I recently received an email with the headline, “Why Nearsightedness Is on the Rise.” The article discussed the rising incidence of nearsightedness, and people wearing glasses for nearsightedness.
Ah, I thought, glasses are like pills for your eyes.
Researchers are now mostly convinced that “… myopia runs in families. But how we use our eyes seems to be as important as our genes when it comes to visual acuity.” So, yes, all of the screen work and other vision tasks we do close up is affecting our vision, for the worse. The email, from Berkeley Wellness, mentions a study that, “…found that if children of myopic parents spend lots of time outdoors, they’re at only slightly greater risk of becoming nearsighted than children whose parents are not myopic.”
I had wondered if the article would also mention eye movements done as part of Feldenkrais work to improve vision. (Berkeley Wellness has recommended Feldenkrais for back pain in the past.)
When I got my first job in a high rise building I noticed the names of the distant buildings weren’t clear. And the scoreboard at the ballpark was getting hard to read. This was before computer screens were part of everyday life, but after three years of law school, and few years of reading-intensive practice. I got glasses for my nearsightedness and wore them until sometime around the middle of my four-year Feldenkrais training, when I realized I didn’t need them any more.
Like the writers at Berkeley Wellness, you may think about Feldenkrais as an antidote for pain, but there’s more to it than that. Feldenkrais can help you see differently – and better. Because the way you move creates your life.
If you’d like to experiment with how your eyes move, and ways that Feldenkrais can help you see differently, schedule an individual session, or try an audio download like the one called Comfort for Computer Weary Eyes, on my website.