Your Eyes - UndiscoveRed Potential

Our eyes need light to send sensory information to our brain. After our brain receives light data, it forms a visual image. What we “see” when we open our eyes is our brain’s interpretation of the light entering our eyes. Just in case our eyes can not send proper information to our brain, to create a clear picture, our brain needs to fill out information, what it “thinks” it could see. 

Why is it important to send proper information with our eyes to the brain?

Good vision lets us see clear but also allows us to react faster when we can see things earlier, clear, in the right distance, and size. 79% of our daily activity and movements are based on what our eyes see.  If our eyes can not send correct information, our brain will slow us down. Thats why our body's ability to walk or run quickly at night is diminished. (whether you feel it or not it's true) 

Since our eyes have muscles, these muscles need to work properly for high performance. Of corse we are also able to compensate deficient vision, but it might be possible to improve performance, by improving our vision, and the information our eyes sending to the brain. 

What is good vision?

Is it getting a 20/20 at the eye Dr. good vision? (You stand 20 feet away from a vision chart and see, what a normal person would see at the same distance. If you have 20/40 you would see 20 feet away from a target, what a normal person would see standing 40 feet away.) So 20/20 is not bad to begin with. For a test like this you are standing in a room with artificial light, but what happens skiing outside? 

Outdoors you have different light, you are moving, and your eyes are not just starring at a letter on the wall... Your brain is getting totally different information from your eyes. One of the attributes of good vision allows you to focus on different targets in different distances as well as peripheral vision on objects around you all while you are moving. Correct vision will help you focus on such objects during physical exertion such as skiing.

How to improve vision for better performance?

I mentioned, our eyes have muscles, which need to be used for good function. Let´s train those muscles by holding your arm in front of you with your thumb up. Now move your thumb left and right, up and down, diagonal, near and far, following circuits, spirals, “writing” letters or numbers.... You can follow a fly or bird, all while not moving your head at all. You can be very creative with your exercises. 

Please do me a favor and test at least one of the eye exercises. To get a feedback, if this is working for you, I highly encourage you to assess something. Find a range of motion you´re having trouble with (e.i. Finger – toe distance or range of motion, when rotating your head) and test this before and after you do some eye movements. 

You will find as you practice eye exercises your physical range of motion will improve too, you will experience the power of your vision and what it can do for your body AND your performance.

Please give it a try, it only takes a few minutes. 

If you don´t mind, I would love to get your feedback on that. It can be very short like: “awesome – my range of motion improved” or “It didn´t do anything for me”....