Mental strain
Mental strain. Dr Bates, the man who became famous through his eye exercises to promote healthy vision, considered that most defective vision is caused by mental strain, and that a nervous temperament with a tendency to mental tension and rigidity of thought is the cause of most cases of serious visual deficiency. Whilst there is undoubtedly some truth in this it is too narrow a view, in my opinion. Having said this, relaxation exercises definitely do seem to improve vision. Three that are worth trying are:
Palming is done as follows. Sit in as comfortable a position as possible and relax. Close your eyes and cover them with the palms of your hands, crossing the fingers over the centre of the forehead but so that the right palm is on the right eye and the left on the left. Don’t press on the eyes themselves. Allow your elbows to drop to your knees with your knees fairly close together. Close your eyes and keep them closed. Relax your mind too-don’t think of things that upset you. Imagine the blackness you see getting blacker and blacker. Do this for 20-30 minutes twice a day and you will soon notice an improvement in vision.
Blinking. Normally the eye blinks at regular intervals all the time it is open. In people with defective vision the eye becomes more fixed and strained and blinking less frequent. It is often done sporadically and with effort. Try to get into the habit of blinking frequently and regularly. Consciously make yourself blink once every ten seconds or so no matter what you are doing and especially when reading or doing close work.
Swaying is another useful technique. It relaxes the mind and the body at the same time, and helps relieve eye strain. Stand with your feet about 12 inches apart with your hands hanging by your sides. Sway your whole body (not just your trunk) from side to side like a pendulum. Raise each heel alternately from the ground. Do this for 5-10 minutes twice a day. After swaying for a minute or so with the eyes open, close them and carry on swaying. Create a mental image of the object (a window, for example) that is in front of you and at which you were looking before you closed your eyes. Re-open your eyes and really look at the object for another minute, swaying all the time. Repeat this process with eyes open and eyes closed.
About spectacles wearing
Many experts in the natural treatment of eye problems claim that spectacles actually do more harm than good for many people. They claim that this can be clearly deduced from the fact that most people who wear spectacles continue to experience deteriorating sight over the years rather than being ‘cured’ of it. It is certainly true that wearing spectacles throws the whole process of seeing out of gear and that glasses make the eyes lazier rather than encouraging them to heal themselves.
Few people could or would happily throw their glasses away when starting on a natural cure for their defective vision-although it is claimed that the best results occur in this way-but you can stop wearing them unless they are absolutely vital for the task in hand at the time. Even if they are left off for only a few hours a day the eyes begin to react naturally and after a couple of weeks of treatment most people are surprised at the improvement in their vision. Eventually, some such people can do without spectacles altogether and most will need weaker ones.
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