About VoJ
& Dr Bates

Various Inner Vision Links

Natural Vision Educators

We cannot teach people anything, 
we can only help them discover it within themselves.
Galileo Galilei

Instead of repeating what has already been written by others, I highly recommend that you investigate some of 
the many educative websites listed below. There is excellent information to be found among these sites, 
so 'click away' and find something that resonates with your heart.
Your eyes, body and mind will be grateful for you letting these teachers into your life.

I do suggest that you take private lessons from a local teacher if at all possible.
However, if you do not make progress as expected, please do not give up on the Bates Method !  
Your local teacher may not have enough experience yet or may not have clear vision themselves yet,
but you have provided them with an opportunity to grow and learn by taking lessons from them.  
Your experience will serve them as teachers, which serves your local community in the long run.
So, kindly thank your teacher and then move on to another teacher, until you do achieve your goals.  

Inclusion of a link does not imply Vision Of Joy's endorsement, because I am not 
personally familiar with the quality of the lessons offered by all of these teachers, 
so I cannot vouch for how well they do or do not understand the Bates Method .

This list is not exhaustive, as many teachers do not have websites.  
If you are a vision educator and would like to be included in this list, please let me know!

Green background indicates webpages in a language other than English

Contents:  (Scroll down or click on any underlined text to jump to specific sections)

Vision Educators in
 - Western USA
 - Hawaii
 - Eastern USA
 - Canada
 - Europe
 - Australia & New Zealand
 - Rest of the world.

Other vision related websites - links to more teachers and to other very useful and interesting sites about vision.

E-groups on natural vision - communicate with others who are going through the process of improving their vision.

 

Western USA

visionsofjoy.org Esther Joy van der Werf.  Woodland Hills, CA (near Los Angeles).  
(Yes, you're here!  :-)  Also see my travel schedule.
visionlady.com Jeannie 'Viveka' Fitzsimmons, Beverly Hills, CA.
opsismax Max Mandolini, Los Angeles, CA.
yogawithsue.com Sue Choi, Venice, CA
eyerobics.net Jerriann Taber, San Diego, CA.
mariewilson.info Marie Wilson, Sacramento, CA.
self-healing.org Meir Schneider's School of Self-Healing, San Francisco, CA.
thebotree.com Teresa Bowen, Davis, CA.
journeybeyondclarity.com Karen Kiester, Ashland, OR
clearvisionnaturally.com Gene Younger, Portland, OR & Vancouver, WA.
abe@opas.com Toshiyasu Abe, Seattle, WA. Tel: (206) 898-9988.  "Studying vision is studying life."
selfhealingnw.com Carol Gallup, Pt Townsend, WA.
utahsnaturaleyes.com Troy Ballard, Orem, UT.
Simply Vision Alan Winn, UT. A delightful site, about myopia (nearsightedness)
visionimprovementcenter.com Greg Marsh, Fort Collins, CO.
holisticvision.org
newattention.net
Sam Berne, OD, Santa Fe, NM. Sam specializes in ADD, Vision and Learning

Hawaii

stressaway.com
keilman.org
Kate Keilman, Honolulu, HI. Kate sells wonderful software to help your eyes and body relax during computer work, it's really a must-have for regular computer users.

exerciseyoureyes.com

Jacob Liberman, OD, PhD, Maui, HI.  Jacob is the author of Light, medicine for the future and Take off your glasses and see.

Eastern USA
visioneducators.com
Rosemary Gaddum Gordon, Cambridge, MA and Eliot, ME,
and Elizabeth Abraham, Toronto, Canada. (Also for teacher training!)
A quote from Rosemary: 
"Seeing from the core encourages one to be 'home', to see with the mind rather than trying to see with just the eyes, to relax and receive the information entering the eyes."
In memoriam, 
February 2008
Justine Karamazov, Belfast, ME.
        Justine, you are missed already...  love, Esther

