INTRODUCTION
I’m Sorrisi, and I write this blog (click Vision Diary) about improving my eyesight naturally. I update this page and the other static pages listed as I learn more. This page summarizes the purpose/scope of this blog. The ‘Better Eyesight‘ pages outlines how I learned the method. ‘My Daily Routine‘ shows how I incorporate vision improvement practices into my daily life. The ‘Timeline‘ page is a condensed, constantly updated look at the improvement to my visual accuity. The Snellen Chart is a useful tool for eyesight improvement, and the ‘Snellen Chart’ page explains how to use one. Suggestions/questions are always welcome. My screen name is Sorrisi on this blog, I post as SorrisiBlue on the iblindness.org forum. This blog is a diary of my experiences with eyesight improvement; it is not advice nor a substitute for a professional or medical opinion. Contact me by commenting on any blog post or page.
IMPROVEMENT
So far, I have improved my vision from about 5/200 (November 2007) to 20/50 (present). What does that mean? Basically, a person with 5/200 eyesight sees from 5 feet what a person with normal vision can see from 200 feet. A person with 20/50 eyesight sees from 20 feet (4 times further away) what someone with normal eyesight can see from 50 feet. This is already 8 times better eyesight! My improvement to 20/50 is my permanent progress so far. I often have temporarily improved vision as good as 20/30 for 3 to 30 minutes and fully expect that to be next level of permanent improvement after more practice. The vision fluctuates a lot, ask anyone with normal sight if their eyesight changes throughout the day or when they are under stress. People improving their eyesight naturally will often have incredible temporary improvements to their vision, these improvements become permanent over time with practice.
Continue to the Better Eyesight page to learn more about how to practice or read on about my experience in more detail:
For me, this improvement is life changing, my dependence on glasses is minimizing every day. When I started this journey with a prescription of -8.00 glasses in each eye, I wouldn’t have even gotten out of bed without my glasses. Very slowly, I have been able to improve my eyesight without glasses. My optometrist confirmed after 1 year that my eyes had improved. I have also gradually reduced my glasses prescription that I use when I need them for presentations or work. The strongest prescription I wear now is -5, although I frequently don’t need any glasses.
I started by doing simple things like walking around my room without glasses. After much improvement to my sight I can now even ride a bike without glasses!! My night vision has improved so much that I am safer riding my bike in the dark without glasses than with glasses (the lights reflect on the glasses, and the rain often magnifies this problem). Here, I’m sharing my experience to spread awareness and give a non-biased account of what vision improvement is like. The world should know that these methods exist and children should be saved the trouble of wearing glasses!
You will notice from the time length of my blog that this is a long term commitment. I have been improving my eyesight for more than two years now. My vision diary logs the steps that I’m taking to improve my vision naturally. What have I learned so far? The healthy vision habits taught by this method have already allowed me to notice much more detail in the world around me. I see more patterns and notice more color. My perspective is completely changed! Also, I have discovered that many optometrists prescribe glasses which correct the vision to better than 20/20! I discovered that glasses for myopes are meant for viewing the distance 20 feet (6 m) away and farther, yet we end up using them when we are looking at objects up close. This means the eyes are strained when using these glasses for near work and this strain can start the spiral to very poor vision from a young age. Genes don’t cause progressive myopia, STRAIN causes progressive myopia.
Most methods for natural vision improvement are based on the research of Dr. W. H. Bates at the turn of the 20th century. More researchers have been kindly noted by Otis in a comment to this page. There are many books and commercial products based on Dr. Bates’s ideas, so to keep this website unbiased and free from perceived advertising, I won’t write exactly what books I’m using except to say that I am reading his original books and magazines. I did buy these but I have now found most of them and other literature for free at the Imagination Blindness website and the Central Fixation website (links to right). I have done a lot of reading online about the Bates method, attended a group Bates method class, and wear a reduced prescription lense for working. Learning the method in person from someone who has used it to improve their own sight is the most valuable thing you can use your money on.
