Wake Up Your Natural Vision With A Morning Vision-Wake-Up Practice
One of the first things I like to share with my vision coaching clients is my morning vision wake-up practice. My eyes really appreciate it, and it sets a relaxed and comfortable tone for the rest of my day.
What are the benefits of a morning vision wake-up practice?:
Relaxes the muscle around the eyes, in the neck, shoulders and the rest of the body
Increases lymph and blood flow, improving circulation and oxygenation to your eyes and the rest of your body
Improves how you physically, mentally and emotionally feel
Provides a foundation for building good vision habits
Gets your vision practice started for the day
Sets a naturally relaxed tone for your eyes, body and mind to embrace for the rest of the day
Sleep does not always relax the eyes
Often, when we wake up in the morning, our eyes do not feel relaxed, and our vision is less clear than usual. Dr. Bates found that this is because our eyes haven’t been relaxed while we’ve been sleeping. In his research, he discovered that the muscles around the eyes, the same muscles that can cause our vision problems, can continue to be under a strain, even during sleep; sleep does not necessarily relax them.
But, this strain can be released with a morning vision-wake-up practice. With a morning practice, we can bring back the relaxation that improves our clarity.
“During sleep, the refractive condition of the eye is rarely, if ever, normal. Persons whose refraction is normal when they are awake will produce myopia, hypermetropia and astigmatism when they are asleep, or, if they have errors of refraction when they are awake, they will be increased during sleep.”
– William H. Bates, M.D.
My morning-wake-up-practice
Here’s a summary of my personal morning vision wake-up routine, based on the Bates method, yoga, massage, acupressure, my own experience and self-awareness and the advice of other teachers and experts. I don’t always do it the same way every morning, nor include every technique, nor for the same amount of time, but, I always do it. It has become a habit.
And, it has become fun! It is more like play, not at all like work. And even though there is a structure to it, it tends to be spontaneous, as I listen to my eyes, my body and mind, as I check in with how I’m feeling, which is different every morning.
Since doing this every morning, I find myself spontaneously having better vision habits throughout the day!
What Is My Morning Vision Wake-Up Practice?
- Lying On My Back – Upon waking, with eyes still closed, I lay on your back with no pillow and with a rolled towel under my neck for support and practice the following techniques.
- Yawning - I yawn as much as I want, which stretches my jaw and relaxes my eyes. Sometimes I yawn until my eyes become filled and overflowing with tears. Regarding yawning, it squeezes and pumps the lacrimal glands under the upper eyelids, washing the eyes. Then blinking spreads these cleansing tears over the eyes. I sometimes find my nose running from yawn and having to blow it. This is cleansing as well, as the tears drain into the nose and thins the mucus. I try to yawn often, anytime during these activities and anytime throughout the day. During the day, in a public place where it would be awkward to yawn, I practice Dr. Bates "Rabbit Breath", which I interpret as yawning deeply with my mouth closed. It can be just as effective.
- Breathing - I aim to breathe in a relaxed natural way during these activities and for the rest of the day. Throughout the day, I try to catch myself when I'm reacting to stress, holding my breath, tensing my belly or breathing shallow. I remind myself to relax my belly and allow the diaphragm to move down, naturally and automatically. Throughout the day I work on posture awareness as well. On an inhale, I imagine my head floating up like it’s a helium balloon. On an exhale, I imagine my head continuing to float up, while releasing my shoulders, allowing then to relax down, as if hanging on my spine, the string of the balloon.
- Massaging - I gently massage around my eyes, on and under the eyebrows, the around entire orbit of the eye, the forehead, under the cheek bones. I explore for sore spots and gently massage them. In doing so, these areas becoming less tender as the muscles and tissues relax. I massage anywhere on my face, scalp, neck that feels good with relaxed fingers, thumbs, loose palms or knuckles. I reach my hand across my chest and gently massage the opposite shoulder and other side of my neck. I'm not too concerned about getting specific points, but just do what feels good and relaxing. I listen to my body.
- Tapping - After massaging, I lightly tap on the bones around the eyes (not on the eyes), cheek bones, along the jaw, chin, around the mouth, temples, forehead, scalp, around and back over the ears to the back of the head on the occipital area. I tap on whatever areas feel good for as little or as long as I like, unconcerned about hitting specific points, just exploring and doing what feels good and relaxing.
- Stretching – After massaging and tapping, I stretch out my fingers, hands and arms. Then gently stretch my neck and shoulders. I stretch, easily and gently, whatever areas of my body feels good to stretch, from head to toe.
- Palming – While still laying on your back, I do some palming. Often I loop a yoga strap or belt around your upper arms near your elbows, or use the weight of the blanket support my arms, and keep them from falling outward while I'm palming.