bettervision.com

Martin Sussman, Topsfield, MA. Includes a list of behavioral optometrists by state.
effortlessvision.com Robert Lichtman, Manhattan, NY. Robert is an excellent Bates teacher, he has many years of personal experience in improving vision.
embodiedtransformations.com Rob Cohen, Stone Ridge, NY. Rob made major improvements in his own vision and now combines the Bates Method with his extensive knowledge of Feldenkrais work.  
syntonicphototherapy.com Ray Gottlieb, OD, PhD, Rochester, NY.  Ray is a very knowledgeable Bates-loving optometrist.  Ray's chart has reversed presbyopia ('over-40-farsightedness') in his patients and himself.  You can download Ray's chart here
naturaleyecare.com Marc Grossman, OD, New Paltz & Rye, NY.  Marc is an optometrist with an open mind to the Bates Method and he uses vision training in his practices.  
An extensive source of vision supplements and a free e-newsletter.
optometryandenergyhealing.com Charles M Steinberg, OD, Wexford, PA.
Avoid Nearsightedness Otis Brown, Waynesboro, PA.
seeingislearning.com Sharon Hicks, Norristown, PA.
naturaleyesightimprovement.com

Elizabeth Pottenger, Hendersonville, TN


Canada
visioneducators.com
Elizabeth Abraham, Toronto, Canada,
and Rosemary Gaddum Gordon, Cambridge, MA and Eliot, ME.
beyond2020vision.com Roberto Michael Kaplan, OD, Canada / Vienna, Austria
joythompson.com Joy Thompson, Vancouver, BC. 
relaxedvision.com Connie Brander, Calgary, Alberta

Europe
seeing.org The Bates Association for Vision Education, England. Includes a list of vision teachers in the UK.
batescve.co.uk Aileen Whiteford and Margaret Montgomery, London, England.
bates-method.co.uk Peter Mansfield, Portslade, England.  An experienced 'classic' Bates teacher.
indivisual.org.uk Anna Bambridge, Glasgow, Scotland & London, England
easyeyesight.com Christopher Pieri, Sheerness, Kent, England
thebatesmethod.org Ajay Sehgal, London, England
natural-vision.co.uk Erica Richardson, England
eyecycle.org Alexandra Brenan, London, England
robertmichaelkay.com Robert Michael Kay, Otford, England
naturalvisioncenter.com Tom Quackenbush, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Author of Relearning to See and Better eyesight - the complete magazines of William H Bates. (zie NL pagina)
natuurlijkzien.nl Saskia Naber, Groningen, The Netherlands. Dutch website, by my colleague Saskia, an excellent Bates teacher since 2003. (zie NL pagina)
batesmethode.nl Pieter Wester, Noord Holland, The Netherlands. Dutch information about the Bates Method.  (zie NL pagina)
eye-tools.info Peter Ruiter, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Dutch website. (zie NL pagina)
vrolijkweerzien.nl Guido van Mierlo, Gelderland, The Netherlands. Dutch website. (zie NL pagina)
helder-zien.nl Rijn de Jonge, Harderwijk, The Netherlands. Dutch website. (zie NL pagina)
seeingwithoutglasses.com

Christopher Markert, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Website in English.

marieetmarie.be Marie Schils, Belgium (Website in French and German)
Art de Voir  Art de Voir, Association of vision teachers in France. (Website in French)
altevi.com Brigitte Cavadias, France. Combining Bates with Alexander Technique, Brigitte has been teaching and leading workshops in France, UK, Sweden and Finland. (Website in English and French)
institutbates.com Jean-Philippe Marie Dit Moisson, west of Paris, France. Jean-Philippe is a Bates Teacher (Enseignant de la méthode Bates) who took off his glasses as soon as he discovered the Bates Method and has since steadily improved his eyesight from a myopic R 6/10, L 9/10 to a clarity of R 16/10 and L 18/10.
akasha.com.pl Siergiej Litwinow, Poland (Website in Polish, English, Czech, and Russian)
treningwidzenia Magda Wawrzycka, Poland 
batesmetoden.no Torill Opsand, Norway (Website in Norwegian). Torill is a Feldenkrais practitioner and physiotherapist in addition to being a Bates teacher.
verein-gesundes-sehen.de Extensive list of vision teachers in Germany
beyond2020vision.com Roberto Michael Kaplan, OD, Vienna, Austria / Canada
healer.ch Martin Brofman. Lausanne, Switzerland. Martin gives Vision Workshops in Europe. (Site in English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, Danish, Italian, Portuguese and Brazilian. Wow...)
metodobates.it Maurizio Cagnoli, Italy. The Art of Vision, the website of Buena Vista.
(Webiste in English, Italian, Portuguese, French, Spanish, German)
lakelandsylvia.com.br Sylvia Lakeland in Lisboa, Portugal (Website in Portuguese and English)
latastrening.hu
eyetraining.hu

