When approaching the Bates method, the first thing to understand is the fundamental principle: Rest.
This means not to be anxious for immediate results. You wouldn’t expect to break the world record in your first marathon running race. In fact, you would start with a 5 km race before even thinking about a marathon. And you would have to train before that 5 km race. So treat this as your first step towards training for that 5k race. The marathon will come later, don’t worry about it now.
The first step is to learn how to relax, and the initial benefits of this relaxation may come in forms other than eyesight improvement! Watch out for these benefits, and be happy about them: improved sleep quality, less headaches, improved concentration, lower blood pressure, better digestion, boost to immune system, less fatigue, improved memory… need I go on?
Eyesight improvement comes in many forms as well. It is not just about seeing farther or reading smaller print. Many people who do the Bates method also experience seeing more vibrant colors, improved depth perception, and a greater awareness of their surroundings. Be aware of improvements to visual accuity as well as the quality of vision.
June 17, 2010 at 12:40 am
Hey,
So is the Bates Method solely based on relaxation, or is there more?
I encountered some sites that suggested that relazation is key, but just relaxing won’t improve your eyesight.
Also, how do you relax? Aren’t we relaxing when we are sleeping, lying on the bed, etc?
June 17, 2010 at 9:27 am
Hi Jonathan, great question.
The method is based on using the eyes in a relaxed manner. Often, this requires relaxing other muscles in the body first. There is passive relaxation and dynamic relaxation. Passive relaxation is obtained when palming or, for example, when lying down and doing autogenics. Sleep is not necessarily relaxing. Some people strain more in their sleep than when they are awake and notice worse vision in the morning, everyone is different.
Passive relaxation is usually the first thing to learn in the Bates method because it might release muscular tension throughout the body. The next thing is to learn dynamic relaxation. This means, even while performing an action, it is done in a relaxed way. For example, when you write with a pencil and paper, you can do this in a strained way: shoulders tensed up, legs tightly crossed, shallow breath, gripping the pencil tightly. Or, writing can be done in a dynamically relaxed way: unnecessary muscles are not tightened, so the shoulders or dropped, the legs rest, and the pencil is only held as hard as it needs to be, no more. The same is true of the eye. It can be used with strain or with as little effort as possible.
see this article: http://www.central-fixation.com/better-eyesight-magazine/better-eyesight-1920-09.php#make-sight-worse
I’m guessing the websites you are referring to suggest that passive relaxation is not enough to improve eyesight, and that is true for most people. Most people must also learn to use the eye in a relaxed way, otherwise the tension removed with the passive relaxation simply comes back. This part of the Bates method is learned through understanding the concept of central fixation. Shifting, memory, and imagination are all good aids to learn central fixation.
The bottom line is the importance of using the body in a gentle manner, instead of with unnecessary tension. Since the muscles of the eye are not so easily controlled consciously as other muscles in the body, Dr. Bates developed many techniques that teach how to use the eyes in a different way. Everyone responds differently to these techniques, so there is no need to worry if some of them don’t work for you.
Dr. Bates almost always started with palming because it seems to help the most people relax. Then he taught the other active techniques until a couple were found that helped the individual. Finally, the individual was told to alternate the active techiques (such as shifting) with palming. They were told to practice this as much as possible, for as much time as they received benefit. When a technique provided no further benefit, then he taught a variation of the technique or new ones. It seems most cases were seen on a weekly basis so that he could evaluate the benefit of what they were practicing at home and change it often. This shows the importance of learning the method with a teacher, or of having a huge amount of discipline and self-motivation to read and creatively apply the method when teaching oneself. It also shows how it’s impossible to tell in advance if the method will work for someone and how long it will take.
Did that answer your first question? I’ll go into how to relax in the next comment since this is so long!
Sorrisi
June 18, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Thank you so much.
That post answered most of my questions
Now I’m just looking forward to learning exactly how I can do those things!
Do you think I’ll be able to practice this method even when I get away to residence at my university? I heard university is quite stressful.
June 19, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Hi Jonathan,
In the scope of things, university is probably the best period of your life to do the Bates method.
Find an ophthalmologist that will support you while you do the Bates method. I am not a medical doctor nor an optometrist, so I can’t advise you about the health of your eyes or your glasses prescription. Look around to see if there are behavoural optometrists in your area or if there is an opthalmologist that you can talk to about what you are doing. The next thing you might want to consider is getting some in person lessons with a Bates method teacher because you will learn much faster than over the internet.
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The first dynamic relaxation lesson has to do with movement.
Before and after you try something, just notice how you feel and how you see.
Remember not to hold your breath and also to keep blinking!
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A. Walk from one side of a room to the other. Do you notice that as you step forward the wall in front of you appears to move closer to you? Do you notice objects next to you appear to move past you? Choose one activity each day, whether it’s a walk you always take to work or brushing your teeth. During that activity, simply pay attention to how everything else appears to move when your head and eyes move. If you find yourself noticing this movement at other tiems of the day, that is fantastic!
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B. A similar demonstration is to hold up one finger about 6 inches from your face. Turn your head from left to right with your eyes looking softly straight out of your head (keep blinking!). The finger should appear to swing in the opposite direction of the movement of your head and eyes. After observing this also note that everything in the room is swinging back and forth as you turn your head. Don’t pay attention to any stationary object, don’t try to focus on anything, just let everything move in your periphery and let your central vision alone. Let everything move by. After some time of this, do you notice that the objects further from your finger move differently than your finger, which is closer to you? We’ll look at this in more detail later, just see if you can notice it for now.
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C. Get a pencil and paper. Draw something. For example, a tree and house. Now, point to the left side of the house with the pencil and look where you point. Now point to the right side of the house. Do you notice that the house moves to the left as you do this? Experiment by pointing at different things, draw different shapes. Point in all directions. See what the smallest distance is that you can point and still notice a movement. Gradually work all of these things in, you don’t have to do it all at the same sitting. Only do it if it’s interesting.
Remember the suggestions at the beginning:
Before and after you try something, just notice how you feel and how you see.
Remember not to hold your breath and also to keep blinking!
Take your time exploring these things and let me know what happens.
Best,
Sorrisi