While I am following the Bates method, I believe, just as he says, that relaxation (and healing) of the eye can only happen with relaxation of the body. Therefore, I am also introducing other healthy habits into my lifestyle besides the healthy vision habits that he taught. I practice yoga and autogenic training (relaxation exercize, link to right). I’ve started eating loads more vegetables and fruits. I also tried some Alexander technique lessons to give myself an awareness of how to improve my posture during daily activities. I do many Bates methods during the day, they are usually explained in my posts.
My focus at the present time is reading and rereading Bates’s original writings and maintaining a daily yoga practice. I try to breathe deeply and blink often.
Finally, how did I know that improving my eyesight was POSSIBLE? First of all, because I experienced it changing right away! At the beginning, I browsed through the non-commercial links to the right and found many personal stories of success that motivated me (including a case study, link to the right). I tried the methods and experienced improved vision for myself. Later I found scientific articles that contradict the “modern” theories that state that this improvement is impossible. I have also seen research that discussees people with multiple personality disorders who have different visual accuity depending on their personality. There are many other examples ranging from spontaneous cures for no apparent reason to cures through hypnosis. For me, all of the above is enough evidence to say that changing my eyesight is at least possible. I only need patience and some time to learn to listen to my body. Having the patience to improve any aspect of health naturally is very difficult in today’s culture, I hope this blog provides help and inspiration for others taking this path.
Continue to the Better Eyesight page to learn more.
Seeing Beauty 
Dear Friend,
Subject: “Other” researchers and medical
people
It is true that Dr. Bates objected to the
“standard” method of the minus lens — and
thought that there HAD to be a better
way.
But to say that he was the ONLY one — is a
stretch.
The others were Dr. C. Prentice, Dr. Jacob
Raphaelson — to name a few.
There advocacy was ALSO to avoid the minus — and
clear your Snellen to keep your distant
vision clear for life.
Prevention is indeed difficult — and I would hope
by recognizing these methods — we all
could succeed.
Best,
Otis
Dear Otis,
Thank you for pointing out other researchers and medical professionals who have pursued natural vision improvement. It is surprisingly difficult to find information on this subject that is not extremely commercialized!
Cheers!
Thank you for placing a link to cleareyesight.info on your website.
I viewed it today and really enjoyed your writing and easy description of Bates method.
The Alexander method has worked for me.
I had neck and back injuries in the past and the Alexander movements, postures correct my muscle tension, balance, movement, espicially in my neck.
When my neck is relaxed and moves easy my vision stays 20/20 clearer.
I am placing a link to your site on cleareyesight.info so readers can learn more about natural methods.
Sorry i did not notice your site before.
I found it through your link on iblindness forum.
Hi Clark,
Thank you for sharing such great information on the cleareyesight.info pages! I found that site at the beginning of my journey and was very thankful for the concise and clear review of Bates’s techniques! I was happy to see you posting on the iblindness forum recently. Also, thank you for sharing your experience with the Alexander Technique here. I only took 2 lessons, so I guess you could say I didn’t give a completely fair trial. However, I learned a lot, and I still try to use what I learned to help with my neck and shoulder tension, as I did learn where my posture is not correct.
Thanks for linking to my blog!
Cheers!
Sorrisi
Hi sorrisi, I read your comment on the central-fixation guestbook about how parents should give nearsighted children plus lenses for close work and minus for distance. However, why bother with any lenses. Bates concluded through clinical observations that a simple way to correct vision problems (especially people that newly need glasses) is to read the snellen chart every day from the distance at which it can be read comfortably. Dr. Bates said that it does no good to replace one strain for another, which using lenses would do. Bates also suggested this EASY method for prevention of defective vision, which he has seen work.
Hi Andrew,
Excellent point. I wrote that on the forum at the very begining of my eyesight improvement journey and completely agree with you, why bother with lenses at all? Now that I’m almost completely cured I’m thinking of the next step – prevention for the next generation of children. The biggest problem is that most classrooms don’t have a Snellen chart for a child to look at; no one uses the methods of prevention that are tried and tested because they aren’t well known. I have some plans for some work to publicize the Bates method and preventative methods. I also would like to successfully make glasses come with a clear warning as to it’s affect on the eye. Would you be interested in lobbying for this, or for helping with publicity work?