Peter Vén, Budapest, Hungary
Website in Hungarian, English, Italian, French and German.

healyoureyes.com

Nick Focus, Athens, Greece


Australia & New Zealand
eyebody.com Peter Grunwald, NZ. Combines Natural Vision with Alexander Technique.
A quote from Peter: "...every single area of the eyes, visual pathway and visual cortex corresponds to an associated area in the body.  Specific vision malfunctions such as short and farsightedness, astigmatism, middle aged vision (presbyopia), squints, lack of binocular vision as well as glaucoma or cataracts have been seen to correspond to specific analogous tensions and contractions in the body."
Janet Goodrich
teachers trained by JG
Carina Goodrich, Maleny, Qld, AU. Carina is continuing her mother's mission.
This site has a list of NVI teachers trained by Janet, most of them live in Australia.
eyepower.com.au Barry Auchettl, Smythes Creek, Victoria, AU. "The more clearly we begin to see ourselves, the greater clarity we present to the world."
visionimprovement.com.au Geoff Hingerty, Sylvania Waters, NSW, AU. Vision Naturopath

Rest of the world
vision-training.com Leo Angart. Leo combines the Bates Method with NLP and Pranic Healing.
He gives workshops in many places: in Asia, North America, Africa, Australia and Europe. 
Website in English, German, Spanish, Chinese, Hungarian, Slovene.
touchtraining.com.sg Harry Quek, Singapore. "Sight without glasses-makes a world of difference."
self-healing.com.br Meir Schneider and Beatriz Nascimento in Brazil (Website in Portuguese and some English)
lakelandsylvia.com.br Sylvia Lakeland in Säo Paulo, Brazil (Website in Portuguese and English)
email Prapanna Swain Prapanna Swain in Pondicherry, India.  School of Perfect Eyesight at Sri Aurobindo Ashram
email Aruna Yadav Aruna Yadav. Workshops in India.  Read an article in The Hindu about her work (in English)

Other vision related websites

visioneducators.org The Association of Vision EducatorsThe AVE website has a practitioners list; it includes many teachers who do not have websites and are not listed above, so do check this if you have not yet found a teacher near you!
iblindness.org

batesmethodstore.com
David Kiesling has set up an excellent site about the Bates Method, includes many great articles.  David's site is well worth lots of visits!!
David's Bates Method Store offers a good variety of new and second hand books.
central-fixation.com

Rune Kenneth Meisingset has gathered nearly everything you'd want to know about Dr Bates on this wonderful website. 

