by sarah john
Good sight is thus the result of a relaxed state of mind and body, whereby the individual person feels a direct contact with the surrounding world through the five senses. Poor sight, on the other hand, is the result of tension, where the person is, to a greater or lesser extent, isolated from the outside world through being locked in a pattern of psycho-physical tensions, such as worry, anxiety, rigidity, day-dreaming, boredom, confusion, impatience, etc. The practical benefits of the Bates Method are imparted by means of a pupil-teacher relationship wherein the pupil is shown, first, relaxation of the eyes, then the body, and then the body and eyes, whilst seeing. As the relaxation progresses, the mind, the eyes and the body begin to focus together more harmoniously, allowing the sight to improve naturally, by itself, as does the health of the eyes, whilst already good sight can be preserved. Dr. Bates was a graduate of Cornell University and of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. He worked at various times at Belleview, Harlem Hospitals, Manhatten Eye and Ear Hospital and New York Eye Infirmary. He also taught ophthalmology at the New York Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital. It was as a result of this work, examining thousands of pairs of eyes a year and observing many cases where the sight either recovered spontaneously or changed it's form in inexplicable ways, that a burning desire was aroused to elucidate why the sight changed in these cases. It was from these researches that Dr. Bates discovered that the sight can be be intentionally improved by natural methods, without the use of glasses. In the succeeding years, he discovered and developed the principles and practices to realise this discovery and they became the basic foundation of the Bates Method as it is practised today throughout the world. Palming: "The simple idea of resting the eyes by closing them is basic to the Bates method. Dr. Bates coined for it the term 'palming'. The eyes are gently closed and covered with the palms in such a way that all light is excluded and no pressure is applied to the eyeballs. The heels of the hands rest lightly on the cheekbones and the fingers on the forehead. Palming is usually done while seated. The elbows should be supported, either on a table in front of you or on a thick cushion or two in your lap. While palming you should feel entirely comfortable, safe and warm. Choose if you can a quiet time and a place where you are not likely to be disturbed. Become conscious of and do your best to relax any undue tension in the muscles of your face, neck, shoulders, and the rest of your body. Listen to the radio if you wish, or just allow the mind to wander, keeping it away from anything unpleasant. If stressful thoughts intrude, push them aside to be dealt with later. Remain with the eyes shut for several minutes. The exact period that suits you best has to be found by trial and error; five minutes is about right, and four should be regarded as a minimum. It can be difficult to judge the passage of time, and some such device as a non-ticking cook's timer, or one of those electronic watches or pocket calculators which incorporate an alarm, is very useful. Palming like this should be repeated from three to five times in succession and forms the basis of your daily practice period. Once or twice in the period you might like, rather than merely allowing the mind to wander, to try some visualisation. Swinging: Long Swinging: "Rotate your body from left to right and back. Eyes, torso and head move together. Turning mostly around your waist. Don't look at anything as you swing; be aware of movement mainly. Let your eyes go, let your consciousness stay in front of you while you turn. Make sure to keep breathing." "There is another type of mobility swinging in the Bates method, sometimes called "long swinging", which has a rather different purpose [from regular swinging]. It is simple to do, and consists essentially of turning from side to side. Stand with the feet about 30 centimetres (12 inches) apart, the arms hanging loosely, and, lifting the right heel as you do so, turn to the left. When you have reached the limit of comfortable travel, turn to the right, letting the left heel rise and the right one return to the floor. Go on like this until you have performed 20 complete swings. The turning should involve your hips as well as your waist. Keep your arms relaxed so that they rise slightly as you swing. Do not go too fast; try to make the swings smooth, level, and rhythmical. Keep your eyes open and allow the image of your surroundings to rush past without trying to focus on anything in particular. Nearby objects will naturally seem to move faster than distant ones, and will probably be no more than a blur. Make no attempt to hold on to or fix any part of the image; notice only that everything seems to be moving in the direction opposite to that of your swing. Sunning: "The Bates technique for relieving photophobia is called sunning, and consists simply of taking sunshine on the closed lids. In this way the retina is accustomed to progressively brighter light, until the stage is reached where the eye can function efficiently over the entire range of normally encountered light intensities. The warmth of the sun and the therapeutic properties of its rays also have a profound and beneficial effect on the health of the eyes and on the ability to relax them "Practise giving half a dozen rapid and very light blinks, shut the eyes lightly for the space of two whole breaths, and repeat four times. This little routine, practised regularly, twice or more a day, will, especially if followed by a brief spell of palming, help to establish the correct tone in the muscles of the eyelids and develop better habits of blinking. No more than a few seconds should pass between one blink and the next. As a very rough guide, between two and four blinks in each period of ten seconds is about right. The Bates Method has proved that by practicing these simple methods, just about anyone can be helped. It's as simple as creating your own chart and placing it in your office. Just by glancing at the chart several times during the day will help keep the eyes relaxed which will alleviate strain on the eyes. By training your eyes to relax will help improve your vision today and for the rest of your life. Take the first step to make your eyesight improve without glasses, contact lenses or expensive surgery here: Improve eyesight
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Take the first step to make your eyesight improve without glasses, contact lenses or expensive surgery here: Improve eyesight
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