Nasal Breathing

Thursday night: I practiced open focus for about 25 minutes.  I started at 10/200 and progressed to 10/50 by the end.  I could almost read 10/40; I correctly read 2 out of 5 letters on the 40 line.

Monday afternoon: I practiced open focus for about 25 minutes.  I began reading at 10/100 and read 10/40 near the end- I was able to correctly read 4 out of 5 letters on the 40 line.  Furthermore, while I was not able to read the letters on lines lower than 40, I was able to correctly count the number of letters on them.  The 30 line had 6 letters, the 25 line had 7 letters, and the 20 line had 8 letters.  I know that counting the letters does not pass a line, but this proved to me that I was at least able to distinguish the individual shapes of the letters; any improvement past seeing the shape of a letter would have to be a clearer image of the letter.   I think I was able to see the individual letters on those lines because of centralization.

An additional note: I found that when I breathed only through my nose, as opposed to inhaling through my nose and exhaling through my mouth, I was able to relax more and see letters on the 40 line better.  This goes against descriptions I have read of breathing exercises from yoga or recommended by natural doctors which support the latter technique for the purpose of relaxation.  I’m not really sure what to get out of this observation other than the fact that nasal breathing is the most relaxing for me. ❓

Also, the person who has commented on some of my posts and other vision bloggers’ posts called helenacampbell has recently started a blog.  The link is listed in my Blogroll as Helena’s Blog.

10/40!

Tuesday night: I practiced open focus and concentrated on  relaxation for about 20 minutes.  At first, I could read 10/200 and almost 10/100, but near the end I was able to read 10/40! 😀 I correctly read four out of five letters on the 40 line, so I’m positive I passed that line. 8) I am hoping that in future practice sessions I will continue to read the 40 line and, equally important to me, be able to read lines lower than the 200 line at the beginning.

Another thought, in the past my outdoor visual acuity has been twice as good as my indoor visual acuity.  I haven’t done an outdoor measurement in a while, but if my past experiences are still true, I would be able to see 20/40 outside!  That would be amazing since there are only three more lines on my chart (30, 25, 20) from the 40 line to the 20 line.

Also, I have a new idea about my starting number for the Snellen chart practices (10/200).  When I practice open focus and am able to see the 50 line or the 40 line, I attribute the clearer vision to the deeply relaxed state of my mind and body.  However, this near complete relaxation is not the normal state of my body during daily life. I do try to stay relaxed throughout the day, but I guess my normal level of relaxation is only good enough for 10/200 visual acuity.  While I believe that I could be even more calm in my mind and body during normal tasks, I think that another (bigger?) influence on the starting measurement is the fact that I still wear glasses during part of the day.  While I cannot drive (legally or safely) my car without glasses, I’m not required to wear them for anything else.  With the exception of reading the projector screen/board in my classes at school, I realistically think that I would be able to fuction fine without them otherwise.  Therefore, especially since I am on my winter break, I am going to try to only wear my glasses for driving.  This will benefit me in two ways: I will be forced to maintain an even more relaxed state of my mind and body throughout the day, and my eyes will not need to adjust to the prescription of my glasses nearly as much.  I hope this goes well. 😐

Centralization

Monday night: I practiced open focus for about 20 minutes.  At first I could read 10/200; by the end I could read 10/50.  As usual (lately), I could almost read 10/40.  In this chart session I focused on keeping my body relaxed.  I spent extra time in the beginning making sure that all the muscles of my body were loose.  Also, I took breaks every few minutes where I would close my eyes and check for any unnecessary muscle tension in my body and relax those areas.

One improvement in this session compared to recent ones is that I saw the principle of centralization well.  As I looked at the 40 line and tried to read the letters, I definitely noticed that the 40 line, and specificaly the letter I was looking at, was darker and clearer than the rest of the chart.  I’m guessing that in order to read the 40 line (or lower lines) I need to relax more and be more aware of centralization.

Snellen measurements and posture

I’ve been busy with studying for finals at school  (I’m all done now 🙂 ), so I am a little behind in posting.

Last Thursday night: I did open focus practice with the Snellen chart for about 30 minutes.  I started off not really being able to read 10/200 too clearly, but I cleared to 10/50 and almost 10/40 by the end.  I can usually read 10/200 with confidence at the start of the sessions, but this time it was difficult.  The only causes I can think of are that I wore my glasses more than I needed to that day and that I was tired.  Despite this, I was still able to clear my visual acuity to about the same level as usual.

