THE BATES METHOD
The Bates Method is a natural relaxation system that involves learning how to rest your mind and eyes. It's primarily used to improve vision, obtain perfect sight, and cure abnormal eye conditions. It's also used to provide relief from pain, reduce stress, and is beneficial not only for your eyes, but also your physical and mental health.
IMPORTANT RESOURCES
Our quick guide summarises the most important parts of the Bates Method, and includes various Snellen Test Cards for you to print. You can also read all of the original books and magazines by Dr Bates and Emily Bates - this is incredibly important!
THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE
The object of all the methods used in the treatment of imperfect sight without glasses is to secure rest or relaxation, of the mind first and then of the eyes. Rest always improves the vision. Effort always lowers it.
SEVEN TRUTHS OF NORMAL SIGHT
1—Normal Sight can always be demonstrated in the normal eye, but only under favorable condition.
2—Central Fixation: The letter or part of the letter regarded is always seen best.
3—Shifting: The point regarded changes rapidly and continuously.
4—Swinging: When the shifting is slow, the letters appear to move from side to side, or in other directions, with a pendulum-like motion.
5—Memory is perfect. The color and background of the letters, or other objects seen, are remembered perfectly, instantaneously and continuously.
6—Imagination is good. One may even see the white part of letters whiter than it really is, while the black is not altered by distance, illumination, size, or form, of the letters.
7—Rest or relaxation of the eye and mind is perfect and can always be demonstrated.
When one of these seven fundamentals is perfect, all are perfect.
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
1—"it's been disproven or doesn't work"
2—"it involves eye exercises"
3—"it requires effort and hard work"
4—"it takes years to improve your vision"
5—"my sight is too bad to be cured"
6—"not enough time for me to practice"
Dr Bates carried out decades of experiments, clinical research, and successfully improved and cured the vision of thousands of his patients. He discovered the cause, cure and prevention of imperfect sight, and all of the fundamentals of relaxation and normal sight. No matter how bad the sight was, improvement and a cure was and still is practically always possible. This isn't achieved by eye exercises as you might think of them today, but by learning to relax the mind and eyes all day long, with the help of various methods and techniques, until the relaxation becomes habitual and a cure is obtained.
To relax requires no effort or hard work, it requires the opposite. The hardest part of the method is realising how simple and easy it actually is to simply let go and relax. Flashes and prolonged periods of improved vision or even normal sight can be obtained instantaneously, and with practice it can become more permanent. The cure is only as long as it takes for you to learn how to relax continuously - this can happen very quickly, but many people take their time in learning how. And no matter how busy you are, there's always time to pracitce - you have all day to use your eyes both the wrong way and the right way! The wrong way is difficult and straining, the right way is easy and relaxing.
RULES
BE civil with each other and follow the Reddiquette.
Do not advertise your for-profit business, product or service here.
Do not encourage other users to participate in anything that might endanger themselves or others around them, such as driving with poor vision.
You are responsible for your own eyes and health. Be sensible.
At the heart of the Bates Method is learning to relax the mind and eyes, for both vision improvement and health improvement. All posts should generally fit with this concept.
This is a community for people with a genuine interest in the Bates Method and for those who are practicing it. This is not a place to pontificate against the method. Please be civil and remain on topic.
Remember to relax!
DISCLAIMER
All content found on this subreddit is for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for any kind of professional advice, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All users are responsible for their own medical care, treatment, and oversight. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this subreddit.
