Bates Method?

[King Salmon]

Anyone have any luck improving their vision with the Bates Method? Or some other vision improvement method(other than glasses,contacts and surgery)?

[Cinna]

Hi, KS! I am working on it... I've had Quackenbush's "Relearning to See" book for a few years now, but I've been lazy about improving my vision. It is an incredible book, though.

My current, wonderful eye doctor does reduced prescriptions, though, and I think that already has helped (less strain). I would love to eventually have pretty perfect vision (naturally) partly just to prove to my past eye doctors that they were wrong (not that I would necessarily tell them so and be like, "in your face!", but knowing in my heart would give me great pleasure... and I'd tell all my friends and anyone around me). My current eye doctor has cutting-edge technology to improve vision more quickly, but due to limited funds at the moment, I'm doing it old-school, me-and-my-book. Are you improving your vision?

[King Salmon]

Hi Cinna,can you elaborate on what is "cutting-edge technology to improve vision" ? You said he was using reduced prescriptions,so,I don't know what other "technology" you are refering to.I'm open to options.I've tried eye exercises before,but with limited success.My vision has gotten a litle worse in the last couple of years.Could be from too much computer use.I don't know.Could be from getting older


p.s. You meant "cutting-edge" right?(not "cutting-age")

[Cinna]

Thanks, KS - I had to edit/correct my error! Yes, I meant cutting-edge. And by "cutting-edge," I meant alternative technology that I believe has actually been around for awhile, but conventional eye doctors seem to ignore, just don't believe in, etc. Just like the Bates method! That has been around for a long time, but I didn't stumble upon natural vision healing, the concept of healthy vision habits, etc. until the last few years. I heard about it several years ago, but I didn't start my research until a few years ago.

Here is a link about a Visual Biofeedback machine they use:
http://agape1.eyehub.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=content.display&pageID=117

"The Accommotrac measures your focus 40 times per second and converts this information into a audible tone.  By relaxing the eye focusing muscle the tone will change.  In other words, you learn to control your focus with your ears!  This process is called visual biofeedback."

Also, Corneal Molding (you could be seeing 20/20 after one night):
http://agape1.eyehub.com/index.cfm?content.display&pageID=97

If you look around the eye center's website, you'll see that there's all sorts of ways they deal with vision - waaaaaaaaaay more options than conventional optometrists. I wanted to learn to relax my eye muscles sufficiently, naturally-ly, so I didn't go for Corneal Molding/Orthokeratology (although it's looking really tempting right now!). If you're looking for a natural vision-supportive eye doctor (if you don't have one already), look for one who does behavioral (or developmental) optometry - you can also do a google search to find directories for behavioral optometrists.

From my experience, my current eye doctor versus past eye doctors - it was akin to some experiences people have with alternative healers versus allopathic doctors. My appointments with regular eye doctors would last 15 - 20 minutes. Maybe 30 minutes if it were my first appointment. My first appointment with my current eye doctor (developmental optometrist) at his vision center - I was there for like two and a half hours! And I loved it. I was having so much fun. I just love my eye doctor. Sweet, intelligent, "cutting-edge," and very patient, he answered all my questions (I ask a ton of questions), took his time (didn't rush me), and gave me his undivided attention as if I were his only appointment the entire afternoon (I wasn't). When I am treated so well by a healer whose work I admire and who treats me as a whole person with individual/unique feelings and experiences, I feel so cared for and respected. <3

And just a general FYI to those interested, "Relearning to See" is such a comprehensive, well-written book and explains how it's about re-learning healthy vision habits (eye exercises help you learn healthy habits, but it's really not about eye exercises or drills, per se, but your everyday vision habits), and encompasses the whole person - how nutrition affects eyesight, how glasses and contacts (crutches) further strain the eyes and make vision worse, psychological aspects of blurred vision, optimal posture and breathing for healthy normal vision, how true health involves normal vision, etc. (Glowing reviews on Amazon.)

[King Salmon]

Wow Cinna,do you live near L.A.? I used to live in Studio City.I have a friend who went through O.K. It was ok ,but not great.It means having to use contacts for a long time otherwise the eye will revert back to the original shape it had before.My friend is currently using glasses.There was still a benefit because the prescription is lower than the original.Anyway,the doctor was in Northen California,I forget the name.Keep in touch,let me know your progress.

[Cinna]

Yes, I am a north-of-the-valley girl. Studio City? Nice.

[King Salmon]

Just remembered the name: Dr.Jeobrock (spelling?) in Novato,California.