- Swinging - Up until this point, I have been lying on my back with my eyes still closed. Now, sitting up erect on the edge of the bed and keeping my eyes closed, I practice doing some Short Swings - I slowly turn my head, a little to the left, and to the right a few times (as if drawing a horizontal line with my nose), then up and down a few times (as if drawing a vertical line), then if various ways (as if using my nose to draw an infinity sign, a figure eight, circles), whatever movements feel relaxing. I allow my eyes to softly rest comfortably in their eye sockets and just go along with my head.
- Flashing – I use flashing to gradually and gently open your eyes. I allow my eyes to open only briefly, for a split second, then quickly closing them again. I enjoy noticing the after-image that appears, that is remembered in my mind after a flash. I feels very relaxing. Gradually reduce the eyes-closed time, until eventually they are effortlessly and happily blinking.
- Blinking – I allow my eyes to blink effortlessly and gently. I play with slow blinking, fast blinking and continuous blinking.
- Sunning - I either catch the morning sun from our East facing balcony or use a lamp. Any lamp and any wattage will do, but I find a high wattage warm incandescent or halogen most relaxing and similar to the feeling of sunshine. I sit or stand, with my eyes closed and slowly rotate my head left and right (short swings). At the end of each swing, I allow the direction to change smoothly without pause. I often make an infinity sign with my nose to encourage the feeling of continuous movement, so there’s no pause at the far point of each swing. I go slowly and easily, allowing myself enough time to relax into it, for it to become very relaxing and meditative.
- Swinging - I practice doing the Long Swing - I stand with my feet hip-width apart and turned out slightly. I slowly turn my hips, upper body and head 90° to the right, placing my weight on my right foot and letting the left heel come up a few inches to make the motion easier. Then come back to center and do the same to the left, with the turning movement coming entirely from the hips, with torso, head and eyes simply along with the motion, and arms hanging loosely. I keep your ears in line with your shoulders and simply let my eyes flow through the room, or through the view out the window or off the balcony, without making any effort to see anything clearly. things just blur by. The side-to-side turning of my body results in a long 180° swing of all objects around me. The moving encourages me to blink regularly. I practice the long swing alternately with my eyes open and closed. With eyes open, I imagine an oppositional swing, as objects appear to move in the opposite direction that I'm turning. With eyes closed, I remember objects seen and imagine them swinging in the opposite direction of my turning. I also do the long swing while doing closed-eyes sunning, combining two practices in one.
- Palming - I practice palming again, after I've done some sunning. The contrast is very relaxing. I palm either sitting up with my elbows resting on a cushioned surface, like a table or desk, or lying on your back with my arms supported by a belt or yoga strap looped around my upper arms near the elbows. Sometimes I use pillows to support my arms while lying on my back and palming. I find palming great to do after sunning or anytime throughout the day. A bit of palming combined with sunning throughout the day keeps my eyes from feeling tired, tense or sore. While palming, as Dr. Bates suggests, I often remember and imagine something pleasant and relaxing, like being at the beach and watching the waves and people, or petting my cat as she sits on my lap, or walking in the park next door. Throughout the day, even if I can't palm, I often close my eyes momentarily to maintain a more relaxed state. Simply closing my eyes throughout the day is a simple and effective way to give them a break and rest.
- Drinking Water - These activities are about movement, of muscles, ligaments, tendons, fascia, skin, which increases circulation of blood, lymph, nerve flow. Water is needed for all this movement and circulation. I have a glass of water in the morning to help facilitate this movement.
- Setting an Intention – I set an intention for the day. It might be something to focus on throughout the day. For example, “I will remember to blink today”; “I will drink plenty of water today”; “I will close and rest my eyes today, before they are tired, if only for a moment”; "I will be on the lookout for the color red today." I find that choosing one activity or technique to focus on each day can be easier, more productive and less overwhelming than trying to do everything at once.
Create your own morning vision-wake-up practice
Are you inspired to create your own morning vision-wake-up practice? Can you come up with a practice that works for you, that incorporates the techniques you enjoy and find most beneficial, done in a way that fits your personality and schedule?
If you can make your practice a routine, it becomes a habit. And if it becomes a habit, I predict you will notice great benefits, including clearer vision.
Resources
Books:
- “The Cure Of Imperfect Eyesight By Treatment Without Glasses” by William H. Bates
- “Give Up Your Glasses for Good” by Nathan Oxenfeld
- “Better Vision Now” by Clara Hackett
- “Help Yourself to Better Sight” by Margaret Darst Corbett
- “Exercises for Joints and Glands” by Swami Rama
Audio Recording:
- “Reclaim Your Eyesight Naturally” by Greg Marsh
I am a natural vision improvement teacher and coach, massage therapist, yoga teacher and the owner of Relearn To See – Natural Vision Improvement. I take a wellness coaching approach to helping you negotiate life in a more relaxed and natural way that can benefit your eyesight, health and well-being.
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