“You may have been told that you need glasses, but that’s actually a lie.”
So says Samantha Lotus, a self-described “holistic master coach” and Canadian online wellness influencer, who says she can teach you to see clearly again for only $11.
Lotus is offering her tens of thousands of social media followers the chance to throw away their glasses and heal the “spiritual, emotional, mental and physical reasons” behind their bad eyesight, according to an Instagram post. Lotus says she teaches “holistic multidimensional healing” methods and has already healed her own eyesight, so that she no longer needs glasses, according to her social media.
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In a post on Friday, Lotus claimed she had 338 people signed up to take her online masterclass.
But there’s a catch: “If you’re closed minded and want to stay a victim, this is NOT FOR YOU,” she writes.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) told The Daily Beast there are only a couple of ways to heal presbyopia, or farsightedness.
“The only way to correct it is corrective lenses (reading glasses or contact lenses), surgery, or medicated prescription eye drops,” an AAO spokesperson said.
The organization added that there was “no scientific evidence” to support other alternative practices to improve eyesight such as “eye yoga,” exercises that some claim can help presbyopia.
In an email to The Daily Beast, Lotus responded to critics who called her methods “quackery.”
“I understand that people are skeptical and worried about grifters and uneducated ‘influencer’ scammers online,” Lotus said, claiming she had studied psychology, sociology, and naturopathic medicine as well as “extensive training in anatomy, physiology, biology, pathology of disease and iridology.”
However she said the aim of her new class is “self-healing,” and that in it she advises people to avoid blue light, reduce screen time, use specific eye and neck exercises and incorporate specific nutrients into their diet.
As for the “spiritual” dimension of bad eyesight, she said she discusses the connection between stress and poor vision.
Lotus wrote that “critics and hate mail have certainly come flooding in” since she announced her class. In another Instagram story, she claimed an “angry optometrist” had marshaled people to spam her account and leave “hateful comments.”
“Their negative energy does not effect me,” she wrote.
