Bates Methods
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Bates Methods
I have been reading up on Bates and associated methods on the www.seeing.org website but my eyes are quite different in refractive error and I was wondering if this would effect in any way the exercises I should try.
I am not that myopic (6/9+ left 0.5D, 6/18 right, 1.25) and dont wear glasses but any improvement would obviously be beneficial.
I have a medical coming up in the next few weeks where the required acuity is 6/24 both eyes uncorrected and I obviously want to clear this margin by as much as possible.
Could anyone recommend a book on these methods also.
I am not that myopic (6/9+ left 0.5D, 6/18 right, 1.25) and dont wear glasses but any improvement would obviously be beneficial.
I have a medical coming up in the next few weeks where the required acuity is 6/24 both eyes uncorrected and I obviously want to clear this margin by as much as possible.
Could anyone recommend a book on these methods also.
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The Bates Method is fundamentally a study and practice of normal sight - how the eyes and mind are used when the vision is normal.
Normal vision was originally acquired unconsciously, so we are by default pretty unaware of what constitutes normal and healthy visual habits. This unconsciousness is also especially evident in that almost no one remembers what they did or what happened when they lost their good sight.
Looking at the Bates Method in this way also implies that no matter what your current state of vision, be it mildly shortsighted, longsighted, astigmatic, presbyopic, all that has happened is that your visual 'use' (both mental and physical) has departed from the norm.
As the method is solely concerned with re-establishing that norm consciously, any Bates technique will more or less be able to be applied to any condition. Some techniques will be more problematic for some conditions - this is primarily due to the individual idiosyncrasies of the type of strain involved - but ultimately, all the techniques demonstrate normal conditions of normal sight. When something doesn't work as well as you wish, it gives you a clear indication of just where and how you are straining.
Having said that - for discrepencies between eyes it can be useful to devote individual time to each eye using patch glasses to give you clear information about individual eye use. It's possible that one eye is favoured over another, resulting in low-quality feedback to the less 'awake' eye - a vicious circle can result. Integrating two pictures from each eye in the imagination can be very helpful.
BD
[This message has been edited by BlackDot (edited 24 August 2000).]
[This message has been edited by BlackDot (edited 24 August 2000).]
Normal vision was originally acquired unconsciously, so we are by default pretty unaware of what constitutes normal and healthy visual habits. This unconsciousness is also especially evident in that almost no one remembers what they did or what happened when they lost their good sight.
Looking at the Bates Method in this way also implies that no matter what your current state of vision, be it mildly shortsighted, longsighted, astigmatic, presbyopic, all that has happened is that your visual 'use' (both mental and physical) has departed from the norm.
As the method is solely concerned with re-establishing that norm consciously, any Bates technique will more or less be able to be applied to any condition. Some techniques will be more problematic for some conditions - this is primarily due to the individual idiosyncrasies of the type of strain involved - but ultimately, all the techniques demonstrate normal conditions of normal sight. When something doesn't work as well as you wish, it gives you a clear indication of just where and how you are straining.
Having said that - for discrepencies between eyes it can be useful to devote individual time to each eye using patch glasses to give you clear information about individual eye use. It's possible that one eye is favoured over another, resulting in low-quality feedback to the less 'awake' eye - a vicious circle can result. Integrating two pictures from each eye in the imagination can be very helpful.
BD
[This message has been edited by BlackDot (edited 24 August 2000).]
[This message has been edited by BlackDot (edited 24 August 2000).]
