From the January 2002 Idaho Observer:

Dr. Banker’s Basics Of Eye Care

It is of perpetual wonder that we can live in an age so
technologically advanced that we can have computers and telephones but
cannot convince organized medicine’s health practitioners that our bodies
have tremendous capacities for healing the damage we do to them if we
will simply supply them with the tools to do so. The following story
shows that diet and exercise can reverse degenerative eye disorders
that organized opthalmology recognizes as chronic. This is just one more
example of how no damage is so great that it cannot be reversed — that
is if we are willing to make the lifestyle changes necessary for healing
ourselves.

By Amy Worthington

After enjoying 20/20 vision for most of my life, I was
naturally distressed when my eyesight gradually became so fuzzy I could
no longer clearly see the food on my plate, let alone read a line of
small text.

My eye doctor pronounced me a victim of presbyopia, advancing
nearsightedness that afflicts almost everyone by age 40. He told me
to plop a pair of glasses on my nose, but didn’t mention that glasses
weaken the eyes and eventually exacerbate the problems they are intended
to correct. I asked him if exercises or vitamins would reverse the fuzz.
He glowered at me through his extra-thick glasses and said “Not a chance.”

Neither of us knew then about Dr. Deborah Banker, a rather
brilliant and innovative ophthalmologist of Malibu, California. Having
spent over a million dollars on her education, Dr. Banker has developed
a multi-faceted program for the correction of a variety of vision problems
without invasive surgery.

Pulling together an amazing regime of eye and body exercises,
diet improvement, eastern holistic techniques plus electro-magnetic
therapies, she has created an amazing and successful program to improve
— and in some cases cure — a broad range of ophthalmological disorders.

Dr. Banker uses glasses to strengthen the eyes of her
patients by under-prescribing lens corrections so that the eyes will
be challenged to focus on their own without weakening vision.

By some stroke of good fortune, I heard Dr. Banker speaking
on a radio show, then decided to try her self-help program. After receiving
her vision care kit, which includes both audio and video aids, I went
to work. What I learned about my condition was encouraging and empowering.
Sharpness of vision gradually deteriorates because of weak muscles,
both external and internal to the eye. Eye muscles atrophy from neglect
until they actually change the shape of the body of the eye, affecting
both focusing ability and field of vision.

The ciliary muscle, which controls the lens of the eye,
needs to be exercised regularly, lest it stiffen and leave us with a
very dim view. Also important is the vitreous body, the gel-like substance
made of water and protein which fills the back 4/5ths of the eye. This
is where vision-disrupting floaters form when the gel dehydrates as
we age. Plenty of fluids, certain herbs and regular eye exercises can
even mitigate the effects of this condition.

When I began using Dr. Banker’s wonderful eye yoga techniques,
my eye muscles felt old and tired — petrified actually. My ciliary
muscle complained painfully about having to adjust focus as I made it
watch my thumbs moving from way out there to right up close. But practice
makes perfect and soon my rusty old eyes were rolling around painlessly
and adjusting to focus changes rather smoothly. I also worked faithfully
with Dr. Banker’s breathing exercises, the various eye charts and other
exercise tools in the kit. I was amazed at how quickly my vision improved.
Finally one day, I could actually clearly see my pancakes — sans glasses.

What I discovered however, is that no improvement is permanent
if you neglect your exercises. Keeping eye muscles in tone has to be
a lifelong commitment. Improving eyesight also take patience. Most people
improve by ¼ diopter per month if they are committed and consistent.

Dr. Banker’s in-depth material is a valuable glossary
on the structure and function of the eye, modern medicine’s understanding
of visual optics and refraction plus the fundamentals of eye disorders
and medications. She offers amazing information on how stress and dietary
deficiencies affect the eyesight. She teaches that we cannot understand
the intricacies of vision until we understand circulation, relaxation,
oxygenation, body meridians, massage and acupressure. Dr. Banker’s basic
tips on how to avoid eye strain include using low-intensity, full spectrum
lighting, sitting so as not to compress the lungs, allowing your eyes
to wander around the room at intervals and periodic stretching.

Dr. Banker’s eye kit is a gift to those who derive great
joy from seeing clearly the immense beauty of this world. She reveals
fascinating Chinese secrets for good vision, which she says keeps the
majority of Chinese from needing glasses. Her advice on how to use mental
techniques to keep vision sharp is especially interesting. Who would
think that soothing eye masks, a hot bath full of mineral salts and
essential oils (which open the lungs and relax the extraocular muscles)
could exponentially improve eyesight? Keeping the diet full of high-water
content fruits and veggies plus critical antioxidants is another key
to safeguarding vision.

How wonderful it would be if we taught our children these things so
that they would appreciate their eyesight and learn how to prevent damage
and deterioration of their eyes. It is certainly never too early to
learn Dr. Banker’s important steps for preventing cataracts and other
manifestations of eye damage and abuse.