One note, if a parent is going to buy glasses for their kid anyway, ie, a parent that doesn’t bother to learn the Bates method, gives up and gets the child glasses, I would still say it’s better that they know to teach their child not to wear the minus lens for anything closer than 20 feet.
Hi Sorrisi!
Just wanted to say “I can’t believe it’s almost been a year” since you started blogging. It’s been an inspiration to me (and many others I believe) to keep up with you over this year and I know it has helped me keep up with my practice. You’re doing so well and I’m so proud of you. I’m so excited and can’t wait to see how things are after year 2… how exciting and unbelievable it is that we can be doing this after 20 years of wearing glasses.
Love you,
Your sister
Hi!
I just read some of your blog and found it very interesting!
I am currently doing some research on Natural Vision Improvement for my studies and was wondering if you could give me a bit more information about the “scientific articles that contradict the “modern” theories that state that this improvement is impossible.” and the “research that discussees people with multiple personality disorders who have different visual accuity depending on their personality.” I would really like to look at these references!
I wish you the best of luck on your journey!
Hi Laura, what kind of research are you conducting into NVI? It would be so simple to do a scientific test with some volunteers on the Bates method.
Below are links to the majority of articles I’ve read on the subject. There are many others out there, you just have to dig for them in journals, books, theses, etc.
Research that discussees people with multiple personality disorders who have different visual accuity depending on their personality:
Birnbaum, Martin, O.D. and Kelly Thomann, O.D. “Visual function in multiple personality disorder.” Journal of the American Optometric Association. 67(6): 327-34. June 1996.
The following PhD thesis is very interesting, I read a summary of it written by A.F. McKinley (a physics professor at the University of San Diego) posted by Otis on the iblindness forum. There is also a longer synopsis of it floating around but I don’t remember where I saw it. 14 of 33 people attained normal vision during the study:
McClay, William H. “Systematic Relaxation: A Treatment for Visual Problems.” Ph.D. dissertation. United States International University, San Diego: 1978.
This article is just one of many that talks about accommodation (focussing) in a lenseless eye, something that modern theory says is impossible:
Davis, Edward A., A.M., M.D. “Accommodation in the lensless eye – to what is it due?” Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital Reports. 2: 41-56. Jan 1895.
The reason it is an important fact that this is possible is because eyesight improvement relies on one of two things happening: either the shape of the eye changing, or the ability to use the lens for accommodation to change. It is still unknown how the eye accommodates, despite what your optometrist might tell you. Look into current opthalmology journals and you will see there are still articles on the subbect, and still very much at a theory (as opposed to factual) level. The lens has been shown to be a factor in accommodation, but not the only factor, which means accommodation is more complicated than modern theory openly admits. There are many articles and PhD theses that go into highlighting scientific evidence that eyesight improvement is possible:
The most comprehensive list of information is here: http://www.iblindness.org/evidence/ and http://www.iblindness.org/articles/
The most comprehensive source of free articles that Dr. Bates himself wrote to professional journals is here: http://www.central-fixation.com/bates-medical-articles/
If you search through Otis Brown’s posts on iblindness.org you are likely to turn up even more, and if you hunt around most NVI teachers’s pages there are still more.
Although science shows that NVI is possible, what science doesn’t like about NVI, is that it is unpredictable, ie, the time it takes and the amount of improvement achieved will depend on too many factors. This means you can’t give a list of exercizes to someone and have them come back 3 months later with better vision. In order to do a study of improving eyesight for people who wear glasses, an experienced teacher is needed to teach each student individually according to their needs (see any article by Dr. Bates and the dissertation by McClay cited above).
Eyesight improvement is the magic of the method that attracts all of the attention, but I think his work on prevention was even more important. Dr. Bates (in his articles cited above) demonstrated that his method works for school children who have never worn glasses in a much more simple way than for adults improving their eyesight after wearing glasses. It is so simple, in fact, that most school teachers and education boards would refuse to use it because they would never believe it would work.
cheers,
Sorrisi
Hi Sorrisi,
I have developed myopia on right eye more severe than left eye a little bit,
I would like to ask if I just continue practice Bates method on both eyes “together”, is it possible to improve eyesight in the same way on both eyes?
(For example, lt. from 20/200 to 20/50 & rt. from 10/200 to 20/100)
Thanks!!
