muscles of the eyes

here's another cool experiment, confirming ties in your body that you might not have been aware of. it's actually from "anatomy trains," though the relationships have been "known" by chinese from antiquity.

in the suboccipital region (the soft tissue just below the base of the skull) are such points as GB 12 and GB 20. GB 20 has long been known by the chinese as a point affecting vision. i always attributed this tie to the fact that the optical centers of the brain are primarily located "within the occiput." but there is a more direct (and interesting) tie.

for this experiment, place your hands on the back of your head, like you are doing a sit-up. feel with your fingers for the soft tissue just below the occiput (the hard rim of bone at the base of your skull). now, close your eyes. while your eyes are closed, look to the left, look to the right, look up, look down. WITHOUT moving your head, you should feel muscles subtly roll beneath your fingers. cool, huh?

apparently, there is an ancient tie between the muscles controlling the eyes and the muscles at the bottom of the skull... it has something to do with the way infants need to raise their necks (hyperextend) in order to "see the world" when they first begin to crawl... also has something to do with the way a cat thrown into the air will always manage to land on its feet- apparently, the eyes detect the level horizon (or some other landmark) and, via the muscles at the back of the skull, TURN the body to orient it feet down. INTERESTING...

i've heard it said that the reason some blind people (like stevie wonder) have a characteristic hyperextension of the neck when they play is because the lack of vision breaks the feedback loop that tells seeing people at what level to orient their heads... not sure if that is necessarily true, but an interesting line of thought.