“The eye with normal vision never regards a point for more than a fraction of a second, but shifts rapidly from one part of its field to another, thus producing a slight apparent movement, or swing, of all objects regarded. The eye with imperfect sight always tries to hold its points of fixation just as it tries to see with maximum vision a larger area at once than nature intended it to see.”
William H. Bates, M.D.
In a previous post, I mentioned three principles of Natural Vision that Dr. Bates discovered and that Natural Vision Teacher Thomas R. Quackenbush discussed in his book Relearning To See: Improve Your Eyesight Naturally!. These are Relaxation, Movement and Central Fixation. In my previous post, I talked about the first principle, Relaxation, and how it is the foundation of Natural Vision.
Continuing the discussion, the second principle of Natural Vision is Movement. In order for the eyes to be relaxed, which they must be in order to see clearly, they must be in a state of dynamic relaxation. They must be in motion, without undue tension. It may seem counter intuitive, but the eyes are at rest only when they are moving. And, when the eyes are moving they are at rest. In moving, they see clearly with ease.
“Eyes must move to see.”
– Janet Goodrich
The eyes are anatomically designed to require movement in order to see. The eyes depend on movement for normal function and for seeing clearly. Keeping the eyes from moving, for example by staring, is a strain on the eyes and lowers vision.
What natural eye movements are there?
The six muscles that attach to the outside of the eyeball keep ours eyes in constant motion. They enable a number of natural and automatic eye movements, that are important for normal vision.
There are four basic types of eye movements: Saccades, smooth pursuit movements, vergence movements and vestibulo-ocular movements.
Apparent motion
In addition to the eyes themselves moving, there is also an awareness of apparent motion of what the eyes are seeing.
According to Dr. Bates, “When the eye with normal vision regards a letter either at the near-point or at the distance, the letter may appear to pulsate, or to move in various directions, from side to side, up and down, or obliquely. This apparent movement is due to the shifting of the eye, and is always in a direction contrary to its movement.
- If one looks at the top of a letter, the letter is below the line of vision, and, therefore appears to move downward.
- If one looks at the bottom of a letter, the letter is above the line of vision, and, therefore appears to move upward.
- If one looks to the left of the letter, it is to the right of the line of vision and appears to move to the right.
- If one looks to the right, it is to the left of the line of vision, and appears to move to the left.”
Vision is one of our senses
Our senses require movement. Vision is one of our five senses. Vision requires movement. Decreasing movement, decreases our ability to see.
To get an idea of the importance of movement, let’s experience movement through one of our other senses, our sense of touch.
Experience non-movement
Place a hand, palm down, on one of your thighs. Let it rest there for a while, with your palms and fingers touching and resting on your clothing or skin. Keep your hand and fingers still . . . do this for a minute or so., with your attention on your completely still and resting hand.
Notice, while not moving, the sensations, or lack of sensations your fingers feel.
Experience movement
Now, begin to move your fingers. Lightly move your fingers over your clothing or skin. Explore with your fingertips, moving in short strokes or small circles.
Compare the difference
As your fingers are moving, what do you notice? Is there a change? Is there an increase in the sensations that your fingers feel? Do you notice more? Are you fingers receiving more information? The texture of your clothing? The hair on your skin? Is it rough or smooth” Hard or soft? Is it a bit more interesting?
You probably became aware of receiving more information when your fingers were moving than when that were still. This is similar to vision. The more we move our eyes, the more information they pick up and the better we see.
You could think of this analogy – holding your hand still is like staring. When we are staring, we are holding our eyes still. This prevents our eyes from picking up as much information as they would if they were moving. So, moving our eyes allows them to pick up more information, more colors, more depths more contrast, more shapes, more movement, more things that are familiar or unfamiliar, more interesting or not so interesting.
“If we keep… our eyes fixed on any one point, after a while our vision becomes confused, a cloud is formed between the object and ourselves, and finally, we see nothing at all. If we lay our hand flat on a table motionless, without pressure (for pressure itself is a movement), by slow degrees, the sensation wears off and finally disappears. The reason is there is no perception without movement, be it ever so weak.”
– Théodule-Armand Ribot
“People who have clear vision move. At times, this movement may be subtle and imperceptible to others, but they move much more than people who have blurred vision . . . Natural vision movement is not a hyper movement, it is a relaxed, casual movement.”
– Thomas R. Quackenbush
So, how do we continuously move our eyes?
We don’t have to consciously do anything to move our eyes, they move on their own. It happens naturally, automatically and effortlessly. Like the heart, the eyes continue to keep moving. And, like the heart that takes momentary rests in between each beat, the eyes take momentary rests in between each movement.
And, just as stopping our heart to give it a rest would be a very bad idea, the same is true for our eyes. Thankfully, as much as we attempt to stop them, our eyes are compelled to keep on moving many times a second, with automatic saccadic movements, in spite of us. If we could stop our eyes from moving completely, we would be unable to see at all. Although slowing our eye movements down does not make us blind, it does lower our vision.