Alex
Hi Alex, it is possible to improve the eyesight of both eyes by using them together. Look through each eye separately now and then though just to make sure each eye (especially your right eye) is participating. Meir Schneider recommends stimulating the periphery of the weaker eye to keep it switched on by waving a colored peice of paper or your hand to the side of your face while you are looking at something interesting.
keep me posted how it goes!
sorrisi
Do you mean that my right eye is weaker than the left?
If I use the eyepatch to cover my left eye, would it help, or do you have any methods recommend? Because I’m afraid that my left eye will get better while the right will get worse.
looking for your suggestion 🙂
Alex
Hi Alex,
It is perhaps not totally correct to discuss an eye which is ‘weaker’ or ‘stronger’. Your eyes have a different accuity, so normally the one that sees worse is called the ‘weaker’ eye, although it doesn’t meant that the muscles are weaker.
I would not recommend wearing an eye patch all the time over the left eye. Just occasionally during practice. You will need to practice with both the right eye and the left eye of course. Practice with the right eye a bit longer. Just try 5 minutes of shifting practice with the left eye covered and see what happens. You will immediately find out if one eye continues to get better and one eye gets worse, so there is nothing to worry about. Try something, see if it works, and if it does, keep doing it. Eyesight improvement is that simple.
Do you have a teacher or are you learning from Dr. Bates’s book? I recommend the magazine articles he wrote, especially the first article of each magazine (they are very short articles which give instructions for what to practice). Here is a page I wrote about some helpful resources: https://sorrisi.wordpress.com/better-eyesight/
you won’t if it works know until you try! Decide what to do and then practice for a few weeks. I have never heard of anyone whose eyes have gotten worse from practicing the Bates method. Pay attention to what works for you, never do something you aren’t comfortable with. If you can do that there is nothing to be afraid of and many possible benefits.
Best wishes,
sorrisi
Hi sorrisi
I found that if I practice swinging by the following :
long swing for about 10 mins then following by the shorter swing (just moving the head from the right side of the snellen chart to the left, alternately, and feel that the card is moving in the opposite way. I practice it at 5 feet away) for about 10 mins. I felt that when I palm, I didn’t feel anything better( I’m not sure what to do or think while palming and is it necessary to eliminate all the light.) So I just do the swinging in the day.
I would like to know that : Does the imagination and memory help you improving your vision, if it does how you do it? because I found it did’t help me anymore or I did it wrong I don’t know 🙂
PS: Today I went for a check of my eyesight, the result is that my eyesight get worse on the right eye from -4.25 to -4.50, I don’t know why!? But on the left eye at first got better from -3.75 to -3.50, but today it’s back to -3.75. (The first eyesight check is on about 21 March.)
So I don’t know what happen with me, Please suggest what can I do next…Thank you!
Alex
Hi Alex,
It looks like your eye checks were just one month apart? My optometrist told me that a change within 0.25 is not significant. It may be that this variation is just a natural fluctuation in your eyesight, or that you were stressed while reading. Most optometrists recommend seeing them every year or every two years. That is also sufficient time to see some progress with the Bates method. After only a month or so, it is unlikely that you will find eyesight improvement as measured by the optometrist.
I have found it most useful to read from the Snellen chart daily. If you practice from the chart every day, you will notice that on some days your vision is better, and on some days it is worse. This is totally natural and is likely why your prescription changed slightly as well.
Can you do reading and closer work without glasses or with weaker glasses? Most optometrists will give a weaker prescription for near work. Many people find that wearing full prescription glasses make their eyes worse and hinder their vision improvement. It is up to you to decide what to do regarding wearing or not wearing glasses. I have found for me, that my vision improves most when I don’t wear glasses. If I do wear glasses, I wear a reduced prescription and that helps me to see what I need to without making my sight (without glasses) worse.
Palming sometimes doesn’t help in the beginning, perhaps give it a break for a while. It isn’t necessary to think of anything. Palming is a practice of simply not doing anything.
The imagination and memory do help me. I have found the most important thing is to remember and imagine things that are EASY for me, and also things that are associated with positive emotions. In other words, if you have to try really hard to remember or imagine something, it will not help.
