The Bates method is a powerful natural vision improvement program that has changed the lives of many thousands of people around the world. Over the years it has been developed and refined by numerous practitioners of natural vision improvement.
Modern applications of the Bates method are wildly successful. Once you have mastered them you'll no doubt look around and wonder why people wear glasses at all.
Bates Method Eyesight Improvement
Nowadays, people think that the best way to improve eyesight is through wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses. Although these certainly aid people with visual problems, they do little to correct the underlying problem.
In fact, you will notice that you constantly need to upgrade your lenses because it seems that your eyesight gets worse as time goes by. Moreover, you also become prone to eye infections when you use contact lenses.
Wearing glasses or contacts becomes a lifetime affair. What most people do not know is that once upon a time, a leading yet controversial ophthalmologist devised a method to improve eyesight naturally.
Dr. William Horatio Bates did not believe in the use of corrective lenses to improve or even aid in visual problems. He focused more on alternative therapies that could treat the eyes naturally.
Unfortunately, Dr Bates' methods were met with a lot of criticism by the eye care industry. After all, how could anyone profit from you curing your visual problems naturally?
The eye care industry thrives on charging people like you, thousands of dollars on eye surgery or a lifetime supply of eyeglasses and contact lenses.
Dr Bates method of natural vision improvement was never taken up by mainstream optometry, and nor will it ever be. His teachings however, were continued and improved upon by the likes of Margaret Darst Corbett and Aldous Huxley, and have gained widespread popularity among alternative therapists who continue to this day, to change lives by helping people to throw away their glasses where they never thought they could.
So what are you waiting for? It is time to put down your glasses and learn more about the Bates method of natural eyesight improvement.
What Is The Bates Method?
As previously mentioned, the Bates method focuses on natural or alternative therapies on improving eyesight. According to Dr. Bates, one of the main causes of sight problems is a habitual straining of the eyes through improper use. Even eyeglasses add to the strain that people with visual problems are experiencing.
In order to avoid this strain, Dr. Bates devised several techniques and exercises that can be used to prevent unnecessary stress on the eyes.
He compiled these techniques in a book called, “The Cure of Imperfect Sight by Treatment without Glasses,” published in 1920. Most of his methods were based on avoiding strain and achieving 'central fixation' – the ability to maintain focus on a central point of vision without staring.
Palming
One of the treatments proposed by Dr. Bates was ‘palming’. This exercise helps relax the eyes, thereby helping to release the tension caused by eye strain. In palming, the person covers his closed eyes with the palms of the hand, making sure that no pressure is exerted on the eyeballs. A person who is totally relaxed would see pitch darkness, but those who are in need of eye relaxation will see an illusion of lights and colors. Regular practice of palming can help improve your vision.
Visualization & Eye Movements
Since the Bates method advocates relaxation as a treatment for eye strain, he also puts emphasis on mental images or visualization techniques. He also focused on eye movement, since he believed that constant movement of the muscles surrounding the eyeball helps avoid staring and straining, which are the main causes of eye problems according to him. He suggested eye exercises aimed at improving eyesight, such as the likes of shifting and swinging of the eyes.
Flashes Of Clear Vision
Although these exercises are designed to improve your eyesight over a period of months, it is not uncommon to start seeing flashes of perfect vision when you are starting out. Initially this will be due to the contact lens-like effect of moisture, though over time these moments of optical clarity will last longer and longer, and will be a sign that you are indeed improving your eyesight through achieving central fixation.
Modern Application Of The Bates Method
Although not everything that Dr. Bates has proposed in his book are still in practice now, modern alternative therapists still look to the Bates method as a sort of guide. It is after all, the origin of the notion that people can use natural methods to improve their sight.
Modern proponents of alternative eye therapies still recommend palming, swinging, and shifting exercises. It is also important to learn to minimize the use of glasses or contacts because they serve to worsen your vision over time.
(Side Note: Although the avoidance of conventional treatment will help you in the long run, you must remember to still wear your eyeglasses/contacts when driving or operating machinery, up until the point when you can start to see clearly without them of course)
A Holistic Approach…
Aside from the above, modern holistic therapies also emphasize the connection between eyesight and other aspects of the body. For example, posture and nutrition can have either a good or bad effect on a person’s visual system.
It is also important to employ breathing techniques together with Bates method exercises. This enhances circulation to all parts of your body, including your eyes and brain. Even your mindset can affect the way you see. You should be able to handle emotional stresses because these may also affect the way you see, in terms of developing your mind’s ability to form an image. All of these aspects combined contribute to the fact that vision should be treated with a holistic approach.
New, More Sophisticated Exercises…
A lot of other new techniques have also been created following Dr. Bates’ teachings. For example, instead of simply doing shifting exercises, you can now incorporate this into other exercises like the self-massage technique, in which a series of eight exercises are integrated in order to provide relaxation to the eyes, avoid straining, and to stimulate the visual centers of the brain.
Inner Vision & The Role Of The 'Mind'…
You also need to develop not just your physical eyes but your mind’s eye to develop your visualization techniques, encourage coordination between your eyes and brain, and promote deep relaxation essential to clear vision. Remember, it isn’t your eyes that do the ‘seeing’. Your eyes merely receive a stimulus, transmit it to the brain, which deconstructs the message and it is your mind that does the seeing.
Further Reading
The Bates method is also the main working principle behind How To Improve Eyesight Naturally, a program designed to restore near perfect vision to people with poor visual acuity in just a span of 1-3 months. It will provide you with a daily action plan to correct and promote clear vision so that you can achieve your goal of having better vision at the end of the program.
Click here to visit How To Improve Eyesight Naturally