Last Friday night: I did open focus practice with the Snellen for about 20 minutes.  At first I could see 10/200 a little blacker than normal, and I cleared to 10/50.  I could almost read 10/40; I had a very quick flash of one or two letters from this line.  The 40 line has five letters, so I would only say that I cleared that line if I had been able to read at least three letters (so, I was very close 8) ).  I think this session was so successful because I wore my glasses very little that day.

Lately, I have been busy with final exams at school, so I have not been using my chart.  However, I now have about a month off until next semester, so I will definitely be practicing with the Snellen chart much more.  One final note I want to make is that I have been working hard at improving my posture lately while standing or sitting.  I haven’t had any Alexander technique lessons or anything similar, so I am mostly just judging how good my posture is by how extended and straight my spine feels and looks (in a mirror).  I mainly focus on four things: holding my chest high, keeping my stomach flat and not curved out, keeping my shoulders down and back, and  keeping my chin down.  When I am doing all of these things at the same time, my body feels a little more relaxed and like it is using less effort to keep itself vertical.  I haven’t really noticed any direct improvements in my vision since working on this, but I mostly want good posture since it is easier and healthier for my body.

Lip Reading

Wednesday afternoon:  I practiced in front of the Snellen today using palming, open focus, and some swinging.  At the beginning I could see 10/200, and by the end (~45 minutes) I could see 10/50.  I could almost read the 10/40 line, but I couldn’t clear any of the letters to a readable extent.  I think that if I am more consistent in doing  my Snellen chart practice sessions I will be able to read this line some time soon.

One thing I wanted to discuss is how I seem to not hear as well without my glasses.  I have heard other people say this, and I think they contributed this mainly to not having central fixation of the mind (for vision and hearing)  While I’m sure that this is one factor, I believe that my “hearing loss” is mostly caused by something else.  I am not 100% sure if this is true for me, but I think that when people talk to me I read their lips (to an extent) and notice their facial expressions and other body language.  However, when my glasses are not on and if the person is more than a few feet away, I am not able to see these details (except for large, obvious movements).  If I think they have asked a question, I usually just smile and give a vague response that seems appropriate. 😕 😦 This has cause me much embarrassment (only to myself) lately, and I can’t wait until my vision is clear enough to at least see these things when I talk to people.  Perhaps this embarrassment is partly to blame for my currently introverted, myopic personality.

Finally, I wanted to show my concern for Ireland’s eyes (the person, not the blog).  I check his blog every time I log on to WordPress, but he has not posted or commented on anything in a while.  I hope he is doing ok.

Measurements and thoughts on visual acuity

Sunday night: I practiced open focus for 15 minutes with palming throughout and swaying at the end.  My visual acuity with both eyes changed from 10/200 to 10/50.  I mainly focused on relaxing my muscles in this session.

Wednesday night:  I have noticed lately that I am able to see better through my close work glasses, so I decided to test them with the Snellen chart indoors; I saw 10/40 (~20/80) with the glasses on.  When I first received these glasses (September 24), I was barely able to see 20/90 (comfortably 20/100) with them.  So, I’m happy to see this measurable difference only about 2 1/2 months later. 🙂

Lastly, I have been thinking lately about the different visual acuities I see during a session with the Snellen chart.  At the beginning, I usually can only read 10/200.  I think that this first measurement is probably the best indicator of my current default visual acuity.  This number describes how clearly I see when I am not aware of my body and mind.  At the end, I can often clear the chart to see 10/50.  I think this number reflects my current skill in relaxing my muscles and mind.

In my Motor Performance class, we learned a little while ago the difference between abilities and skills.  Abilities are pretty much genetic limits to one’s performance in different tasks.  For example, while a 5 ft. tall man may be able to dunk a basketball if he trains really hard, it is very unlikely that he will ever be the world’s best dunker (because of his height).  A skill, on the other hand, is something that one learns and can improve upon with practice.  An example of this would be a basketball player who can score baskets from half court.  Regardless of one’s height (or weight, or build, etc.), if one has the arm strength and accuracy he/she would be able to make these shots.  These probably aren’t the best examples, but those ideas are what I want to discuss next.

In regard to skill in the vision improvement process, I think that is what I am working on now.  Using open focus, palming, swinging, swaying, doing things without glasses- I think all of these activites are ways to improve the skill with which I use my eyes.  As a result of these improved skills, my normal vision habits will become more natural and relaxed.  In regard to ability, I think that my “skill” training now is how I will reach this ability.  I’m not sure what my best ability for seeing is, but I think Dr. Bates had an idea of it.  I remember that he said somewhere he only considered a person’s vision to be cured or reversed if they saw better than 20/20.  He also said that most of his patients reached a visual acuity around 20/10, and he mentioned others with even better vision.  Bates’ observations help me to be optimistic about my clear vision in the future and what I will be able to achieve. 8)