Keep doing whatever has helped you so far, and be consistent about it!
Best wishes, Sorrisi
Hi Alex,
The following ebook is free and is very in tune with the method as Dr. Bates taught it. Perhaps try reading this (and doing the activities as you learn them): http://natural2020vision.wordpress.com/
Sorrisi,
A while back–after your sister stopped updating her blog–I remember someone left you a comment asking about her progress. Specifically, I remember the person getting hung up on the concept of refractive error and vision with versus without glasses.
Another thing that comes up from time to time, especially on forums, is people asking about laser vision correction.
These two remembrances conjured up a recent happening that I’d like to tell here to remind your readers about the limits of laser vision correction, as tempting as it may at times seem since people are human and often want quick results.
I remember in Tom Quackenbush’s book, reading that many people who have myopia compensated by LASIK or other vision procedures, end up either trading their distance glasses for reading glasses at an earlier age than normal, or even trading their nearsightedness for farsightedness sometime after presbyopia hits them.
Before I continue, I want to define for your readers what presbyopia is, and what farsightedness is, because many people get them mixed up. Presbyopia is when the eye’s ability to change focus (acommodate) for various distances becomes lowered, usually after middle age. Most people who are affected simply need plus glasses for reading. Distance vision is not affected.
Farsightedness is the opposite of nearsightedness. The eye focuses light in back of the retina, forming blur. All light is focused in back of the retina, no matter what distance it is from (unless the eye acommodates to compensate). A farsighted person has blur at distance and at near, but more blur at near than distance–exactly the inverse of myopia.
Back to vision correction surgery…
I saw a relative the other day who had had corneal refractive surgery probably 20 years ago for nearsightedness. He’s mid 40s now. The surgery was non-laser; it was before LASIK existed. I was surprised when he walked in the other day, because he was wearing glasses! But immediately I remembered that it’s common for vision to continue to change afterward. Some people slip back into nearsightedness of a diopter or two; others have a worsening of astigmatism. The surgeries of course don’t make the nearsightedness vanish; they just compensate for it by reshaping the cornea. Often people ask what happens if someone’s nearsightedness decreases after the surgery, in the same way it would with the Bates Method or other therapy. Since the person is already at 20/20 after teh surgery, would they develop farsightedness if the nearsightedness decreased? Yes! In fact, that’s exactly what have happened to this relative of mine. He was now wearing glasses of roughly +1D for distance. Actually, he was wearing progressives for both near and distance, but the distance part was around +1D, and the reading part around +2D. He said they told him when he had the procedure that he would definitely need reading glasses after age 45. But now he also needed glasses for distance, too…plus glasses at that! Talk about trading one type of glasses for another. He only had approx 20 years without glasses.
Hi,
I’ve been doing research on how to improve my eyes naturally and run across your blog. Thank you for all the helpful info and links. It encourages me to start my own blog to keep track of my progress.
Hi, I visited your new blog and it looks like you are off to an amazing start! Keep up the writing – it has improved my clarity of thought regarding all things vision, and has helped me in countless other ways. Plus it establishes my commitment to the method, which is important mentally. I hope that you will discover these benefits as well!
best, sorrisi
Hi Sorrisi,
Thanks for your informative and inspiring blog, and congratulations on all your progress to date!
My own wonderful natural vision improvement journey began a couple of months ago. I might need to start my own blog…
By the way, your timeline link (see your first paragraph above) is broken. If it’s easy to fix, I’d definitely like to see it!
Thanks and best wishes,
Mitch
Hi Mitch, I’m making some major structural changes to my blog that I have yet to announce, so some things are getting rearranged and re-written. I will re-activate the old version of the timeline for you!
And more importantly, yes, start your own blog! I whole-heartedly encourage it and would enjoy reading it. You will gain immense support and the process of thinking through your experiences, writing about them, and re-reading them will benefit you greatly. Put it in your calendar and start easy – once per month say, and then decide from there what kind of posting frequency will work with your life. Many people give up after a short time because they set unrealistic expectations for how often to post. Do what you have time for and you will benefit.
best wishes,
Sorrisi
Thanks Sorrisi! I can see the timeline now. Very helpful.
