Did you know that the eyeglasses or contact lenses are in fact our
enemy? This might sound a little bit like fantasy at the first sight,
but there is a lot of proof.
The truth is out there
When
people suffer from some refractive error, their eyes are unable to
focus objects at various distances. Therefore, eyes are trying through
different mechanisms to fight back refractive errors and restore
vision. When people wear eye glasses or contact lenses, eyes don't have
to get used to imperfection, because they are already seeing clearly
and this is the reason why eye glasses and contact lenses do very
little to improve vision and stop further progression of refractive
disorder.
Who is Bates?
William Horatio
Bates (born in 1860 in New Jersey) was a well known ophthalmologist of
the early twentieth century. The "Bates Method" involves the use of
therapeutic eye exercises in order to correct vision problems, thus
excluding the need for glasses or contact lenses. Patients practice eye
exercises aimed at strengthening and training their eye muscles in an
effort to overcome such problems as nearsightedness, farsightedness,
astigmatism, or "lazy eye". In 1885, he received his medical degree and
began practicing in New York City. He discovered that myopia, for
example, which is caused by a refractive error, could become better or
worse for no apparent reason.
Traditional ophthalmologists
believed that the lens was responsible for the eye's focus. Bates
believed that eye strain caused vision to deteriorate, and his
treatment was simple: like any other muscles, the eye muscles need time
for rest and train in order to achieve optimal performance. The set of
exercises developed by Bates are fully related in this article.
Palming
is done in order to calm the visual system. Patients close their eyes
and cover them with the palms. The hands should be cupped so that no
pressure is put on the eyeballs. The warmth of a person's hands,
combined with blocking out all light, will relax a pair of tense
eyeballs. Sitting at a table is a good palming position. While palming,
patients should imagine a relaxing scene, such as a sunrise or ocean.
We suggest palming in 5-10-minute sessions, at least once a day. From
our own experience, we can recommend palming when eyes become tired,
especially for those who spend most of the time in front of the
computer.
By swinging, you must train your eyes
not to stare. The rigidity of staring is bad for the eyes. One should
focus on a fixed object then swing the head or the entire body from
side to side while keeping the object in view by moving the head
instead of the eyes.
Sunning is for reducing
light sensitivity. The sun has a therapeutic effect, so patients are
asked to close their eyes and face the sun. Practice sunning techniques
at sunrise and sunset for short periods of time.
Centralization
involves training the eyes to focus on a single point, rather than an
entire picture. Bates believed that looking at an entire picture
created strain, causing bad eyesight. The eye has a point in the middle
of the vision field where vision is sharpest. It is aimed at training
people to look only at that point. This is not a special exercise, but
rather something patients should do all day long.
Color Days
practice involves looking all day for a specific color. When looking at
a color, patients are asked to focus on the color, not the form. Colors
change every day.
An advantage of the Bates method is that the
treatment is relaxing. If patients stick to the routine and eye
improvement is gained, they may benefit by being able to discard their
corrective lenses, escaping a lifetime of costs for glasses, lenses,
and contact solutions. The treatment is also much less invasive than
refractive surgery, which is costly and has risks, just like any other
operation.
The exercises themselves are simple. Even so, Bates
insisted that it takes discipline and attention to detail in order to
achieve improvement.
The Bates method received acclaim several
years after Bates's death (1931), when author Aldous Huxley boasted
that after two months on the Bates program, he went from being almost
blind to being able to read without wearing glasses.
Peter
Rostowski is a private health investigator and an alternative medicine
lover. He teaches how to avoid suffering and live happy, writes
articles about health concerning issues and helps people avoid
illnesses. Peter Rostowski also runs Natural Health Information Blog and Critical Illness Insurance For You Blog
|
