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Day 1
I started off going through the exercises on the cd for natural vision improvement (there are two cds in the pack, one for computers users, which I should really get around to looking at too being a computer user to quite a large extent). The cd gives you exercises (it also comes with cards so you can refer to them and the book goes into more detail) which help to relieve tension in the shoulders and neck, where a lot of tension is usually stored in the person with blurred vision. I know my shoulders and neck are very tense, and these exercises really relieved some of the built up tension. You have to relieve some of this tension in order to do the palming exercise. Palming is done with slow deep breathing, relaxed shoulders, and completely relaxed hands. The relaxation that one gets from palming amplifies the effects of all the other exercises, but if you aren’t relaxed you can’t reap the full benefits (if any) of it. I have done palming before but I must admit I have never felt so relaxed. I guess I must have been doing it very wrong before, and this cd is definitely an excellent guide to doing it properly.

Palming isn’t the only exercise – there is blinking, sunning, shifting and many others. I went through them all which took about an hour and a half. After doing the exercises I felt very relaxed and refreshed. I don’t know how it affected my vision, but the blinking exercise and eye massage accompanied by it, really helped me relax my eyes and not squint which is such a hard habit to remove.

I also found the exercises to relieve the tension in my shoulders, left them a little sore afterwards. As I was doing them, I could feel my muscles softening up and in my left shoulder I felt a trapped nerve, like it was finally being released. The exercises definitely made me realise how tense I am and it was good to relieve the tension, even if it didn’t last long after finishing the sequence.

Day 2
I realised that in order to do the exercises efficiently and to make a difference I really need to get the tension out of my shoulders. It is all very well relieving the tension through the exercises given, and I guess with time using the techniques automatically will prevent me getting tense in the first place, but I do feel that my tension isn’t just about my eyes. I guess I have a lot of emotional baggage to offload off my shoulders and I need to relax and get as much tension out as possible each day, as well as do the exercises – otherwise I am going to end up getting no where. Running again should help this, and I think I shall start my Ashtanga yoga again (I have lost so much flexibility from being pregnant though!).

Day 3
My book by Thomas Quackenbush, Relearning to See arrived in the post! I am glad it came quickly because I have been eager to delve into it seeing as it is the book recommended everywhere for natural vision improvement. I can see why just from scanning the chapters! I read quite a lot (I did the exercises on the cd like the other two days but not all of them – I stuck to palming, blinking and the massages). I looked at the section of the two sides to health and healing and it gives other therapies you can use to help speed up your natural vision improvement/healing. It includes homeopathy, massage, herbs, iridology etc. I think that now I shall opt to get a deep tissue massage to help relieve a lot of the tension in my neck and shoulders for good.

Day 4-7
Well I went out for a walk and discovered I could see a lot more than I used to be able to. I also have felt everyday no sore eyes at the end of the day. This is partially from palming, blinking and breathing which has helped my eyes stay relaxed (well as relaxed as they can be for blurry eyes!) and not tense whenever I look at something. However, the Relearning to See book has been an immense help. I have been reading it a lot and discovering new things. I have started reading the section on 3 principles of natural vision and the first one being movement. Since this I haven’t allowed my eyes to stare or stay still! I have spent everyday with relaxed eyes – my eyes haven’t gotten sore by the time I go to bed, and a few evenings I have often felt energised and really happy, more than I have done in a very long while.

Yes my shoulder and neck tension is still there (not as bad or as extreme as it used to be but it is still quite bad) but I feel a lot better. I saw a friend Saturday whom told me I looked more comfortable in my own skin, that I looked much more relaxed and chilled out. I feel this is as a result of taking off my glasses 3 weeks ago and am so glad I have. I have NO intention putting them back on, ever again.

The natural vision improvement kit alone isn’t enough for me. It has good guidance for exercises and for someone who doesn’t want to know the science behind it or know more than just the basic information given in the kit, then it is fine on its own. But for me, Thomas Quackenbush’s book is what, I feel, is going to get me properly going with vision improvement. I enjoy reading and knowing not just the techniques, but the science behind it, the facts really. The vision kit gives you a short summary, but this book is extremely detailed. I like the idea of using other services such as homeopathy and massage in relation to.

