As an avid skier and tennis player, I knew that my skill set in these sports would only develop if I practiced the basic foundational skills and properly learned the fundamentals from the start. I reasoned that if I could develop fitness for my heart in the form of aerobic type exercise, then why couldn’t my eyes benefit from specific eye exercises. Visual improvement exercises in the form of vision therapy is not new, but it is not mainstream either in our Western culture.

Everything in the West seems to hinge on symptoms and then treat the symptoms with drugs or in the case of the eyes, corrective lenses. In the East, there is much more emphasis on prevention and treating the whole person. Mind, body, and spirit are focused on with such activities as martial arts, tai chi, qi gong, yoga, meditation, etc.

I did some research and decided to give it a try and see if I could naturally improve my vision through my own efforts. Here are some things I started to do immediately.

1. Exercise – I did this frequently anyway, but I know if more oxygen gets to the heart and brain during exercise, it also goes to the eyes.

2. Diet – I decided to give up caffeine and eat more fruits and vegetables. I tried, not always successfully, to cut back on processed foods, fast foods, and sugery foods from my diet. Carrots, spinach, and broccoli really are good for your eyes.

3. Breathe, breathe, breathe – Several times a day, I would take several deep breaths, hold, and then slowly exhale. The goal was increased oxygen, but also relaxation. Most of us breath very shallow and need to be aware to breathe deeply.

4. Blink, blink, blink – Next time you are at a stop light at 6 PM at a busy intersection, look at the drivers next to you or in your rear view mirror. They are mostly staring vacantly straight ahead with their eyes wide open. Blinking keeps the eyes naturally lubricated and helps them from becoming fatigued. Most of us do not blink enough.

5. Light Therapy – Natural sunlight is wonderful for the eyes. The sun is a source of Vitamin D and it is good to get at least 1 hour if possible without wearing sunglasses and let the light in. Reclining, like sunbathing, with eyes closed toward the sun, even for a small amount of time is refreshing for the eyes.

6. Glasses, what glasses? – I started to not wear my contacts or glasses whenever I could without compromising safety of course. In my apartment, I would try to improve eyesight naturally by functioning without the crutches. It was not easy at first and it did take time. Little by little, I started to see small improvements in clarity.

I knew I was on to something and needed to know more. With more research, I discovered some simple techniques and exercises that facilitated better eyesight without glasses.

When I was 8 years old, my parents took me to the optometrist and he determined my eyes were weak and needed correction. To improve eyesight naturally was not an option in those days. What the optometrist did is the conventional thinking even today.

The visual crutch, in the form of eyeglasses, was established and one year later I was back again, not seeing clearly. A stronger pair of lenses was just what I needed and off I went for another year. A year later, you guessed it, blurry vision and bad eyesight resulted in another set of yet stronger lenses. See the pattern.

My natural vision deteriorated as my dependence on glasses grew. This is such a common pattern that is repeated with so many of our children. Bad eyesight and vision problems do not just happen.

Most of us are born with excellent vision, but the demands of a modern society tend to make our eyes weak and lazy. Heredity can play a part as well for declining vision. The hidden secret they don’t want you to know is that vision improvement can be achieved through natural vision improvement.

Reading books, watching television, working on computers, reading comics, phone texting, all can contribute to bad eyesight. You see, compared to years ago, our society has become a close up society. No longer are we mainly doing activities that use our distant vision most of the time. We now use our eyes at close range and this contributes to strain and tension in the eyes.

I accepted my fate with glasses till I started getting involved with sports. Skiing and playing tennis were particularly cumbersome with wearing glasses. Even when I started wearing contacts, this was a vast improvement, but then you have the problems of getting something in your eye, comfort level, your eyes drying up, and the care involved.

I considered LASIK surgery because it could improve my vision quickly. I knew there was some risk involved, but I was prepared to take that risk, at least I was until a good friend of mine had it done. His night vision was ruined as he would see star burst patterns around lights at night. He also now had astigmatism where before the surgery, he had none. His corrected vision now was not crisp and clear like it was prior to the surgery. It scared me enough to stay away.

I started looking for alternatives to surgery. In the next post, I will show you how I decided to improve eyesight naturally without undergoing surgery and gradually shed all corrective lenses and got back to my natural state of vision.