Vision Tip #3: Get Outside

One of the kindest things you can do for your eyes is to get outside.

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As I sit here at my desk, facing the sliding glass door of my balcony, writing this post about getting outside, I am well aware of how easy it would be to not go outside at all today. Everything I need today is available within the walls of my home. I could eat, work, shop, relax, exercise, talk to family and friends, educate and entertain myself, all while remaining inside in well regulated comfort.

Going outside for a walk

But, even though the view out the window is wonderful, and I’m feeling rather intent on continuing to write this post, before I continue I’ll be stepping outside for a few minutes. If you can, why don’t you step outside as well?

Be right back. See you soon…

I’m back

Hi, I’m back. I had a pleasant 20 minute walk around our neighborhood park. The weather is pleasant. Partly cloudy; and partly sunny. Temperature in the high 70’s with a nice slight breeze. There was a slight chance of rain, so I carried my umbrella, which seemed to have warded off the rain.

Being outside fosters normal sight

So, while out for my walk, I was coaxed into practicing engaging my Natural Vision. Here’s what I experienced…

• The first thing I noticed was the quantity and quality of the light. The sunlight felt soothing and uplifting. In the past, sunlight use to feel harsh and irritating. But, since practicing natural vision habits – blinking, breathing, and shifting my attention and gaze – sunlight is enjoyable and relaxing. My eyes are loving it.
• I also noticed the openness and expansiveness of my visual field. I was able to look at all distances, from the tip of my nose to the infinity of the blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds, and every distance in between.
• And not just expansiveness in front of me, but on all sides, my visual field was much bigger than when I was inside. It was infinite.
• And, the variety of visually interesting things, the trees, buildings, cars, sidewalk, flowers, lampposts, grassy field, gazebo, winding gravel walking trail.
• The endless colors, shapes, sizes, textures, the sidewalk, tree bark, a red car, a white car, green grass, purple flower, red stop sign.
• Things moving, the plants, trees, flowers, with the breeze. And, the people, dogs, cars, airplanes, clouds.
• And, things apparently moving, because I was moving, walking past them. As I moved forward, everything in my visual field appeared to move backward, the trees, people, dogs, posts, signs, the whole world seemed to be moving in the opposite direction as the rods on my retinas were stimulated and thankful for it.
• All my senses woke up to the variety of stimulation and pleasant change of scenery.
• My eyes woke up to the light, the colors, the contrast, the movement.
• My skin to the breeze, the sunshine.
• My ears to the sound of the birds, the swoosh of the occasional car, the sounds of the wind, my footsteps, my breathing.
• My nose and tongue to the fresh smells of grass, flowers, and an outdoor natural mixture of scent.
• My whole body to the vibrations, the crunch of gravel under under my feet, the sense of balance and flow as my arms swung in counter rhythm to my legs….

I was loving it all.

In her book, “Play Your Way to Better Eyesight: A Parent’s Guide to Natural Eyesight Care and Improvement,” Orit Kruglanski writes, “For many reasons, sunlight, open space, a variety of focal distances, freedom to run around and make noise – just being outside, especially in nature – is a very powerful cure for eyesight problems in children. Research has shown that spending two hours or more outdoors every day significantly reduces the chances of myopia in children.”

Being outside fosters normal sight… without even trying

Do you get the picture? Just by going outside, I was lulled into using my mind and eyes, and the rest of me, in a normal, relaxed, efficient and natural way. This was even before I started practicing, or rather playing with, purposefully engaging my Natural Vision.

Practicing & playing spontaneously with Natural Vision

• I had fun looking for details. Scanning around, just noticing things.
• I did some color searching, picking a color and scanning about as things of that chosen color popped into my awareness. “Red” stop sign, flower, leaf, taillight, tiled roof… “Orange” safety cone, safety vest, flower pot, monarch butterfly…
• Monarch butterfly, dancing lightly on the breeze, reminded me to blink lightly and gently like the wings of a butterfly.
• I practiced rapid blinking for 30 seconds, maintaining a speed and pressure that was relaxing and effortless. Then, stopped walking on the park”s gravel trail, closed my eyes, calmed my breathing, relaxed from head to toes, enjoyed a few moments of letting my eyes rest and do nothing, becoming more aware of my other senses.
• Then, with my eyes still closed, I practiced a few short swings, moved my eyes along with my head left and right, neck free and loose.
• Blinking my eyes open, I continued walking, looking to the left, and right, and left… noticing with even more awareness the sense of the world moving. As I swung my eyes, head and shoulders to the left, the world moved to the left, and the left, the world moved to the right.
• And as I glanced about, looking momentarily at the details of things as they passed by – trees, flowers, rocks, gazebo, signs – I more naturally maintained an awareness of my periphery. And, everything took on a much more 3-dimensional look. Distances between objects became more noticeable. The details that I momentarily looked at appeared more distinct and clear, and the surroundings that I wasn’t focused on appeared less clear…

And, I was enjoying it all.

“If you do nothing else…

GO OUTSIDE.”

– Orit Kruglanski

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Natural Vision is an integral part of life

Are you getting the picture?

Yes, I was practicing, but my practicing came naturally, without any effort. It was more like play. And, it didn’t add any extra time to my walk. It was an integral part of my walk.

And, it made my walk far more interesting. I was more present, enjoying the moment. And, my mind wasn’t wandering off to somewhere else. It was busy experiencing and in the moment.

Just as Natural Vision was an integral part of my walk, it is really just an integral part of life, wherever we may be, inside or outside. But, when we’re outside, we can be more easily and naturally induced into using our normal vision.

It can be wonderful, relaxing and healing when you get outside into pure natural surroundings, the forest, the mountains, the beaches, the wild places. But, just getting outside at all, wherever you are, provides great benefits and induces normal vision use because of the infinity variety of stimulation.

There’s so much to offer by just going outside, different distances, colors, shapes, forms, textures, movement, endless variety of things that encourage Natural Vision.

I going to take another walk now