I don’t feel blurred vision is just about bad vision techniques either. Stress plays such a huge role in our lives, and not everyone gets to have a stable environment as a child. I feel that the Relearning to See, will enable me to heal the whole of me and not just my vision and I also think it will allow me to grow as a person. I am still going to continue to use the vision kit because I love listening to the cd but this book is definitely going to be the key to my success visually!

Two of the main exercises in vision improvement

Palming – To palm is to cover your closed eyes with your hands in such a way that there is no pressure on your eyes. You do this by applying pressure on your forehead and leaving your hands free around your eyes. Your fingers are partly interlaced and your hands cup over your eyes. There should be as little as light as possible. The eyes are supposed to be fully relaxed when they see complete blackness. As someone who wears glasses or has blurred you vision, you may notice that it is quite hard to see complete blackness at first. When you become more relaxed and breathe abdominally (properly) it will become easier. Imagining complete blackness, in reference to something you are familiar may also help.

Sunning – This is looking at the sun with your eyes closed, moving your head side to side. Sunning helps us accept the light of day, something a lot of us have lost since being indoors all the time. Do you go outside squinting? Sunlight stimulates maculas which are the light sensitive cells in the eye and also allows the eye to be more flexible as it contracts and expands. Sunlight also stimulates the melanin layer of the retina which darkens the appearance of sunlight and protects us naturally from it. This process is like sunglasses – but sunglasses act like a crutch to our eyes and thus our pupils are prevented from adjusting naturally.

After a long lull in my running career I decided it was about time I started afresh. Pregnancy put a halt on it because I was sick, stressed and had an overcomplicated situation. I had spent the previous years running in my brother’s old trainers which seemed to do the job quite nicely, although they used to squeak a treat in the rain. However with a new baby and new year I decided it was about time I did the honourable thing and purchase myself a new fancy pair. After all I had been through last year I think I deserve it!

Unfortunately running shoes – the ethical kind – seem to be few and far between. After looking I only came up with a few resources.

www.organicathlete.org has a good article that was a great starting point for me. It is a review of Brook’s Cascadia running shoes (developed with input from vegan ultra-marathon champion Scott Jurek), but also is informative generally about materials used.

It states the majority of running shoes available are free from animal products (but animal products are poor materials to use in running shoes – leather isn’t breathable and animal based glue is no where near as good as synthetic). However, the processes for making the shoes are wasteful and many of the structural pieces of running shoes are petroleum based. The article also goes into detail about the Green Rubber and MOGO midsole construction Brooks has developed and reviews, personally, the trail specific Cascadia running shoes. If you are interested you should check it out.

Apart from this the only other ecological running shoes I have come across on my search are New Balance shoes.

However it seems to be a question of compromise with these companies, although New Balance and Brook’s are heading in the right direction and are the most ecologically sound, they aren’t without some problems. Harlemrunner.blogspot.com has a good list of the pros and cons for Nike, Reebok, Asics, Adidas, Brooks and New Balance (considered a few of the more responsible mainstream brands –yes, even Nike, who has reformed itself since the days of child labour).

Whatever you buy though, it seems to be a question of compromise on which ethical issue is most important. I think though that I will look into buying a pair from New Balance or Brook’s as they seem to have the best reviews. I am not sure what pair yet but that is a whole other issue!

UPDATE: I just came across this nifty little pdf from ethical consumer click here. It rates the different companies for ethics.

I have spent the day getting back into natural vision improvement, by researching and familiarising myself with the techniques and information available to improve my eyesight. It has been 2 weeks since I last wore my glasses. I can’t really tell you my prescription details – something along the lines of -3.5 to -3.75 I think, but I am not entirely sure. The last time I went to the opticians was a long time ago, a few years, and I didn’t go back because they tried to convince me to take on stronger glasses, even though I found them ridiculously uncomfortable. They even made me take another test (for free) and tried to make me feel stupid for not taking them, saying I would be back in a few weeks wanting them. Well I haven’t. I only intend to go back for an eye test once I feel my vision has improved enough to warrant one. I won’t be going back to that optician though.

Anyway, I am sure many may be amazed how I went 2 weeks without glasses. Well I don’t currently have a car at the moment, so that didn’t get in my way (although I am in the process of finding one so it may become an issue soon), but nothing really has gotten in my way. After taking them off I haven’t felt stressed, in the sense of finding it a nuisance not to be able to see clearly enough to find anything. I have adapted, I would say, incredibly well to only being able to see clearly not a lot. The thing is, when I am walking down the town or out and about, looking around everything seems quite clear really. It is only when my eyes catch a sign that my eyes reveal their true colour. But to be honest, I do feel like I can see much more now, without having glasses stress my eyes out more and make everything much blurrier once taken off.

