So…here’s my story and how I began my own journey to greater clarity of vision:
Just to begin – a few facts about me....I’m a qualified Natural Eyesight Improvement Teacher, teaching the Bates Method and other Natural Vision Improvement Techniques, including NVI.
Updating my knowledge continuously within the worldwide Natural Vision Teaching community, I keep abreast of all the latest developments and techniques.
I’m a guest presenter for a Patient Support group at the New York Eye & Ear Hospital, and am in the process of writing a book of my own, on Improving Eyesight Naturally.
And now here’s how it all started..
I was short-sighted for ten years, and had to wear glasses to see in the distance, as otherwise everything was blurry. I couldn’t wear contacts at all, as my eyes were too dry.
I really hated wearing glasses – it just didn’t feel like me! So I didn’t wear them much, and as a result, I lived my life in a blur. I do think that I probably missed out on a lot of what was going on right in front of my eyes, because I couldn’t see it clearly.
Nowadays, with perfect distance and reading vision, I notice that I am almost the only person I know of my age who needs neither glasses for reading, nor glasses for the distance. Good vision tends to reflect healthily functioning eyes and so of course, I no longer have dry eyes either!
I recently went to our optician for an eye test, about 20 years after I first got rid of my short-sightedness. My vision measured several lines better than 20/20 which is considered to be perfect vision, and I read the tiny print on the reading test card. After I left, apparently both opticians were so shocked that they rechecked my date of birth, and one of them kept asking if there was “…some other explanation!?” Our optician told her: “The only explanation is that the Bates Method works..!”
That’s why I do this work – vision is very flexible and can usually be encouraged back to clarity in most cases, which is wonderful.
So…back to my story: at first, my vision wasn’t all that bad. I was 25, the year was 1992, and my vision had deteriorated only a little, to -0.50. But over the next few years it got progressively worse, until it reached -1.5 diopters, at which point, I really could no longer pretend that I could manage life successfully on a day to day basis without wearing glasses.
I went to see an optician for a vision test, and I mentioned that I thought that I might try the Bates Method to avoid having to wear glasses all the time. She told me that it would be a waste of time, as it doesn’t work. That was in 2001, at age 35. I’m so glad I didn’t let that discourage me.
I had tried the Bates Method a few years before, and had noticed that it worked, but as my vision really wasn’t too bad, I didn’t continue with lessons as I felt reassured that I could improve my vision if I wanted to… and besides, I was stressed, busy working, and had no spare time or patience for lessons.
So in 2001, when my vision had deteriorated to a point where I could no longer manage without glasses, after almost ten years of short-sightedness, I decided to give the Bates Method a proper try. I got Dr Bates’ book and did all the exercises, remembering what I had learned in the Bates lessons I had had previously. I worked at it and worked at it, and after just a few intensive weeks, I had managed to improve my vision back to 20:20.
I first noticed this when I was walking down a London street and found that I could see people’s faces clearly again – amazing! And I noticed how the sunlight glinted and sparkled on the metal of the cars parked on the road- once again, a wonderful moment.
So in short, the Bates Method was a revelation for me. It gave me back my good vision, my freedom from glasses and my belief in my own ability to help and heal myself. It also helped my social life a lot, as I could see so much more, and for going out in the evenings, my night vision was crystal clear!
I went to the optician again, this time one closer to my home. He checked my vision and found that it was perfect. I then explained to him what I had done to improve my vision from -1.5. He looked surprised and pleased, and then, with a big smile, took my hand, shook it heartily and said to me: “I always thought it might work! Well done! Another wonderful moment I shall never forget.
From then on, my life just took off – I was no longer held back by my blurry eyesight and the lack of confidence it created in me.
To be able to see clearly again was so exciting!
It was SO life-changing and such a wonderful revelation, that in 2003 I decided to train to become a teacher so that I could share this amazing method with others, and help them to experience this same same life-changing and uplifting experience. In 2004, I graduated from the first two year Bates teacher training course led by Margaret Montgomery and Aileen Whiteford of the Bates College of Vision Education in London, as a qualified teacher of the Bates Method. After that, I gave lessons, under Margaret Montgomery, at the Low Cost Vision Clinic in London. Subsequently, I have taught private lessons and group workshops at or near my home in Buckinghamshire, to all age groups, from children to Octogenarians. I’ve also done further training with other vision teachers internationally.
When reading vision difficulties (far-sightedness or presbyopia as it’s called) came along at the age of 45, I used the Bates Method to quickly and efficiently improve my vision again, this time at the near point. After this personal experience of developing long-sightedness when already a teacher, and then actually “fixing” it, I enjoy teaching these wonderful techniques even more!
Having also completed several courses run by or linked to the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, and, practising the technique regularly myself, I try to bring the essence of Mindfulness into my lessons. It’s interesting to note how much the Bates Method naturally incorporates a mindful approach – even though it developed in a completely different way. I have since expanded my daily meditation practice to include Vedic and Passage Meditation, both of which I enjoy very much and which I’ve found spiritually enriching, nourishing, and very complementary to my vision work.
I also bring to the lessons my own unique visual healing and self-healing experience and background, rich and varied life experience, sensitivity and insight – together with a lot of fun and creativity. So – come to my lessons ready to relax, enjoy yourself and – see better!
It truly is a joy to teach such a gentle method, and as one client puts it (my dentist!) – and as I hope you will also experience – “The Bates Method has been a revelation…the results are astonishing.”
My clients range from toddlers, school children, University Lecturers, Academics, University and School Students, Teachers, Journalists, Writers, Fire fighters, London and New York City Bankers, Lawyers, Business managers and Engineers, to Alexander Technique and VHT teachers, Counsellors, Dieticians, Beauticians, Aromatherapists, Naturopaths, Personal Trainers, Psychotherapists, Counsellors and Actors/Celebrities and artists. The range is vast and the quotes on my Testimonial page are all genuine, but my clients’ names have been changed to protect their identities.
I’m also a qualified NLP Practitioner and Coach, and have trained in Bach Flower Remedies to Practitioner level, skills and experience which further complement the mental-emotional healing side of vision improvement teaching.