[TylerDurden]

I have tried the Bates Method and found a few benefits. Every so often, I would get "flashes" where I saw perfectly(I usually have -2.5 in each eye). Trouble was that I could never practice properly and automatically so never got anywhere re permanent improvements. I am undecided, therefore, re its effectiveness or lack thereof.

[SkinnyDevil]

Anyone tried eating bilberries or taking bilberry capsules?

[TylerDurden]

Anyone tried eating bilberries or taking bilberry capsules?

Yes. I did that in my heavy-duty supplement phase pre-RPD diet. They were a complete waste of time. Too processed to be of use. Subsequent consumption of lots of blueberries(very similiar to bilberries re content) did nothing for me, really re eyesight, though I love the taste.

[SkinnyDevil]

Odd.

I've heard all the stories, but the data doesn't support it in double-blind studies except for night vision & cataracts.

But my dad - who is over 70 - was taking it (not sure why) and he went in for his eye exam and was told his vision was 50% better than it had been (had to change his scrips). He couldn't think of any other reason his vision would improve.

[PaleoPhil]

I also tried bilberry supplements and juices and blueberries without noticeable effect.

[raw-al]

Interesting thread,
I have always had excellent eyesight (always the first to see icebergs when patrolling the ocean, even before the radar operator) but when I hit around mid forties I started to have to wear reading glasses so being stubborn I decided to try a bunch of different things which may not work for all but here they are;

First Ayurveda my main squeeze, has kept the issues to a dull roar. My Vaidya friend suggested blueberries which did make a big difference to me, but you have to eat a lot daily. As a pilot I had read about the research done during WW2 on pilots re; night vision.

I tried the Bates Method but doing all of it took time which with meditation, pranayama, asana, 5bx etc daily was too much, but my GF and I do a certain group of eye exercises every day for eye mobility, peripheral vision and focus. I love the palming.I know one guy in Toronto Canada who did it for a long time and he said he changed something like 2.5 diopters but you have to keep it up. He's retained some of the improvement.

Went to an eye doc because I was trying to get a prescription for glasses so I could get a work paid for insurance refund to get a good pair of sunglasses and safety glasses. He sold me 1.2 glasses and said he gave stronger glasses to "save me money when they deteriorated". I was very disappointed when I asked him of any exercises he knew of. I was doing a set already. He told me exercises are a waste of time and even laughed at me when I asked. This guy was recommended to me by my ex. What a donkey!

GF and I went to a spiritual guide associated with Free Soul. In the discussion he mentioned he got a very spiritually evolved friend of his to do psychic surgery in which he removed something which brought his eyes back to normal with no relapse. The guy was around 60 something and wore no reading glasses. We never got his friend's name after all because he was of no-fixed-address and wasn't doing it for a living. Karma etc is part of the equation.

Dr. Jerry Jebrock - I saw him on an EFT video talking about using EFT to improve vision and also using exercises which I and GF do daily. Jebrock wiggle.

Went to a homeopath out of curiosity. She gave me a couple of bottles and told me to eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries / day. Got an almost instant return to normal vision when I followed her suggestion. That was shocking but it didn't last and was quite expensive to go to her but I still eat the berries.

Sungazing HRM method Started July 16 2009 with GF. Went up to 45 minutes @ 10 seconds per day increments as he suggested..... OK we cheated and went faster sosume! Corresponded with HRM and met him in Toronto on his visit. My eyes went from 1.2 reading glasses to 1.0 and none in decent light. My GF went to her eye doc for her annual when we were getting close to the 45 minutes. Prior year she was told she would need glasses for driving and an operation on her eyes. This year it was; no operation and she went back 10 years in eye prescription. The doc went over the exam a second time as it made no sense. When asked, the doc said that she was just having a speedbump and it would be back to normal (degradation) next year. She reads large print books nowand is absolutely thrilled about it. You didn't hear this from me, but she is 64... Ssssshhhhhh! We are back down to 15 minutes per day and walk in the dirt as prescribed.

Although I may sound like a hypochondriac  I rarely go to a doctor (in Canada it is free) except for my pilot medical. The doc in the town I lived was a friend and he told me I had the smallest file in town.

So now we do the set of exercises and sungazing plus palming afterwards daily plus eat blueberries frequently and do some tratik with a yogi bud of ours once a month on the full moon.

[raw-al]

Still doing the sungazing with the same amazing results and I was considering doing the microcurrent stimulation on the acupuncture points around the eyes, 4 on top and 4 on bottom device that Dr. Kondrot talks about.

My next project is to perfect my hearing.

[Hannibal]

Still doing the sungazing with the same amazing results

With the eyes open or shut?
Do you combine it with palming?
I do palming almost every day - I use my sleep mask instead of my palms.
The more perfect darkness I see the better.
It's very helpful.