If I have lost something around the house, I will just move my head closer to the table, chair, floor or wherever I am looking for the object (and it is nice not having to constantly look where I put my glasses now either!). My face currently is fairly close to the screen when reading it, but then I still feel better when I spend time at the computer, than when I did with glasses on. My neck isn’t all tensed up (although it is a little, but I have always had that – I am very highly strung, and although pregnancy calmed me down to an extent, I still battle with old habits which I am trying to rectify also) and I don‘t have sore eyes. I do feel like my agitation and stress level has plummeted as a result of the removal of my glasses. I really don’t mind not being able to see clearly – or everything. Vision perfection doesn’t matter to me; however I do want my vision to improve enough to meet the requirements for being able to drive a car without having glasses.

So now what?

Well as I said I have been reading and refreshing myself on the techniques – the good vision techniques – I need to incorporate into my life. I have been using one technique already, which is whenever I am out I will look up (have you ever noticed how much you look down?) and into the distance. I will move my eyes around objects in the distance, and outline them (without straining or squinting but with relaxed eyes) and allowing my eyes to see what they can see.

Anyway I have one of these natural vision improvement kits and I am going to read through the book tomorrow (it isn’t too long) and utilise the cds and go through the exercises – which I will also do each day – and also try to incorporate what I can during the day. I will be recording my progress every Sunday, to see if I have improved and what obstacles I have had presented to me. I am also going to get Thomas Quackenbush’s book Relearning to See, because it seems to be the one recommended everywhere I read! It seems to be an extensive book that looks to be helpful for future reference for my children too, if they encounter issues. I shall look forward to reading it for the cognitive and psychological consequences of blurry vision and how I mostly likely will be able to relate a lot of it to how I am!

So, hopefully next Sunday I shall be writing that my vision has improved a little or even a lot! But we will see.

If you are interested in natural vision, here are some useful links to get your started:

http://www.naturalvisioncenter.com/ - the website for Thomas Quackenbush.

http://www.visioneducators.com - a link to useful tips on how to improve vision.

When I first heard of this book, I thought it would be a guide to parenting like all the others you see on the shelves, however it isn’t. This book is not a manual, but a resource and reminder of how our natural instincts as a parent are what count. It is a book for those individuals who feel that the techniques and guidance given by health authorities and the various parenting books on offer in stores, are intrinsically misguided. If you think its ok to force your child into a routine by letting him or her cry on her own, it isn’t. Even if it means you can go back to work with less hassle. You should be ready to accept this new creature into your life completely, and not shun them and force them so soon into a routine and life of solitude.

Jean Liedloff writes this book as an anthropological work, but it speaks so loudly to parents because we can all recognize the reality and truth it holds. My depression at the state of our culture came about long before I had my baby, but this book has given me more clarity to my disapproving views of the world and the almost unnatural way we live than all the other self help and guidance books I have read put together. It sets out so many endearing anecdotes with such burning clarity about how our society is and creates the conditions for us to feel depressed, stressed and alienated, that you feel a deep sorrow at the destruction caused, and the joy you have missed out on. But despite this, it is a very positive book that I will refer to time and time again when I am feeling disheartened as a reminder of the purity of human instinct.

It illustrates quite poignantly the addictiveness and irrelevance of consumerism and how we have lost much of our natural well-being through materialism and affirms the beauty and the strength of the human spirit.

We have strayed so far from our innate needs and desires, that reading this book will indefinitely make your life harder to bear in many ways, but this isn’t a negative thing as much as that suggests. The insights and wisdom gained from the book will more than make up for that and will almost lift the incessant burden of feeling that there is something missing in life right a way in the knowledge of now knowing what that is.

It is a beautiful book. A book that brings about many emotions for the reader and I would whole heartedly recommend it to anyone who senses there is something amiss in our society; that there are better ways we can live, other than segmenting ourselves from our families and living a life of fear. If you want to restore your natural instincts more fully, I recommend you read this book. It will also give you more confidence in yourself as a parent – especially if you are a first-timer, and will help you forge your own opinions and combat the oppression from the general public.

For more information about the continuum concept, please visit Understanding The Continuum Concept