as if eyesight could be un-natural…  january 2003, i decided to do an experiment and see how my body would feel if i became a vegetarian.  so i went home to my parents’ place for dinner and announced that i would no longer be eating meat.  that i was going to try it on for size for 30 days and see what i thought.  in california, vegetarianism is almost like a prada bag.  folks wear it on their shoulder to let everyone else know just how conscious they are.  i wanted to see what all the hype was about.  i found that i felt a lot more energetic and enjoyed my food more.  so for me it worked.  3 years later…i’m still not eating meat (except for fish, so my mom calls me a bengali vegetarian). 

so now i have my next experiment.  i have been wearing glasses from age 7.  and though my power is not too strong (-3.5 and -3.25) - average for nearsighted people, i’m still very attached to my contact lenses and enjoy the seeing crystal clear images!

i had long heard about yoga exercises being able to correct vision issues, but the product of western medicine and coming from a family of docs, i didn’t really believe it.  until one day, a good friend of mine came into yoga class wearing her soda bottle glasses.  she told me she was working on correcting her vision through a series of eye exercises.  2 years later, she is glasses free!

i know…i’m a skeptic as well, but i also remember what my yoga teacher says about the yogini’s body.  it’s a lab.  we experiment with postures and exercises to test the energy flow and understand what brings us closer to our center. 

in the same spirit of my vegetarian experiment, i am now attempting to correct my vision au natural.  i decided to go for it for 30 days.  i started sunday, november 6 and have asked my friends not to let me give up.  i am not allowed to wear my glasses except for driving.  i am moving around my day at a snail’s pace.  for someone as type a as me, this is a very humbling experiment. 

when i walk around, i’m not quite sure if people are looking at me, so i just smile all the time.  i don’t want people to think i’m being rude or ignoring them!  going to the grocery store salad bar is like an adventure.  i can generally tell what everything is, but i’m like an 80 year old woman checking and rechecking - there’s the added pressure of having to make sure i’m not accidently putting any meat in my salad. 

i have noticed that the puffiness under my eyes has disappeared and that when i wake up in the morning, my eyes are very dry.  odd.

i have also noticed small shifts in my eyesight.  i have moments when the computer screen gets clear again as if i’m wearing glasses.  i start to tear up every time that happens and then lose it because my eyes are all watery!  but mostly right now, i walk around frustrated and a little sad.  it’s a bummer not being able to see clearly. 

i will keep you posted periodically.  my brother is an eye doctor and i haven’t told him about my experiment.  i’m going to his house for thanksgiving and every year he tests my eyes.  by that time, i would have been at this for 2 1/2 weeks.  you’re supposed to see improvement by then.  i’m excited to test the experiment then.  countdown begins…

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