| Better Eyesight Without Glasses |
|
|
| Helena Loveday | |||
| Wednesday, 20 February 2008 | |||
 “A patient has just as much time to use his eyes properly as he has to use them improperly.” - William H.Bates, M.D. William H. Bates, M. D. developed the Bates Method, a system for natural vision improvement, in the early 20th Century. After many years of experimental work observing patients who wore glasses he came to the conclusion that eyesight could either improve or deteriorate with time. He also concluded that poor eyesight was due to the strain of trying to see and that eyesight could be improved by relaxing the mind and the eyes. He began treating patients using his method in 1913.Many people have claimed that the Bates Method has improved their eyesight but perhaps its most famous advocate is the 20th Century author Aldous Huxley who published his experiences in his book “The Art of Seeing”. Here are some of the basic techniques of the Bates Method. Palming Bates recommended palming for relaxing the eyes. The idea is to exclude as much light as possible from the eyes. Palming is useful at any point when you want to relax your eyes or preceding any visually demanding task such as reading.
Swinging Bates encouraged swinging, not just to relax the upper body but also to relax the eyes, the goal is to break the habit of staring. According to Dr. Bates, 50 swings performed at bedtime and again on rising will help to prevent or alleviate eyestrain during sleep. Instructions
Sunning Sunning is a technique for overcoming photophobia (sensitivity to light) and it consists simply of absorbing sun through closed eyelids. In this way the retina becomes accustomed to progressively brighter light until the eye can cope with all normally encountered light intensities. Sunning should only be done in the morning or afternoon and only for short periods of time. Instructions
Central Fixation Bates taught that we see only using a very small area of the retina, the rest of the retina is capable of some vision but the images are out of focus and using the eye in this way causes strain. We should be focusing only on small portions of an object at a time, moving the eye rapidly over the object to take it all in. Bates said, “The staring eye is a straining eye. The normal eye is almost never at rest, but is constantly moving and shifting in its effort to properly visualise whatever we wish to see.” Blinking and Breathing Bates believed that staring was the first step on the road to refractory problems. Most people who work on computers or do a lot of reading are guilty of this habit which not only dries out the eyes but also causes strain and tiredness. Get into the habit of blinking regularly. Instructions
Only a few seconds should pass between blinks. As a rough guide, aim for two to four blinks every ten seconds. As with most natural therapies it takes time and patience for results. Incorporating relaxation techniques into your daily routine will enable you to become more aware of any strain on your eyes, you can then easily apply the appropriate exercise to alleviate the strain.
Disclaimer: Harmonious Living is written for and read by a community of individuals with strong and independent opinions. While the publishers of Harmonious Living are dedicated to providing a forum in which views can be openly expressed, those views do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers.
| |||
| Related Articles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
This is the powerful story of the author's struggle with Multiple Sclerosis and how a healer's unusual prescription of mindful altruism - to 'give away 29 gifts in 29 days' - ignited her energy, her happiness, and invited more abundance into her life.