By the way, I’ve decided to move forward with a blog. I’ll let you know when it’s online.
Oh, and congratulations on your upcoming website changes. Looking forward to seeing them.
Best wishes,
Mitch
Hi Sorrisi,
I’m a german man of 26 years and I’d like to get in contact with you regarding the topic of improving eyesight naturally. I think we could share tipps, experiences, routines etc. I’d be very very glad, if you could contact me via e-mail for further contact 🙂 Please contact me soon, so I can write back and we can get in contact. Feel free to use a fake-account, if you like. I’m 100% real and no freak 😉
All the best for you and your eyesight especially 🙂
s.b.
hi, please write to me at the email address I posted on the contact me page and I will get back to you!
Sorrisi
Hi, Sorrisi
nice blog & i really like your blog name.
i started in the last 2 weeks exercises & tips i learned from books & webs here & there. my L eye has improved a little (by Snellan). not so much in the R eye but they both fluctuates daily.
your experience is encouraging. i’d be happy just to bring it below -1.0D (sph) with no presbyopia.
(but how can you “palm” for hours /day without getting bored)
thanks. stay healthy
Hi Pam
thanks for the feedback! There are many different ways to palm, and some people get benefit from 5 minutes whereas someone else might need an hour. Experiment a bit – listen to music, think about people you love, meditate, pray, remember some of your favorite memories or the most interesting thing you saw today – remember the textures, shades of color, contrast. Dr. Bates’s book is also full of more conventional things that sound boring but are actually kind of fun to experiment with memory and imagination – like imagining a very small black point, or that the room is black, or a black train riding on a figure 8 track. You can do deep breathing exercizes, a body scan… I could go on and on. You’re really only limited by your creativity.
all my best,
Sorrisi
hi, Sorrisi,
i should also add that my eyes had (gasp!) Lasik.
the surgery was by a skillful surgeon.
now knowing what i know now, i regreted having it done. well, it was considered a success & no major complication & side effects.
but after 10 years my eyes are gone downhill again (L : -1.75D + astigmatism). my R eye has hyperopia. because reading glass makes my R eye see very clearly both DISTANCE & near.
+ both eyes also have presbyopia.
since this time i refuse to wear glasses, i start researching about vision. at first i was quite discouraged by some Bates (purists) practitioners who consider that eyes will never be wholesome ever again after surgery.
then i read Meir Schneider’s book & saw some of his youtube clip. amazing story. i like what he said about “haling” — “working with what you have” so my “altered” lens can’t be as bad as his (90% scars).
so far both eyes seem to improve a little (by Snellan) also my eyes don’t get as tired by the end of the day (i work w/ computer but i do short & frequency palming now)
i am also reading some other books. i like “Take Off your Glass & See” a very “Zen” like approach.
see beauty & stay healthy,
Hi, Sorisi,
i had my eyes checked;
my R eye improved 0.5 diopter. now it’s -1.0 but my L eye has become far sighted (+1.0) this is a little strange. both have mild astigmatism.
night vision also seems improved — nights are brighter now.
i have not even practice that much! i do it here & there when there is time & when my eyes are not too tired.
Meir Schneider came in town for a talk. he said his method would also work for eyes that have had lasik. he is a great guy with a lot’s of energy & passion. an inspiration.
regards,
To start with, thank you all for sharing this and for starting this post, me and my uncle commenced with the similar meitizang just about five a long time back, he experienced lapband i selected non surgical procedure…it is actually discouraging to check out him drop so much and that i am back the place i started out, but after ready these posts i know i produced the correct final decision for me, and it provides me hope and strength to continue looking at some of the achievement i see on MFP. i have witnessed what he has undergone along with the discomfort and medical challenges, and need to avoid that route. again, thanks for sharing!
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Ty sir ..ur mail is inspiring…m a mother of a 7year old child who has been on this path for past 2 1/2 years now…its been a very difficult journey as I have always had this question at the back of my mind if I was DNg the right thing by trying natural techniques to improve my son’s eyesight rather than opting for specks. M still in two minds…with increasing exposure to devices its extremely difficult to make children realize importance of eye health…hoping to continue my journey after reading inspiring blogs like urs…ty