Friday Q A Glasses and Balance

Q: I always wonder if my vari-lens glasses affect my ability to balance.

A: The answer depends a lot on each individual and how strongly you rely on your eyes for balance and alignment. In general, for new practitioners, keeping your glasses on so you can see what is going on with you and also with the demonstrations you might be using to learn new poses can be essential for your progress. But as many more seasoned practitioners have noted, it is often natural to begin to close your eyes at times as you practice and rely on a more internal sense of awareness and balance for many poses. The obvious exceptions are balancing and arm balancing poses, like Tree and Handstand, but I have found myself on occasion closing my eyes in Headstand and Shoulderstand quite successfully.

The good news is that the eyes are only one of several systems that work together to assist in good balance, and the others can pick up the slack when needed. So I'd probably try periods of practice at home without your glasses, when looking at demos is not an issue. Then try it a bit in class and notice how it goes.

—Baxter


A: I don't know what vari lenses are but I do know what progressives are, as I have been a wearer of them for three years. In progressive lenses, the glass is graduated between far, closer and closest distances. And if you try to look through a part of the lens that isn't made to do that task, your vision is blurred. And if you have a slight astigmatism, this can in turn cause you to overwork certain eye muscles, which leads to head aches/eye aches. I don't understand all the ways new lens are now made, but in my own practice I have found that if I take off my glasses then my balance is more impaired than if I leave them on. However, if I take away all my vision by closing my eyes, it makes me work more with my other balance centers (proprioception, pressure sensation) and it actually improves my balance!

Although we use our eyesight to help us balance, we can indeed improve our balance by removing this or other senses from the equation. And I personally find that if my vision is impaired, it is more stressful for my nervous system because I’m trying to correct something that can’t be corrected. As someone who is extremely myopic, if I can't see clearly, I can't hear as well and I can't mentally focus. But if I close my eyes, my nervous system can focus on strengthening the balance sensors that remain. My other senses are clearer. I hear better because I direct my attention more to my hearing. I feel more, and I direct my breath into improving my sensation and relaxing areas that I might tend to overwork if I am using my eyes.

Like Baxter, I recommend that you experiment with glasses on/off. When practicing with your eyes open, try finding a focal point (something to visually focus on that you can see clearly) and use that to assist in balancing.

—Shari

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Frame Selection Eye Glasses

Selection of eyeglass frames:  Criteria of a proper spectacle frame

First and foremost, the frame must look good on you. No matter how perfectly well designed a frame is, if it does not suit you, it is obviously not for you.

However, to help you choose a frame such that it will be acceptable optically as well aesthetically the following pointers have been enumerated.

(1) If the power is high, do not choose a frame with large apertures. The thickness of the edge of the lens, especially minus lenses mounted in the spectacle aperture, depends upon the lens power and size. Too large a lens will have a thick edge and give many irritating reflections besides looking unsightly.

(2) If the power is high, especially in plus lenses, the glasses will weigh more. Choose a frame which has a comfortable broad nose support zone. A narrow nose support or one with separate nose pads can actually cause pain after some time.

(3) Do be certain that the eyes fit in the center of the frame aperture. If the eyes do not center, when the glasses are made there will be a great deal of optical distortion.

(4) The ear pieces should not dig their way in behind the ear. All good frames have the last 5 mm turning out to prevent a bite and you should be certain to check it.

(5) If a bifocal is to be made, be certain that the frame fits well and has adequate place to be in its proper position.

Your optician is usually the best guide. Most reputed opticians will take the time and effort to explain to you and see that the frame fits well. Spectacles are worn for over 14 hours a day and even minor discomfort can cause a great deal of irritation. Keep plenty of time free when choosing a frame. Try various styles for both optical and cosmetic appearance. Do not let yourself be steamrollered into buying a frame you do not like. Shop around, and if an optician does not spare time, tries to handle three customers at the same time, obviously he is not the optician for you. 

There was a time when all a person who wanted spectacles did, was to go to the corner drug store, and by trial and error, from a ready stock, decide which spectacles suited him best.

As science started advancing, the power was specified exactly but no guidance was given to a wearer on the type of frame he should choose for proper vision. The result often is a perfect prescription, coupled to precision spectacle lenses, fitted in an incorrect frame with a poor setting. The result: a disaster.

The patient then shuttles between the doctor who gave the prescription and the optician who made the lens. Both remain adamant that they are correct, leaving the patient in the lurch.

This section has been particularly written with this in mind. A patient who knows why and how a spectacle frame is fitted, is in a better position to judge his frame and get the service he desires and is entitled to. More often than not minor changes in the setting of the glass or bifocals are all that is required for comfort.