There, Dr. George Ware, the chairman of the Ophthalmology Department, gave me the first hint of what might be wrong with me. Upon finishing the inconclusive examination, Dr. Ware led me into an adjoining private office and questioned me closely about the events in my life during the previous year. Together, we discovered that I had weathered a great many of the "major fife changes" recognized as causing high levels of stress. He suggested that this mental and emotional tension might have manifested itself in my body . . . and that perhaps I could ease my physical discomfort by learning to relax.

It was up to me, however, to learn how to accomplish that, so I immediately began to research the field of visual health care. Before long, I stumbled onto a few books based on the workof Dr. Bates. I knew right away that his program was exactly what I needed.

After all, 1 figured, the exercises recommended in those books were simple enough, could be performed anywhere and at any time, and-even if they proved not to be helpful-certainly couldn't harm me. So, following Dr. Bates's suggestions, I began to wear my glasses only when absolutely necessary . . . and started daily meditation and relaxation sessions to calm the anxiety within me.

I also took up the Bates exercises ofpalming, sunning, and swinging . . . and found that sunning (ironically enough) was the most enjoyable. Two or three times a day 1 d spend anywhere from five to ten minutes with my face raised to the sun, breathing deeply and moving my head slowly in a continuous arc from side to side and up and down. As 1 stretched my neck in all directions (a nice fringe benefit!), my closed eyes were bathed in a flood of warmth, and-over the course of a few weeks-1 felt them begin to relax in the fight. In addition to this exercise, I spent at least 30 minutes each day just walking in the sunshine . . .'gently reaccustoming my eyes to natural illumination.

My wholistic cure took only a few months to achieve, and now-a year and a half after I began it-1 am still symptom free. I don't practice all the techniques as faithfully as 1 used to, but they are, nevertheless, an integral part of my personal health care regime.

And at least once every day, I raise my face to the sun and appreciate its friendly warmth. Since 1 learned-through my research on visual training that dark glasses only weaken our eyes' natural ability to adjust to full sunlight, I threw away my "shades" long ago . . . and today I walk, play, drive, and live in the sunlight with relaxed, open eyes. (In fact, 1 even moved to Florida, widely known as the `Sunshine State"!)

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