[turkish]

me and my wife, gave up our glasses by following Bates method. So its effective somewhat.

Raw-al, how do you do sungazing? i mean you gaze with the eyelids closed or open?

Let me know what are you doing for improving your hearing, i think i am beginning to lose mine - i have a condition called auditory processing.

[Hannibal]

me and my wife, gave up our glasses by following Bates method. So its effective somewhat.

How quickly have you managed to achieve this? Have you had myopia or hypeopia? How big?

[raw-al]

Sungazing is nothing short of amazing. It is a bit time consuming but essentially in the first and last hour of the day (winter the envelope is larger because the sun is lower) you look directly at the sun. First day for 10 seconds and then every day you add 10 seconds. Continue till you get to 45 minutes. That takes about 9 months if you have good weather.

When you are gazing ground at least one foot on bare earth or sand preferably.

After you reach 45 minutes then on each day after, you reduce by one minute down to 15 minutes which you maintain for a year and then you can just gaze a few minutes here and there. We are doing the 15 minutes since April 2010.

If it is cloudy you can look through the cloud during the day as long as you can see the sun. Basically he says max. 2 on the UV scale which to us works out to being if it is uncomfortable, stop. You can look at the reflection of the sun in fresh (not salt) water also, if the morning/night window is not available.

After the prescribed time of gazing, you close your eyes turn away from the sun and put your palms over your eyes for a minute or so.

If you just had eye surgery you might consider modifying that a bit. Contact HRM (Hira Ratan Manek) from his site http://solarhealing.com/
He's helpful and will answer all questions and generally very quickly. There are various youtubes of him explaining how to do it. He charges nothing, does it because he truly wants to turn the world on to it. He has a DVD which you can buy for 10 dollars but it's on Youtube and he gives you the right to reproduce it provided you don't sell it. Standard stuff.

According to an Indian friend of mine there is a celebration day every year in Indi a where they look at the sun briefly.

I am told that the aboriginals in North America practiced a version of sungazing for spiritual purposes.

[PaleoPhil]

What were people's results from sun gazing or the Bates Method, such as change in diopters?

Didn't Bates say to look to the side of the sun instead of directly at it, or am I misremembering that?

[TylerDurden]

I also tried bilberry supplements and juices and blueberries without noticeable effect.

Didn't work for me either, not even organic blueberries. I have tried the Bates Method and had wonderful instances("flashes") in which I omentarily saw better, proving the techniques work, but I never really worked the techniques into a regular pattern, so never properly improved.

[CHK91]

Sungazing is nothing short of amazing. It is a bit time consuming but essentially in the first and last hour of the day (winter the envelope is larger because the sun is lower) you look directly at the sun. First day for 10 seconds and then every day you add 10 seconds. Continue till you get to 45 minutes. That takes about 9 months if you have good weather.

Is it absolutely necessary that it be during dawn and dusk?

[turkish]

raw-al,
 Thanks for the info on sun gazing. Its amazing that as a kid i used to gaze at the sun with open eyes - ofcourse i did not know what i was doing, i guess we know lot of things by instinct.

Hannibal,
 our glass we were -1.0. Not a lot but what i learned from this is that poor vision can be due to muscle fatigue - much like any other fatigued muscle (back, calf etc). So no hurry to get glasses. For example i just returned from a trip to india, where strange things happenned: my BM became regular but by knees grew weak & and my eyesight grew weaker, i got a severe backache. Now i am back in the USA, backache is gone, knees are stronger, vision is improving.
According to ayurveda a regular BM is good for health. My wife has regular BM but her health is worse than mine - same with our kids. my daughter who takes after me - keeps good health but is always constipated. My son takes after my wife - has regular BM but his health is weak.

[raw-al]

Is it absolutely necessary that it be during dawn and dusk?

HMMMM welllll I have heard of people who did midday in the summer, but I am not physically able to do that. It hurts basically.

Early and late in the day, the sun's rays have to travel further through the atmosphere which serves to reduce it's strength. You'll find that past UV 2 it gets very uncomfortable to look at the sun. If you have trouble with bad weather, you'll find that the sun will shine during the day perhaps through some cloud which is OK as long as the UV stays below or at 2. If no luck just put a pot of water on the porch and look at the suns reflection.

If you follow that protocol then you'll be OK. Make sure to do the close the eyes bit afterwards also.

[turkish]

raw-al,
 as a kid when i did sungazing, i did'nt care what time of the day it was. could that have caused any harm?

[raw-al]

Not sure. I suspect that you would feel discomfort before you did damage.