Strain
Dr. Bates discovered that strain leads to the decrease in eye movements that lowers our vision. Strain in the mind leads to tension in the muscles surrounding our eyes. As our mental strain becomes chronic, we develop poor vision habits, and the tension in our eye muscles becomes chronic. Our tense eye muscles squeeze and pull our nice round eyeballs out of shape, effecting our eyes’ ability to focus clearly, blurring our vision.
There are many ways we can strain. The most common is staring. Staring is a decrease in our mental interest in what we are seeing and in our physical eye movements. Staring immediately lowers our vision.
To get an idea of the importance of eye movement in vision, let’s experience trying to stop eye movement using the most common poor vision habit: staring.
Experience non-movement
Take off your glasses or remove your contacts. Then read the following at a distance where it’s seen most clearly.
Below are printed the letters A, B, and C.. Look at the letter B while stopping all movement. Look directly at the letter B and try to see it as best you can without moving. Do not move your eyes. Do not blink. Do not turn your head. Do not move your eyes, your eyelids, your face, your head or your body at all. Keep your eyes parked only on the letter B. In other words, stare at the letter B.
Go ahead, for a minute or so, stare at the middle letter B. Then continue reading.
What did you experience?
Could you see the letter B clearly? Did it remain clear? Or did it get blurry? Could you see the letters A and C? If you could, how clear were they?
And how did your eyes feel? Comfortable? Or uncomfortable, teary, burning? How did the rest of your body feel? Relaxed and comfortable or cramped and stiff? how did your face feel? Your neck? Shoulders?
And how was your breathing? did it feel natural and relaxed? Was it shallow? Did it slow down? Did you hold your breath?
“It is impossible for the eye to fix a point longer than a fraction of a second. If it tries to do so, it begins to strain, and the vision is lowered.”
– William H. Bates, M.D.
Now, breathe naturally through your nose. Close your eyes until they feel rested. When they feel rested, open them and continue reading.
Let’s experience seeing with natural eye movement.
Experience movement
Let your neck be free and mobile. Gently turn your head a little to the left and right, as if saying “no.” Blink your eyes gently. With your neck free and your eyes relaxed and gently blinking, let’s look again at the letters A, B and C below. Instead of staring, let’s use movement in our seeing.
First, in your mind, think about the letter A. With your attention on the letter A, allow your eyes to follow your attention, then allow your head to follow your eyes. Don’t stay there long. Once you are looking at the letter A, think about the next letter you want to see, say, the letter B. With your attention on the letter B, allow your eyes to follow your attention, then your head. Look at the letter B only for a moment, then think about the next letter you want to look at, say the letter C. Allow your attention to go to the letter C, then your eyes, then your head.
Continue the same process for a minute or so, thinking of each letter, A, B or C, letting your attention go there, your eyes following, your head following your eyes. Keep moving among the letters like this. Continuing to breathe and blink naturally, with your head, face, neck and shoulders soft and mobile.
What did you experience?
Were the letters a bit clearer? Did they remain clearer? Were you able to read each letter with a similar clarity?
And how did your eyes feel? Were they a little more comfortable? How did the rest of your body feel? Any more relaxed and comfortable? how did your face feel? Your neck? Shoulders?
And how was your breathing? Was it more natural?
Compare the difference
This was an attempt to have you experience a more relaxed and natural way of using your eyes, with movement and without strain, compared to unnaturally slowing down eye movement by staring, creating strain. Typically, the less movement, the more strain, and the blurrier our vision. The more movement, the less strain, and the clearer our vision. Was this your experience?
“Blinking is an aid to mobility. It helps to prevent staring.”
– Clara A. Hackett
Natural Vision includes both relaxation and movement
While continuing to blink and breathe naturally, think about what you are interested in looking at. Be curious. Then, let your eyes follow your curiosity. With your neck relaxed and free, let your head naturally follow your eyes. Repeat this, looking at each point of interest for only a moment, then moving on to the next, and the next, and the next.
A recipe for Natural Vision with movement
- Think about what you want to look at and let your attention go there,
- Let your eyes follow your attention,
- Let your head follow your eyes,
- Only for a moment, then move on to thinking of your next point of interest.
- Continue to breathe and blink naturally, keeping your eyes, face, head, neck and the rest of your body relaxed and free.
“We see clearly when our vision is relaxed and flowing easily from one point to another, guided by our curiosity. We explore the smallest details of what we are looking at, swiftly moving from one detail to another, with great interest. The small detail we are looking at is seen better than anything else in our wide, open visual field.”
– Orit Kruglanski
Resources
- Relearning To See: Improve Your Eyesight – Naturally! – by Thomas R. Quackenbush
- Reclaim Your Eyesight Naturally – by Greg Marsh (Track 6)
- Neuroscience – 3rd edition by Dale Purves et al (Chapter 19, Page 457 “Types of Eye Movements and Their Functions”)
- Optimal Eyesight: How To Restore And Retain Great Vision – by Esther Joy van der Werf
- “How To Improve Your Child’s Eyesight Naturally: A Thoughtful Parent’s Guide” by Janet Goodrich
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.