It's only natural Dr Poesnecker has good information about the Bates Method.
cleareyesight.info More Bates Method information
i-see.org International Society for the Enhancement of Eyesight
breathing development sites This is a list on our own breathing page with links about breathing development
ottlite.com or fullspectrumsolutions.com Full spectrum lamps developed by John Ott.  For better vision and health.
lightenergycompany.com More information about health and light.  
They have John Ott's excellent 'Exploring the Spectrum' video for sale.
braingym.org
braingym.com
Paul E Dennison, Braingym. Very helpful for people with dyslexia and learning disabilities, closely related to better vision.
www.irisdiagnosis.net Frank Navratil B.Sc, N.D. Iridology, Czech Republic.  Author of "For your eyes only" and "The Eye for an Eye Diet"
askbillsardi.com Bill Sardi, author of 'Nutrition and the Eyes'.
Krissy's keratoconus page Krissy Golub, AZ. Krissy overcame Keratoconus without surgery and shares her story.
macular-degeneration-recovery Ray Amsterdam, UK.  Ray overcame macular degeneration naturally and his site presents a very detailed Case Study of his recovery through Ayurveda - subsequent to being told 'there is no treatment available to restore … vision”.  The site includes full clinical data, a discussion section, and treatment contact details.
alexandertechnique.com Alexander Technique, for improved body posture and movement awareness, this will help create better eyesight.
trager.com Milton Trager MD, The Trager Approach of psychophysical integration and Mentastics movement education.  This can help loosen up chronic tension in the body.
feldenkrais.com Moshe Feldenkrais, Somatic education; awareness through movement.
focusingresources.com Focusing is a technique for emotional self healing. A great adjunct in vision improvement.
123eft.com
emofree.com
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is an easy to learn, easy to use self help tool for dealing with emotional challenges.
nlp.com Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a popular technique which allows you to change, adopt, or eliminate behaviors, as you desire, and gives you the ability to choose your mental, emotional, and physical states of well-being.
healingtheeye.com Edward Kondrot, MD, Phoenix, AZ, USA. An ophthalmologist with a more alternative approach, specializing in Macular Degeneration
yorku.ca/eye/ The Joy of Visual Perception, an e-book about vision by Peter K. Kaiser
visionfreedom.com William Carter's story of improving his vision. Worth reading!
med.uwo.ca/physiology/ Undergraduate level course in Sensory Physiology which includes an "Introduction to Eye Movements". By Tutis Vilis
Bates System Christopher McPeck
childrensvision.com Children's Vision Information Network, Wichita, KS, USA.
pavevision.org PAVE (Parents Active for Vision Education) is an organization whose mission is to raise public awareness of the crucial relationship between vision and achievement.
visionstories.org Success stories of people who used vision therapy (different from Bates Method) to help their vision.  Vision therapy can be a useful adjunct with the Bates Method.  If you can't find a Bates Teacher near you, you may find a Vision Therapist instead.
eye2eye.com Eye2Eye, Solutions In Sight - Computer Eyestrain Treatment System.
pinholes.com
clearvisionhawaii.com
pinhole-glasses.com
Pinhole glasses can sometimes be useful in relaxing the eyes.  When coupled with natural vision improvement classes, they may help you return to clear vision.  Visions of Joy sells them for $30, along with a caution to not become dependent on them!  You don't want to exchange one crutch for another, so use them minimally.
Also, not everyone finds them beneficial, so, if possible, try them before you buy them.
selectspecs.com
goggles4u.com
zennioptical.com
eyeglassesdirect.com
lbweyewear.com
Are you nearsighted and jealous of those farsighted people who can buy their glasses at any dollar store? Good news! These websites sell glasses at very affordable rates, around $30 per pair. You type in the (reduced) prescription you want, you chose a frame, pay, and you'll get your glasses in the mail. Easy! 
WildernessGuidesCouncil.org
SacredGroundCenter.com
SchoolOfLostBorders.com
Earth-heart.net
See the Vision Quests page for an explanation of these links.
mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/
vision/Galileo
A page explaining the effect of sunlight on eyes, and doing away with the myth of Galileo going blind from observing the sun.

E-Groups on Natural Vision Improvement

You can join these groups for free, ask questions, or just read about other people's experiences.
Educational and informational, but not always 100% accurate.
Keep your common sense and decide for yourself.
To avoid a deluge of e-mails from yahoo groups, read the messages on-line or sign up for daily digests only.

effortlessvision.com/forum1 Questions on natural vision improvement / the Bates Method are answered by teachers from the Association of Vision Educators.
iblindness.org/forum/

A good discussion forum about the Bates method on iblindness.org, set up by David Kiesling.

facebook.com If you're a member of facebook, search for the 'Bates Method' group.  Set up by Deb Bokhorst, one of my students, April 2008.
groups.yahoo.com/group/batesmethod/

Bates Method group.
Since February 2002

groups.yahoo.com/group/2see/

Natural Vision Improvement group.
Since December 1998
perfectsight.com/discus/board.html

Public discussion group on PerfectSight.com
Since June 1999, set up by Rick Hubbard, USA

groups.yahoo.com/group/i-see/ International Society for Enhancement of Eyesight
Since October 1999
groups.yahoo.com/group/visionsenz/

Robin Parsons' group about Myopia (nearsightedness)
Since January 2002

groups.yahoo.com/group/focus_on_vision_training/

Focus On... Vision Training
Since March 2003, set up by Francine Eisner, USA

groups.yahoo.com/group/LazyEye Support group for Amblyopia, Strabismus and Lazy Eye
Since January 1999
it.groups.yahoo.com/groups/Visus Italian discussion forum on Natural Vision Improvement.
Since November 2001
latastrening.hu/duma/ Hungarian discussion forum on Natural Vision Improvement.
16apr08