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Writer's pictureYoga Kuukan

Get Rid of Your Glasses

Updated: Feb 10, 2020



Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. My personal experience of drastically improving my eye vision is the only proof.


After almost 30 years of wearing glasses and contact lenses, I no longer need any prescription eyewear. It was achieved without a laser eye surgery or any other external treatment.


This is how I did it and how you can possibly do it yourself.


Realizing The Possibilities

At the age of ten I started to have a difficulty seeing the classroom board clearly. After a quick eye examination I was presented my first pair of glasses. Never got used to them but nevertheless, I was wearing glasses and contact lenses for many years.


When I was 15 years old I came across a book that claimed that it is possible improve your visual perception on your own. It suggested different kinds of exercises so I gave it a shot for a few weeks but nothing significant was happening and eventually I forgot about it. But the seed was planted.


Fast forward 15 years, now I'm practicing yoga daily. It was in India where I tried a few yoga exercises for the eyes. I noticed my eyes were becoming more relaxed (duh, yoga) but the real difference occurred only when I was spending a few hours without wearing glasses at all. My eye vision was slightly improved, however, as soon as I put the glasses back on, all the progress was vanished.



A few years later, while living in Germany, I found another book. It featured many exercises from different sources and disciplines. Wonderful yet tedious eye movements and tricks.

Tried again a few and they did help improving... sleep quality. With all seriousness and respect, it was time to realize that discipline is not the answer. It is about commitment.


The Change

A few months later I was spending the winter in Tulum, Mexico, living a very basic lifestyle on a beautiful Caribbean beach. It was a life changing experience, I felt ready for the new commitment. Taking off my glasses for longer periods was painful and scary. I could not see my students' eyes during yoga classes, read the signs on the street or recognize people from afar (more than three meters away) but things started to shift slowly.

Forcing the eyes to change focus on their own helped to strengthen the eye muscles. Little by little I noticed small improvements. Every time I was wearing my glasses again, even for a short while, my eyesight was getting worse so I made the decision to fully commit myself to the process and ditch the glasses all together.


It took another two years until I felt I can see clearly, even at night. Today my eyesight is not perfect but it’s good enough to legally drive a car without any eyewear (approved by the authorities, of course).


It can be done.


How You Can Do It

While I believe that practicing is not the key to success (I had been practicing only during the first few months), a couple of exercises were somewhat helpful. Like palming, stretching the eyes in different directions and focusing training (focusing on the nose tip for a few breaths, then on an object close to you, then a far object and then the horizon, repeat in reversed order).

Being active and practicing anything is good for your eyes, in my case it was a regular yoga practice.


The main factor of success is living life knowing that you are not going to wear glasses anymore. Easy said than done.


Start with small steps. Take your glasses off for an hour or two in a familiar environment, where you feel safe and comfortable. Stretch your eyes to all directions and get used to being independent of your glasses.

If you're indoors, look outside the window and alternate your focus between closer objects and the horizon or skyline.


Find more courage and space and do that for extended periods of time. Your muscles will adapt, strengthen and become more responsible for your vision, after all, they are designed to do that.


Whenever you drive, by all means, don't risk yourself and others. You might find out your glasses or contact lenses don't fit your present eyesight perfectly, the progress is slow and gradual. If you drive often, consider rechecking your vision periodically and changing the lens when needed (easier with disposable contact lenses).

Don't expect your ophthalmologist or optometrist to share your enthusiasm though. From my personal experience, they were never supportive (to say the least) of the idea of getting rid of my glasses (without surgery, that is). Your experience may differ.


Summery

Make an intention, plan and go for it. If your job or lifestyle are not allowing you to be completely free of glasses for a long period of time, set yourself a simpler goal like improving your eyesight (measured by the strength of the lenses over time) and getting used to being glasses free. Extend your freedom in your vacations and free time. Even if you're still wearing glasses, minimizing your dependency is a great win.


If you decide to give it a try, be patient and know with certainty, it can be done.


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