How The Bates Method May Give You Natural Vision

The natural vision improvement is based on vision system of the world-famous William Bates, M.D.; as a matter of fact, all the natural vision improvement methods and programs currently available are all based on his original vision theories with different modifications over the past century.

Dr. William Bates demonstrated a very revolutionary natural approach to vision and eye care.

Here is a simple explanation of his method, now known as The Bates Method.

Dr. Bates’ Theories of Vision

The Bates Method is actually a very simple and natural way to correct vision. Because it is so natural and harmless, it has become more widely known and recognized after many decades of controversy and debates. Today, many scientists still find it difficult to accept some of his unconventional theories of vision.

Dr. Bates’ fundamental theories are as follows:

The conditions of the eye are constantly changing, resulting in constant changes in the shape of the eyeball. The focus of the eye is constantly changing too (it is always looking at close and distant objects), resulting in the constant shifting of the eye.

The human eye is able to see in spite of these constant changes in the eye because the normal eye can adapt or adjust to these changes—known as “eye accommodation.” However, eye accommodation may deteriorate due to many factors, such as weak eye muscles, poor light conditions, impaired macula (responsible for visual details). After all, the eye is just another body organ, which, like other body organs, is also vulnerable to disease and degeneration. When that happens, the eye cannot accommodate itself to see clearly, resulting in blurry vision.

It is universally accepted that weak vision occurs when the light from a close or distant object falls not precisely on the retina of the human eye—instead, it falls in front of (nearsightedness) or behind the retina (farsightedness).

The Conventional Treatment of Weak Vision

To correct weak vision or refractive error (light  not  properly refracted on the retina of the eye), the conventional treatment by ophthalmologists and opticians is to make use of corrective lenses (eyeglasses or contacts) with proper prescriptions to enable the light from a close or distant object to refract accurately on the retina.

The conventional treatment serves two purposes: to make the eye see more clearly; to prevent further eyestrain through clearer vision

These are the sole reasons for the professionals to provide eyeglasses and contacts: to provide better vision, and to prevent eyestrain.

The conventional treatment is based on the belief that weak vision  is due to incorrect refraction on the retina because of  the distorted  eye  lens; therefore, to correct the impaired vision, corrective lenses are used to correct the refraction from the distorted lens.

Dr. Bates’  Treatment of Weak Vision

Dr. Bates completely disagreed with the conventional theory of distorted lens. According to Dr. Bates, the conventional treatment is WRONG because the eye is constantly changing, so much that the eye prescriptions (which are constant) in corrective lenses may not help the patients in certain conditions; quite the contrary, they unduly increase their eyestrain. That is to say, if the eye is forced to see in different eye conditions with the same corrective lenses, the eye will have to strain itself to see in different conditions, and thus causing further eyestrain.

Dr. Bates’ explanation was that what might fit the eye (i.e. the prescriptions) at one moment might not be appropriate at another moment, given that the conditions of the eye are constantly changing. In addition, because the eye is capable of adapting and adjusting to different conditions (eye accommodation), wearing corrective lenses will  deprive the eye of such accommodation, and thus leading to further vision deterioration. That was the reason for his objection to wearing corrective lenses.

Dr. Bates’ treatment was based on the belief that the incorrect refraction on the retina is due to weak and unrelaxed eye muscles, which cause distorted shape  in the eyeball, resulting in the refraction falling in front of or behind the retina, instead of directly on the retina.

The Bates Method focuses on the following basic principles of good vision:

Central fixation: Train the eye to focus on only one point one at a time. To illustrate, let your eyes look at a printed page:

Focus on only one word on the printed page, allowing other words in its vicinity to become blurred.

Then, try to see one letter of that word better than the other letters of that word.

Then, look at the other letters, one by one.

Now, look at the blank space  between that word and the next.

Focus on the next word, and repeat the process.

The objective of this training is to help you focus on only a very small area because the macula (responsible for detailed vision) can see only a very small area. Stimulate the macula to enhance vision improvement.

Shifting: Train the eye to look from one object to another frequently, from a close object to a distant one, and then back again in order to relieve tension and eyestrain, which impair good vision. Reinforce shifting with constant blinking to clean and to rest the eye.

Sunning: Train the eye to adapt and adjust to bright light to avoid squinting, which causes eyestrain. Close your eyes and look up at the sun. Then, turn away from the sun, opening your eyes, and look at some clouds. Close your eyes for a moment, and then open your eyes at look at a point a little nearer the sun, but without looking directly at the sun. Sunning sharpens your vision, as well as prevents squinting.

Relaxation: Visualizing “black” induces complete relaxation of the eye. A completely relaxed eye will see only black when it is closed; seeing the field of vision grayish or light-golden in color means that the eye is not totally relaxed. Palming is the most effective exercise for complete eye relaxation. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright©  by Stephen Lau